Podcast made a motion with his hand and I glanced up at Rex for a translation.
“Read,” he told me gruffly, still looking angry.
I looked at the square again, reading the large text.
‘WHAT HAPPENED TO BOSTON’S CINDERELLA?
On the night of March 21st, 1915, debutante Juneau Wilde vanished from her family’s mansion, leaving behind a single gold shoe. A case that has befuddled investigators for over a hundred years, there are still several theories that have some merit, including that she was taken by a wayward alpha that attended the party, or that she ran away from home, never to be found again. Either way, this is a case that has fascinated true crime authors, podcasters, and web sleuths for over a century.’
“What… I don’t understand,” I said, frowning at the words. I wasn’t missing, I was right here!
Doc looked uncomfortable. “If you really are the Juneau Wilde from this article, then you went missing over a hundred years ago, sweetheart.”
“No,” I said with a shake of my head, refusing to even consider that idea. It was too crazy. “It isn’t possible, time travel is pure science fiction.”
“Do you know what this is?” Doc asked, pointing at the screen that Podcast was still holding up. “Or these?” He pointed at the contraption that Podcast had pulled down around his neck.
I shook my head again, panic rising acidicly in my stomach.
“This is a phone and those are headphones. Juneau, you aren’t in 1915 anymore. This is 2022.”
“No,” I repeated, this time with more fervor than before.
“No!” My refusal came out in a strangled scream and the candles on the counter behind the men began to flicker wildly making the wet alpha yelp as he jumped away from the licking flames.
“What the fuck was that?” the tattooed alpha asked as he stared at the candles with shock.
I turned and scrambled away from the group of men, my eyes finding one of the tables that was pushed against the wall with two couches on either side. It wasn’t much but it was enough for me to feel safe.
I bolted for the table, throwing myself under it and ignoring the tear that I put in my skirt in the process. Pulling my knees up to my chest I closed my eyes and tried to pretend that I was having some kind of night terror. If I tried hard enough, I would wake up back in the Pink Room again and Nicky would walk through the door with my drink in hand.
‘Juneau,’ an unfamiliar voice whispered my name.
“No, I don’t want to talk,” I said out loud, pressing my face into my knees.
‘Juneau,’ the voice repeated insistently and I realized that none of the men who were hovering nearby had spoken out loud. The voice was in my head.
“Stop!” I told the voice, whimpering as I brought my hands to the side of my head and squeezed as if it could chase the voice away.
‘I’m afraid I can’t do that, I need you to listen closely to me. My ability to communicate with you wanes quickly and it will take time to rest before I can speak with you again.’The voice sounded apologetic and I let go of my head in favor of wrapping my arms around my knees again.
“Did you bring me here?” I asked accusingly.
“Who is she talking to?” I heard Rex growl, but I ignored him.
‘I did and I am very sorry, I’m looking for someone and your lifeline looked very similar to theirs, by the time I realized my mistake the two points between your time and theirs had already connected,’the voice explained.
“Why?” I couldn’t understand the reason why my so-called lifeline had connected with a room full of angry alphas over a hundred years in the future from my own time.
‘Sometimes a soul is born in the wrong time, like the soul I’m looking for. Your soul is also meant to be in the time that you are currently in,’the voice continued to say.
“But I want to be athomewith my family. That’s where I belong. So take me back.” My family never knew what happened to me, and I could almost feel their sadness and desperation like a knife in my gut. I needed to make it back to them.
The voice was silent for a moment, like whatever it had to say next was something that I did not want to hear.‘I can’t, at least not yet.’
“Why?” I asked, my voice becoming wobbly with tears.
‘I needed to use the power of the Spring Equinox in order to be able to alter your lifeline and connect it to where you are currently. My magic reserves are not nearly strong enough to do it again. If you want to go home, you will have to wait for the Summer Solstice.’
