SableI limp down a hallway dark with shadows, trying to see beyond the empty black.God, I hate this all-encompassing darkness. It cradles me like a cold embrace and presses in on me from every side as if it’s a real, living entity. I can feel the panic inside myself. It churns restlessly beneath my skin, ready to surge out of me.I’m trying desperately to find the light. It’s there, I know it is, just beyond my fingertips. Somewhere safe and warm, where the horrors of my past can’t touch me. I just have to find the light and step into it where the living darkness—and the panic—can’t follow me.Almost as soon as I have that thought, the shadows begin to dissipate. I grip the solid wall beside me, my knees going even weaker with thankfulness. Inch by inch, light pierces through the darkness, opening up a window of illumination ahead of me. Thank God, I think, letting out a long-held breath in a sigh of relief. Safety is there in front of me, just like I thought. No panic attack this t
RidgeI’ve counted every single imperfection marring the wood floor in this bedroom over the past three days.I did it methodically. Picked a section of floor and scoured it, counting each knot, scratch, and burn before moving on to the next. There’s a fucking lot of imperfections too. Whoever built this cabin back in the early days of the North Pack, they found a whole copse of knotted, mottled trees to use. And to be honest, it does give the place more character. Kinda like how Sable’s scars tell her story too.On the other hand, there are so many imperfections in the floor that I only make it through three sections before I lose count. My mind’s too overloaded to hang on to more information than necessary, especially with numbers involved. No big deal—I just start all over again. I have time to pass, and I need other things to occupy my mind.It’s a lot fucking easier to count knots in the wood than to watch Sable go through her transformation.She’s been barely conscious. Sometime
RidgeDespite my attempt at not scaring her, she throws a wild, panicked look in my direction and pulls her knees tighter to her chest. The blanket hangs over her face like a cloak, hiding her away but giving her room to keep her eye on us.“Still the most awake she’s been in days,” Trystan mutters as he draws up to the end of the bed and studies her. Worry hovers behind his turquoise eyes. He snaps his fingers three times, like he’s calling a pup. “Sable! Wake up.”Archer clasps Trystan’s shoulder, pulling him back. “Don’t be an idiot. You’ll scare her.”“I’m not trying to scare her!” Trystan grunts, shrugging Archer’s hand away.Beneath her blanket fort, Sable makes a small, panicked sound as her face disappears entirely beneath the blanket.“Oh?” Archer jerks his chin to indicate Sable. “Well, you’re doing a real bang-up job of it anyway.”Trystan doesn’t reply, but he storms away from the bed to go lean by the open door, his brooding gaze on Sable’s shivering form. Guilt lingers i
SableNone of the men answer my question right away. They grow silent, tossing secret glances around at each other as if hoping someone else will take the lead.Ridge’s handsome face settles into a look of quiet resignation, while Archer’s lips turn down into something that looks like pity. Or maybe even disgust? Trystan just looks angry, his blue-green eyes churning with agitation.“Where is Dare?” I ask again, catching Ridge’s gaze and putting as much strength behind my voice as I can.I need to know. Whatever the answer is, I need to know. I’m not a child who needs to be protected from the horrors of reality. In fact, I’m really freaking tired of them trying to hide the tough stuff from me. The reality of my life before I met them was horror enough on its own, and watching those scenes play out again and again in my head over the past few days has driven that truth home.Nothing they say can break me at this point.“He left,” Trystan says shortly. “He cut out right after you began
SableI shake my head and latch on to his arm. “No, I think I’d like to shower first, if that’s okay. I feel gross after…” I wave vaguely at the bed, indicating the fact that I’ve lain there for three days, sweating like a pig through my transformation. I feel so gross, I’m worried he can smell me.Luckily, Archer doesn’t need me to put that concern into words. With a nod, he secures his arm around my waist and walks me to the bathroom, moving slow so that I don’t keel over.My legs are weak from being in bed for days, and the tingling in my feet makes it feel like I’m walking on pins. Archer takes as much of my weight as he can without physically lifting me off my feet, and I lean against him gratefully. I don’t know how he seems to anticipate my needs the way he does. He has a deep sense of empathy and compassion, but the way he reads me goes beyond even that sometimes. It’s like he can peer directly into my brain.In the small, narrow bathroom, Archerdeposits me on the toilet seat
SableArcher’s words hit me right in my chest, and my heart beats a little faster. He’s so earnest, so open as he gazes down at me, nothing but truth in his eyes.I just see you.Not the witch I’ve become, but the Sable he already knew. The girl he spent the past few weeks getting to know, the girl he thought was his mate. Maybe he even still hopes I could be his mate—that the bond will choose him over the others.The honesty in his statement sends warmth cascading through me. Acceptance isn’t something I’m used to, even though all these shifter men have made me feel welcome every moment since I arrived in their world. Well… mostly. Ridge’s brother Lawson is a notable exception.But their kindness has been a new feeling in my life, something vibrant and all-encompassing. My uncle never missed a chance to reject me or tell me I didn’t deserve to live, and I carry that negativity with me everywhere I go. But right here, right now, this is real acceptance. No strings attached.It makes m
SableAs he steps out of the tub and tugs the curtain closed behind him, I notice a ripple of blackness coloring the scars on my hands and arms. It happens so quickly that I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t looking right at my skin.Fear washes over me. Even though Archer, Ridge, and Trystan stayed with me despite the witch transition, maybe they shouldn’t have. Maybe Dare had the right idea by leaving. The black magic churning inside me means I’m a danger to them all. I’m a witch—not a wolf. No matter what the shifters think or what Elder Jihoon’s magic sticks said or even what my soul wants to be true. I’m a witch, and I’m terrified of what that means.I close my eyes and focus on taking a few deep breaths of humid air, the way Archer has coached me to do when the panic gets to be too much. After a moment, my fear lessens, and I open my eyes to see the black marks fading away. And I did it all on my own. I grin and flex my fingers a few times, silently congratulating myself on a jo
TrystanRidge put me on egg duty, which was fucking stupid. Like I know anything about flipping eggs-over-easy. Two eggs in, I’ve already said fuck it, and I’m scrambling the whole lot of it.Whipping it into a frenzy with the spatula doesn’t frustrate me as much as trying to flip the slimy shit. And after weeks in this cabin sharing breakfast with Sable, I know damn good and well she likes eggs in any form. In fact, I know she loves food of all kinds, and I know that’s because her uncle fucking starved her.Fucking asshole. I jam the spatula under the sizzling, bubbling eggs, sending several small chunks flying. What kind of psychopath starves a kid? What kind of monster abuses his own niece, someone he should do anything to protect?I know it’s the tension hanging in the air that’s getting to me, screwing up my patience with cooking breakfast, though I can admit I have a lack of patience to begin with. Even Ridge is on edge, dropping everything he picks up, cursing under his breath,