He looked not at me, but into the forest. “At least you will be alive to complain about how brutal I am.”
My own gaze slipped to the silvered fingers of the moon fighting to breach the tops of the trees in the distance. He had hurt me because I couldn’t fight. Abused me because I was weak. Through the torment, I felt anger rise. Anger gave me power, made me strong. It was far better than grief. If war came, we were in for the battle of our lives. I might die, but would never, ever be weak again.
I turned back to Ethan. “Let’s go again.”
Chapter 54
A Savage Growl
Frigid air wrapped around my body, and I tightened the robe I was wearing, watching the stars twinkle against a jet-black sky.
My whole body ached from the last two days of training with Ethan. We practiced both combat and mental training, and my muscles were stiff and sore.
“Someone is here,” Ethan said, his eyes hooking down the long gravel drive.
I looked in the direction and saw nothing. “How do you know?”
“I can hear a car.”
I tilted my head to the side and strained to listen. “I can’t hear anything.”
“Of course you can’t, you are not an elite immortal like I am.”
I huffed a laugh. “How do you walk around carrying a head of that size?”
“It’s tough but I manage. It’s another one of my elite mortal skills.” His smile lit up the dark then dropped abruptly. He frowned as he scanned the tree line. “Go inside while I check it out.”
“You don’t recognize the car?”
He shook his head as lights flickered between trees in the distance, drawing closer. The night air shifted almost as if the forest felt the presence of something unnatural.
I rushed inside, pulled off the robe, threw a loose jumper over Karson’s long t-shirt I loved to wear at night, and yanked sneakers on. I grabbed my blade from under my pillow—not the subtlest of hiding places, but if I needed it at night, it was within my reach. I wrapped the belt around my waist under my jumper and concealed it with a simple order from my mind.
Gravel skidded as a car pulled to an abrupt halt. Three doors snapped closed. Whoever it was wasn’t trying to sneak in. Which meant they were either friends or confident. Like Sarah.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, like a prelude, a warning. Prickles swarmed over my arms.
The sound of thunder came again, deeper, louder, and ferocious.
Not thunder, a growl.
I peered around the edge of the door. There was no sign of Ethan, but standing in front of a black sports car, his hackles raised, growling with the kind of savagery that had the hairs rising on the back of my neck, was Wolf. He was as big as a small pony. Muscles rippled over his powerful frame, his thick black hair blending with the night. In contrast, his fangs glistened like small blades. And pressed against the bonnet of the black car parked beside it, eyes wide, was Monique, Georgie, and Josh.
Josh was in front of Georgie. “Easy, doggie,” he said quietly, his palms out ready to protect Georgie.
My heart leapt at the sight of him as simultaneously my stomach plunged. Wolf could take his head off with one bite.
“Wolf,” I cried, running down the stairs. The growling stopped, but his lip was still curled, his gaze still hooked on the trio.
“What the fuck is that?” Monique’s voice warbled.
“It’s alright, boy.” My hand fell softly to his thick side. “Shhh,” I cooed, “it’s alright.”
He shifted his head and looked at me, his amber eyes soft and knowing, all signs of aggression gone. Then he turned and loped off, his strides eating up the ground as he disappeared into the forest.
Monique unpeeled from the car, her eyes focused on the forest as if waiting for him to rush back out. “Was that some fucked-up Frankenstein pet you’ve conjured?”
Monique wasn’t there when Sarah attacked, but I just assumed because she knew I was born to protect the waters, she’d know about Wolf. Maybe she did but didn’t want Josh to know. I trusted Josh. Karson trusted him too. As much as Karson was capable of trusting anyone, at least.
