The silhouettes of my pack members become fuzzy as my focus is drawn instead to the fireplace.
The bright glow.
I’m not sure what was so urgent that I wanted to say now…
I breathe in and out. Slowly. My shoulders relax and my eyelids droop.
It’s so peaceful inside this cabin.
So perfect that I’m not sure why I would ever want to leave it.
A renewed sense of calm fills me, and I focus back on the page in front of me, sinking into the gorgeous writing that washes across the paper like a tide taking me out with it.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Nova! Wake up!
My left hand suddenly burns as if something bit it.
I jolt in my seat, swaying as I try to rise from the soft cushions at my back. The book I was reading rests within my hands, nearly slipping from my hold before I tighten my grip around it.
I blink hard against the bright spots in my vision that form as soon as I look at the open pages again. Shaking myself, I try to focus.
For a second, I thought I heard Reaper’s voice. Faint and far away, but there was so much warning in it.
My focus flashes to the bond mark on my left hand, which is suddenly glowing with silver light.
Harsh light. Nothing like the light of the angels’ world. It cuts through the haze within my mind, bringing me sharply back to myself.
What the hell? Did Reaper reach out across the worlds to speak through our bond?
I listen carefully, trying to hear her voice again, but the silver slash is fading and the sharp bite of my bond with Reaper vanishes. Even so, I feel more awake than I have for…How many hours has it been?
I groan as I move, feeling as depleted as if I’d just fought a long battle and now my limbs are aching and heavy. My brow furrows as I try to get a sense of what time it is, attempting to squint through the bright spots to check the window.
Around me, my wolves are sleeping, huddled in the corner of the room farthest away from the fireplace. Koda is falling asleep in one of the armchairs, his eyelids drooping. Roman is sitting hunched over a book next to me and I’m certain he’s looking at the same page I last saw him reading. Taniya is staring out the window on the opposite side of the room, her body bathed in moonlight that pours through the glass. The book she was reading dangles in her fingertips, seconds away from falling to the floor.
Even Malia seems overly tired, yawning where she sits at the table on the other side of the room, resting her head in her hands as she mumbles quietly to herself.
My stomach swirls, and my heart kicks.
When was the last time we ate? When was the last time the angels brought us food?
I blink at the cabin door, then back to the window, noting the strength of the moonlight outside. It has to be nearing midnight, but I have no idea where the time went.
A shock passes through me as I wonder how many hours have passed.I shake myself hard. A tiny swirl of nightmare power gathers around my fingertips, starting from the point of my bond mark.
“Roman?” I whisper. “Something is very wrong.”
His response is low and muted. “Hmm?” His brow remains furrowed as he continues to stare at the page in front of him.
I reach out, brush my fingertips across his jaw, and allow a little of my power to bite him.
His head snaps up, his eyes wide. “Fuck.” He looks around, his focus shooting from my sisters to my wolves and then to Koda. “What happened?”
It scares the shit out of me that even he, as ancient and powerful as he is, succumbed to the peace and light that fills the very air in this world.
Fear shoots through me, but luckily, that’s exactly what I need to kickstart my power and wake me up entirely.
