I didn’t sleep well that night. It had less to do with Raven being there, though her story did weigh heavily on my mind. It was mostly the wind and rain that kept me tossing and turning so that I didn’t even wake up until almost 9:00, which might not have seemed so late if I didn’t have a new houseguest.
By the time I was awake enough to realize that Rave
We dropped Sam’s stuff off at the house and then headed to the diner to talk to Ben. It was too early for lunch, and a bit too late for breakfast. It seemed like most people preferred the donut shop for breakfast anyway. There were a few older people sitting in booths, eating eggs and bacon, and a couple grabbing an early lunch with sandwiches and fries on their plates, but the place was much quieter than the last few times I’d been in.
Having my entire pack beneath the same roof was pretty amazing. I hadn’t felt that content since we’d moved from Sacramento. Maybe even since I was a little girl, before my dad died. It had taken some work getting everyone moved in, but by the time we were all ready to get some sleep, Joshua and Ben’s beds were situated in what used to be a dining room. We’d hung a curtain between them so they’d have some more privacy since the room was big enough for that, unlike their own room. Horace hadn’t been there when we’d gotten everything out, but if he had, I would’ve given him a little more of the same of what I’d given him before.
Sam was so gentle with me, so careful. He took everything slowly, waiting for my approval, either through my eyes or from my reaction. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought my first time could’ve been so perfect.He kissed me, his tongue tangling with mine. I lay back, and he came with me off to my side as he continued to kiss me, deeper and more passionate
I woke up late the next morning, in my own bed--alone. I was wearing the same thing I’d had on when I’d gone to bed the night before, and for a moment, I thought maybe it had all been a lovely dream. Maybe I hadn’t gotten up in the middle of the night and gone outside with Sam.But my body told me otherwise. It wasn’t pain, exactly. More like a deep
I stared at Raven for a long time, not quite sure I’d heard her correctly. Well, that’s not quite true. I knew I’d heard her. What I didn’t know was whether or not I’d understood her. “The Parker pack was here, in our forest, last night, because of you?” I asked her, once I regained the ability to speak.Raven nodded. “Yeah.
“What the hell happened?” I screeched as I rushed into Grandma’s room to Sam’s side. Blood was beginning to gush out of his shoulder, his white T-shirt stained red in a matter of seconds.“I’m not exactly sure,” he said, his voice wavering. “But if you could stop it, that would be great.”
Hearing my grandma’s voice in my head was startling, especially since she seemed to be telling me to learn to use the deadly weapon that had almost killed Sam. If that arrow had hit him in the head, or even in the other shoulder, nearer his heart, there was a good chance he wouldn’t have had time to call out for me to help. What if it had been Grayson looking through Grandma’s closet? Or Mom. I shuddered at the thought. Even one of the shifters that was shorter than Sam, like Raven, might’ve caught the arrow in the head. It was a miracle he was still alive.
The forest spoke to me differently that day than she ever had before. I think it was because I’d finally started to listen in a way that let me know that the one voice of the forest was made up of several other voices, those that had come before me, as Sam had mentioned, those that had been a part of the forest before I even knew about the existence of magic, of shifters, of any of this.