Chapter 15

Naomi

When I eventually stir awake, I’m still in the dark cellar under the house. It must be coming up to nighttime if the deepening shadows from the high, narrow window are anything to go by. A dull, throbbing ache pulses between my legs, and Cal’s scent lingers on my skin and in the musty air, suggesting he departed not long ago. Why did he leave me down here?

I smooth my dress, brushing off the grit and dust as I sit up, trying to make sense of my surroundings. There is something about Cal that, when I’m with him, the entire world falls away. When he is gone, even my bones ache with longing. I have never felt this way before… not even when I met my mate and the bond between us sparked to life. It’s unsettling, to say the least.

I drag my heavy limbs up to stand, my legs shaking, nearly giving way from the pounding Cal had just given me. The dim cellar around me is a world of shadows, the air thick with the smell of damp earth and old wood. Without my wolf, everything looks darker an