I looked to the ground, trying to see if there was an indication of land markings that I may have missed. Is that what had happened when I’d fallen? I’d fallen into Ithaki land and that sweet man, my grandfather, had crossed over the line to help me?
Guilt gnawed at my chest as I realized that he’d been killed because of me. One hundred percent, I saw it then. Small blue crushed stones made a line in the damp earth, demarcating a path.
“Run along before I drag you over this line and smash your brains out,” I growled to the man who had once plotted to skin me alive with that vampire-fey Eugene thankfully had shot dead.
He sneered, stepping closer to the line so that his toe was barely touching it. “You will be mine, little demon. Especially now that there is a bounty.”
I swallowed hard at the wordbounty. I’d totally forgotten about the two-million vampire bounty. I should kill him and his men right here. Who would care? I didn’t give a shit about some little crushed rock line. I wanted him in pieces for what he’d done to me.
‘Alpha,’Astra whispered, and it took me a moment to realize she had spoken in my head… like Sawyer did. Like Sage did in wolf form. Likepack.
I looked at her, blinking back shock.
“Wecannotbreak the treaty. We can’t handle a war right now,” she muttered aloud this time.
I relaxed my fists, my wolf calming inside of me, taking her advice. It wouldn’t be right to leave trouble on her doorstep and then go back to Wolf City. With a final glare, I began to walk forward, to an opening in the distance. All the while I felt my wolf rustle inside of me, wanting to break free and rip that Ithaki man’s head off.
“Just up ahead!” Astra broke into a run, seemingly unperturbed about the Ithaki watching us leave. The treaty must be a well-respected thing. That, or she didn’t want to mess with Sage and Walsh and I together. We were covered in blood and must look slightly badass. Astra skipped and twirled like a little carefree girl who was just meandering through her backyard.
The second I saw the line of orange flags, I also heard him.
Sawyer.
“Demi!” he roared into the trees.
My heart swelled in my chest as I pumped my legs, blasting past Sage and Walsh and then Astra.
“Sawyer!” Tears filled my eyes.
He chose me, he did, before we were both tricked into some horrible public break-up that wasn’t even real. It felt real. Well, it was real, but it was magic, we were both tricked. A large part of me still hurt from what he’d said, but I had to remember he was under a spell.
You’re just like your mother.
That wasn’t magically put in his mind, was it? I just wanted to push it all under the rug and be in his arms. It’s all I cared about right now. Remembering that he was wearing an ankle bracelet and couldn’t come to me without getting electrocuted, I leapt as fast as possible through the final stretch of woods.
“Demi!” he shouted again, voice hoarse and frantic. I cleared the row of orange flags and broke out into a flat green grassy area. Sawyer was to the right, looking into the woods, and over fifty armed men sprawled out into the green park behind him.
“I’m here!” I yelled, and he spun.
When my eyes fell on him, my heart sank. Dark circles hung under his eyes; he hadn’t shaved in days, and a black, bulky leg cuff marred his ankle. When he saw me, he sagged with relief and staggered backward. His hungry gaze ran the length of my body as if looking for wounds, or marks, or some sign of what I’d been through. And he found many. His gaze stopped over each bruise, each patch of blood until his eyes narrowed to slits.
I ran and his arms opened as I leapt into them, feeling them tighten around me. His earthy musky scent enveloped me and I whimpered.
“Thank fuck,” he rasped against my neck, breathing me in. “I nearly burned the whole world down looking for you.”
He held me as silent tears slipped down my face. I’d never loved someone this much, loved them so much that it physically hurt. I was back in his arms, and yet I couldn’t get the painful sting of his voice out of my head.
I choose Meredith Pepper to be my wife.
I wondered then about what Raven had told me, about love potions only being able to amplify already existing feelings. I pulled back from him and gave him a tight smile as he reached out and brushed a tear away from my cheek.
“Happy tears or sad ones?” He frowned, his muscles tightening as if anticipating a hit.
I swallowed hard. “Both.”
His frown deepened, making his chin butt pucker, and I reached out and stroked it. “You chose Meredith. In front of everyone…” My voice cracked.
He whimpered like a dog that had just been run over by a car; it was pained and loud. “No!” He fell to his knees, hugging my waist and nuzzling his face into my stomach. “Fuck no. That was magic. I choose you. Always. Forever. Please…” His voice broke. “Forgive me.”
