Oh man! What is this place? What do you think is going on here? Will Avery be able to escape?
CHAPTER FORTY:~Drake: “I already tried that,” I snapped. Alec heaved out a breath, his patience waning. “Well, try again anyway.” I bared my teeth, his attitude instinctually making my more animalistic traits pop out on their own. Maybe I was wrong about this guy,’ Dane grumbled in my head. “Seriously?!” I gritted through my teeth, meaning to respond to Dane but saying the word aloud. I looked at Alec to see a bored look on his face. “Do I really need to say it?” he drawled. “Oh just shut up, bloodsucker,” I snapped. Beth rushed in front of me a blink later, her teeth bared. I hadn’t seen her for what felt like hours. She’d come rushing from seemingly nowhere. Alec had us stuck in this tiny, hot, stinky room (vamps stink, there’s no getting around it). And we had been trying different meditative techniques to try to reach Avery. “Dove,” Alec chided from his chair several paces away. “He doesn’t mean it. Mutts can just be very grumpy sometimes. Remember he’s away from his
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: ~Avery: My heart thundered in my ears as I ran quietly through the halls, praying to every deity out there to help me avoid detection. The slick hospital-like flooring contradicted sharply with the literal torches near each doorway and I tried to not totally lose my footing as I moved. Between the darkness around long stretches of hallway, and the possibly slippery floor, I had to trust my gut to get me out of this. If I could even hear my gut around the sound of my blood pumping. Another corner became more clear up ahead and I slowed my approach, listening as carefully as I could. Jack was still out there. I’d heard some very far off cursing a few minutes back and I couldn’t tell if I was getting further or closer
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO:~Drake: “Queen- what?” I asked Beatrix, looking away from Beth and Alec. “And you,” she added, closing her syfy eyes, “You are no regular werewolf either.” “Lady Beatrix, what do you mean?” Alec asked from behind me someplace. Beatrix opened her gaze and looked between all of us meaningfully before saying, “Let’s talk someplace private. There’s a lot to explain.” “Let’s use my office,” Alec offered, walking briskly ahead of us. I rose from my knees, confused at the turn this had all taken. We entered a small, ornate building that looked like it had been carved from a giant tree. The closer I inspected it the more details I could make out in the wood. Little moons of various stages, treelines, mountains, even a bat now and then. Beatrix’s steps clicked on the hardwood as we entered. The hair on my arms stood up as soon as I passed the inner door. “Beatrix spelled this space some years ago. Soundproof against supernatural hearing,” Alec explained to me when he
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE:~Avery:The blinding light of the outside world had me needing to shield my eyes. While the hospital lighting down here had been a shock, this natural light and the heat from the sun was something else entirely. I squinted, shading my eyes, and checked the area quickly. No real threats. Sadness came over me that I tried to will away - I had hoped that I’d regain some normal feeling over my magic once I got out here - but it was the same. A deep empty hole where my magic had been.There was a forest out there and I thanked anyone up there listening for the coverage. The only challenging part was the vast expanse of grass between me and those trees. I ignored my aching body and quickly ran across the distance, keeping my head on a swivel for anyone else who could be out here. Holding my breath, my heart pounding, I pushed my muscles to the brink and - made it. Just behind the first tree I paused. Waiting for someone to yell out that they’d seen movement… But nothing
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR:~Drake: I rolled my eyes, “And how is this time supposed to be any different than the nonsense you were having me do outside earlier?” “Like I said, that wasn’t real,” he grunted, pulling something out from a chest that must have been way at the bottom. Everything clattered loudly as he removed it. “Aha!” he exclaimed, holding up a big golden… arm band? It looked like part of a knight’s old armor. Like it was made for someone’s forearm. He walked over to the table beside where he told me to sit, and laid everything out. It looked like nonsense. ‘Looks like a crazy pirate’s treasure,’ Dane said in a wry tone. ‘And where have you been?’ I asked him right away as I watched Alec sort his crazy collection of random shiny objects. ‘I needed a break,’ he said simply. ‘From?’ I asked. He didn’t reply. Again. My skin was itching to get to Avery but I had no real way of finding her. I looked back up at this crazed vampire and squinted my eyes trying to figure hi
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE:~Avery: The woman in front of me was her, I knew it in an instant. My gut sank. My heart broke. My spirit dissolved. All of them, Tyler and his older brother, and now her, had reasons to hate me. Reasons to track me down like this, to kill me. I’d have done the same thing if someone had done that to my parents… I had taken away their parents. Come to think of it, I killed mine too. In a way. While I know Tyler could have died without me stopping his dad, that doesn’t change what I did. All of my running over the years. It was for me. Not just because I didn’t want to get caught. Not just because I was a danger to anyone who tried to lock me up. But because I was running from this. From facing the consequences of my actions. I was a murderer. A family destroyer. I felt sick. I leaned on one hand, pressing into the concrete floor, suppressing the urge to vomit. I breathed deeply, something between hyperventilation and dry heaving. After a few moments I looked
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX:~Drake:I stared at the chair in front of me, my palm up and ready for another attempt to reach Avery. Every fiber of my being longed to find her, to free her from the clutches of her own nightmares. Dane paced in my head, adding to my anxiety. The mate bond between us pulsed within me, stronger than ever, but it was a bittersweet sensation. While I could feel her presence more intensely now, I also sensed some immense feeling of turmoil she was enduring.I shot a thought to Dane, ‘We have to find her. We can't let her suffer like this.’Dane paused, and nodded in agreement. ‘We’ll find her. Together, we'll find a way to break through and bring our mate back.’Alec watched my inquisitively for a moment before he gestured to his open palms. Renewed determination filled me as I placed my hand in his again, ready to venture once more into the Waking. In a moment darkness enveloped us, and my senses sharpened, attuned to every subtle sound and movement. Like the first t
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN:~Avery:I opened my eyes, my body aching and my spirit broken. Depression gripped me tightly, suffocating any remnants of hope. Nightmares swirled in my mind, replaying the deaths I had caused, tormenting me relentlessly. I struggled to stay awake, but sleep seduced me once more. I’d had depressive episodes before, but this was something else. I was sucked back in to repeat the same cycle over and over.Something pulled me out early this time.As my eyes adjusted to the dim light surrounding me, I noticed a vaguely familiar figure poking me with a long stick. Recognition dawned upon me—it was Tyler, my former foster brother. He was as thin and dead-eyed as he had been as a kid. I tried to find my voice, to apologize, to say anything, but before the words could escape my lips, Tyler's older brother stormed into the room.His face bore a smug satisfaction, reveling in the knowledge he had acquired. "Well, I have to admit I’m surprised he was here bothering with you,