He jerked his head toward a bend in the river. The blue sky darkened and a storm cloud billowed in the air. Lightning cracked and electrified the river. The crystal water turned crimson and a shadow moved in front of the sun. An eclipse.
The grassy hills withered and turned gray. I stood and took a step back.
Hudson was behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “It’s coming, Cora. Your future, your fate, your freedom filled with death, darkness, and decay.”
I shook my head and heavy tears welled in my eyes. “No, this is not my future.”
“This is the witching hour, and you are its master. Decide your next steps carefully—you hold the key to the future of those you love.”
“Will you stand with me?” I whispered as his words shook me to my core.
“In the end, we are all alone.”
His arms disappeared from around me and I twisted to watch him disintegrate into the air. The tree behind me withered, the leaves falling from its branches in a rush before being swept away on a breeze, turning brittle and then to dust. Tears fell from my eyes and landed on the parched ground, which thirstily gobbled up the liquid.
I shuddered from the icy wind whipping around me. The silence broke and hundreds—no, thousands—of tortured screams filled my mind. My knees gave way and I collapsed to the ground as my hands clutched my head and I squeezed my eyes closed, trying to block out their pain.
“Cora,” Hudson’s voice broke through.
“Hudson? Help me,” I gritted through my teeth. If I opened my mouth the tortured screams of the haunted would drown me.
“Cora, wake up.”
Wake up? If only. There was no escaping this torment. My teeth rattled as my body shook. I lashed out in panic and a loud growl tore through my mind, pulling me from the nightmare I was stuck in.
My eyes flew open and Hudson’s panicked hazel gaze came into view. Blood seeped from the side of his neck and spilled over his chest. My hands clutched his arms. He hissed and I glanced down. My claws were extended and embedded in his flesh. Crimson leaked from between my fingers and slid onto his pants. I tore my hands away, leaving holes in his forearms. My hands covered my face and I shook my head. “I’m sorry.”
Strong bloody arms gripped my waist, hauled me over the console, and into his lap. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he grumbled as he held me against his chest.
“I hurt you.” This was everything I feared. What was I thinking? I couldn’t take a mate, a partner, I’m too dangerous. One wrong move and I’d kill him. He needed to get as far away from me as possible. I was dangerous, violent, unpredictable.
Hudson pried my hands from my face. I blinked up at him. “This is nothing, the cubs cause more damage than this when they are playing.”
I doubted that. His gaze turned molten as he saw me trying to withdraw. “No,” he growled. “You don’t get to do that with me. You think I don’t worry about hurting you? I have a prehistoric temperamental tiger ruling my emotions, but the fact is, we house these beasts and they have claws. As you already stated, you are not a fragile flower, no need to treat me like one either.”
He kissed my eyelids, and the tears stopped leaking. I drew in a shaky breath and grounded myself in his presence. I stopped catastrophizing and my claws shrank back. Hudson turned his arms for my inspection; the punctures had stopped leaking. Was this an ominous prediction of our future? Covered in blood with an air of violence whipping around us?
Glancing outside, I saw my house behind us shrouded in darkness. My hand ran over my stomach, no burning, no raised flesh. I’d healed quickly, a positive effect of having Indigo out of her chains.
“What were you dreaming about?” Hudson asked, grasping my chin and turning my head back to him.
I didn’t want to lie to him, but I wasn’t ready to speak about the horror of my psyche either. “It was just a dream,” I answered.
He tilted his head and his forehead crumpled into a frown. “A dream where you screamed aloud?”
“A nightmare, then.”
A heavy sigh expanded his chest. “I’ll be here when you are ready to share.”
I leaned into him, and covered his mouth with mine. The kiss, a promise of trust and a prayer of thanks that he wasn’t pushing me. Something tapped against the window and we jerked apart.
“Fucking vampire,” Hudson growled as Sebastian waved from the outside.
“We have a prior engagement,” Sebastian said with a frown at the blood covering us both. “Are you hurt?”
If only that were the case. But this time, it was me doing the hurting. I shook my head. “I’m fine, it’s Hudson who is hurt.”
Sebastian’s face relaxed. Apparently, that was acceptable.
