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Igaggedon the mouthful of Morgan’s blood. Forcing my throat closed so that none of her tainted fluids entered my throat, I spit and heaved. A jet of vomit spurted out of me and sprayed Cassandra’s blotchy fur, which was already receding into herpores.
I blinked as my eyes filled with heat and more slickness. My vision became even blurrier, but not blurry enough to miss her slipping back into skin for the very lasttime.
Cassandra was dead, and I was stillalive.
We did it, Liam,Iwhispered.
I inched closer to my Alpha, reveling in the sound of his heart pounding against his injured flesh. If her poison had penetrated him, his heart would’ve already stopped. His neck lifted, and his luminous yellow gaze fell overme.
We did it,I said again, swiping my paw over my cheek, trying to see through the sticky veil ofblood.
His entire body moved this time. He rose like a billow of smoke, darkening the sapphire air and the emerald grass, advancing in slow-motion towardme.
The ground trembled, rife with footfalls. I tried to turn my head, but it felt so heavy, as though Lucas had attached a set of those enormous dumbbells he so enjoyed curling when he watched metrain.
The world blurred, colors and sounds swimming and blending like murkywatercolors.
When I blinked, I found myself staring at a sheet of brilliantstars.
Even though I was a creature made for land, I loved the sky, the beauty of its forever shifting colors, of its distant luminaries that had inspired so many of my father’s stories, of its clouds that drifted like windblown dandelion florets, of its brilliant moon that had found me worthy of itsmagic.
A face as magnificent as the sky loomed over me, obscuring the sight of constellations and yet presenting me with another made of freckles instead ofstars.
The low, raspy timbre of August’s voice soothed the sting streaking through my veins and drew my lids down. How many times had I fallen asleep listening to that rough silkenvoice?
My chin dropped against my collarbone and then lolledbackward.
The earth shook again, or perhaps it was the arms clasped around me thatquaked.
“Dimples!”
I heaved my heavy lids up, caught a glint of green and gold, like sunlight threading through the leaves of the tree August had taught me toclimb.
My heart jerked as though hit by a shot of pure adrenaline, and my skin bristled, my muscles seizing and my bones clinking as theyrealigned.
Large fingers swept over my cheek, through my hair, curled around my human neck, lifting my limp form, cradlingit.
The world spun, as though toppling off its axis, and the green and gold melted into black, then gray, and then pure white as though the night had been shot through withfireworks.
Had August lit up the sky for meagain?
I so lovedfireworks.
I looked for him, but he’dgone.
All wasquiet.
All wasbright.
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Fire singed myveins.
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Noise crashed against myeardrums.
