I grab her off the bed, wrapping her in my arms and dragging her out the door just as the roof groans and collapses behind us.
I don't stop until I've carried Willow out through the back door, to the safety of the snow-covered lawn, just in time for a powerful puff of hot, destructive fire to snap the entire building and crumble it to the ground.
Turning with Willow still in my arms, I stare in horror as the powerful, forceful flames consume the building that was once my home.
Slowly turning my face toward Willow, relief washes over me because she's safe. I'm about to lean in and ride that relief bykissing her lips, when she shoves my shoulder and hops out of my arms.
She lands on her feet, taking a step forward as her hands fly up to her mouth, a gasp escaping her lips.
“What have I done…?” she murmurs in shock, and I'm just about to reach out toward her when a flurry of urgent footsteps approaches the burning house.
The house becomes surrounded by pack members, groups led by the betas of the pack, while the alphas and their witch mates come rushing forward.
“Thane! What happened?”
“Are you guys alright? That was a blast of magic!”
“We need to clear the area!” Elias shouts over Aurora and Rissa's concerned squeals. “The soldiers have the house covered! We need to be ready in case that signaled the demons!”
“Is there anything you need from inside?” Brooks asks me, and I shake my head, turning toward Willow again to ask her if there's anything she needs. But just as I turn toward her, there's an empty spot where she'd been standing.
“Willow?” I call out, low at first as I step forward, catching her scent trailing toward the forest. “Shit! I'm going after her!”
Elias stops me just as I'm about to give chase into the woods.
“Remember what I told you,” he reminds me, his voice stern, eyes full of worry. “Just be there for her. This kinda stuff happens,” he says with a nod over his shoulder, but I hardly catch the humor in his words when my only concern is finding Willow before she encounters another demon out there.
I don't doubt that she's strong enough to handle herself, but she's in an unstable state, and her powers aren't controlled enough to be relied upon.
I have to find her.
Chapter 14 - Willow
Snow whispers on my cheeks as I run, my breath misting in front of me like the smoke from the fire still clinging to me. I'm running from the world behind me that burns; Thane’s home, the one place I thought I might finally feel safe.
All because of me, flames devoured it in seconds, and now I'm running to escape what I can't face.
The image of the burning house won’t leave me. How the fire burst from my palms, the golden light flickering like the pulse of my heartbeat, and the look in Thane’s eyes when he realized what I’d done.
Horror, and something else…
Pity.
I can’t bear it.
So I run.
I don't deserve his pity—not when I'd witnessed the destruction I'm capable of, like the destruction in my nightmares.
Hisdestruction, his demise, at my hands.
Branches tear at my shawl as I push through the trees, my bare feet crunching over snow that glows like a silver lake beneath the moon. The forest is silent except for my ragged breathing and the echo of his voice in my head.
“You won’t hurt me…”
He was wrong.
I glance down mid-run, sleeve slipping away from my wrist to expose my bracelet as it catches the moonlight. My heart hammers harder now, the thin bracelet adorned with beads anda single yarrow petal reigniting my regret. I made the bracelet for him years ago, when I was young and foolish enough to believe in forever.
