“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.
Raven was cooking dinner in the kitchen when I walked in. I immediately felt guilty. She’d made breakfast for all of us, and now she was cooking, too. “Don’t worry,” she said, closing the oven. As if she was reading my mind, she explained, “I’m just heating up some of the leftover casseroles.”“Oh, good,” I said, glad s
I continued to stare at my pack members for a few minutes, waiting for someone to say something about my proposal that we add more wolves to the pack. When no one did, I finally said, “I guess you guys think it’s a bad idea?”There were a few glances exchanged among them, as if they were trying to decide who should speak up. I wasn’t surprised when
Sitting on the swing with Ben was calming. I hadn’t realized how tense I’d become discussing the future with the pack until we sat down together, and Ben began to slowly push the swing back and forth, back and forth, creating a steady rhythm that might’ve lolled me to sleep if I’d closed my eyes.“How was work?” I asked Ben, deciding I n
I couldn’t tell if Sam’s expression was frustration or anger as he stood there with his arms crossed, blocking me from going up the stairs. “What’s the matter?” I asked him.When he shook his head, his dark curls danced, making me want to reach up and run my fingers through them, but I didn’t know if that would be a welcomed gesture at t
It might’ve done me well to go out to the woods to get myself together, but I didn’t. Instead, I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling, until I decided to go to sleep. I hadn’t heard Sam or Ben come back into the house, and not long after I closed my eyes, I heard their howls, along with a few others, fill the night air.Despite my unsettled thoughts, I m
It was the feel of Sam’s lips on my skin that woke me in the morning. When I opened my eyes, the sunlight was streaming into my bedroom through the window, and his arms were still around me, his lips gently peppering soft kisses along my neck and shoulder. It felt so nice, I didn’t want him to know I was awake for fear he might stop.I couldn’t fool him,