“Hey.” I wiggled my fingers.
“You’re meant to be meditating.” He scowled.
“I am!” I beamed proudly. “I’m so calm that I’m practically horizontal.”
Hart turned and eyed the black water. “Mediating is about nothing and everything. It's about finding your center.”
“Do you do it because you’re trying to find your wolf?” My voice turned gentle.
Hart smiled sadly, his marmalade eyes did not stray from the lapping waves. “I don't have a wolf.”
I reached forward to grab his hand, finding my own appendages were starlight and shadows. My true form. Hart had not even reacted. Something inside me splintered.
“You have a wolf,” I said adamantly as the scenery around us changed. We were back in the forest, with redwoods so high that they swallowed the light. Bracken was dusted with hoarfrost, and the forest was silent as a bronze flash darted through the trees. A flash of color and nothing more. I spun, dragging Hart with me.
“There he is!” I danced excitedly.
“Mara...” Hart sounded so scared, the same little boy that had huddled on the cold forest floor all those years ago. I ignored his fear and continued to drag him after the blur as I caught snatches of his wolf. A tail darting behind a tree. A flash of orange eyes.
We hiked for hours but did not tire. Such was the nature of dreams.
Hart was crying. Huge gulping silent sobs, but he held my hand tightly and followed. “He’s not here.” He whispered, after a few hours. “Please stop.”
I continued to pull his protesting body to the edge of a clearing. We were so close, I could feel it.
“There he is...” I whispered in awe. The russet wolf stood, taller than me, even on all fours. His tail swished from side to side, and he ducked his head as he approached slowly.
Callum looked up. His eyes widened, and he cried out in pain, dropping to his knees. Swearing, I raced forward with my arms outstretched to catch him, only to find that I was alone.
It took less than a thought to swim back to the waking world. Hot breath moved my hair away from my face, the ground was hard behind my back, and I realized that my head was throbbing as if I had been thrown backward. I opened my eyes slowly and found myself staring into Hart's marmalade orbs, fixed in the face of a beautiful majestic wolf.
There was a werewolf on my chest, pinning me to the floor. No humanity stared back at me—which wasn’t unusual. New shifters typically took a backseat to their animal for the first few shifts. Callum Hart had been pushed back into the passenger's seat, and his wolf had finally reared to the surface.
Hart's wolfy black lips pulled over his teeth, and a string of saliva stretched between his top and bottom canines. I shifted backward slowly, but his huge paws reminded me of his weight.
The office was a mess in the wake of his transformation. It must have been painful enough that Callum had flailed because a smashed frame laid face down on the floor with glittering shards of glass surrounding it like a halo. A smattering of pens and a mess of papers joined it.
I cleared my throat. “Hart...” I whispered. My voice broke and croaked; I wet my lips to try again. “You need to step back. You're hurting me.”
The wolf hunched forward, his forehead against mine. He panted and let out a small whine.
I pulled my hand out from behind my back, squished to the floor, and reached out to pet his large canine head. “It’s okay,” I assured him as I turned my palm over. I had cut my wrist on one of the glass shards that littered the floor. Though the wound had healed, a smear of blood wrapped around my wrist, still wet.
Hart let out another whine as he nudged his head against mine. “You want snuggles, don't you?”
His entire body wiggled, and I realized that his tail was wagging. His dark tongue swiped across his lips as he snuffled. I protested as Hart nudged my bloody hand.
“Don’t you dare,” I warned as I tried to pull away. The wolf growled at me. I rocked from side to side to try and free myself from the three hundred pound wolf. I was unsuccessful. With a frustrated snarl, the wolf huffed and licked my wrist. A concerned whine left his lips.
I put my head in my hands, finally free, when the wolf began to howl. His scream of pain was a shrieking and gut-wrenching cry that sounded like metal being torn apart. I tried not to cry when the shivering form of a russet wolf curled over and transformed into a naked man.
What had I done?
Hart did not wake up straight away. I waited, pacing in a small section of the office that was not littered with debris, and chewed on Frankie's fingernails. When it began to look like I had actually killed the man, I reached for the office phone—seeing that Jae was number one on speed dial, before Davenport even.
How would I explain to Jae that I'd killed his boyfriend? My hand shook as I waited for the line to connect. I pinched my forearm, allowing the pain to pull me from my terror.
I managed to bark a shaky command at the Nephilim, demanding that Jae come to Hart's office before I slammed down the phone. I pushed my bloody hands through Frankie's thick dark locks and resumed my pacing. My eyes fixed on the motivational poster on the wall, never leaving the jaunty smile of a man in a straight jacket.
Jae took hours to arrive, but it must have been seconds because he was out of breath, and his hair was wet from the rain outside.
“You’re not wearing a jacket,” I told him, noticing the collar of his pale blue shirt was soaked.
Jae's eyes were feverish with panic. “Where is he?” He scanned the destruction before finally spotting Hart on the floor. Naked and still. Jae crouched down and pushed his hand under his head, cradling the much larger man. “Callum?” He whispered, repeating Hart's name over and over to try and wake him.
“He's breathing,” I said, without emotion.
“What did you do?” Each word was measured but accusatory.
I felt the bond begin to unfurl in my chest, like a blooming flower. An unbreakable string made of gold.
Callum would be alright. He had Jae. He'd be fine. I stood robotically. Detached. It felt like I had left my body behind and was floating about in space, looking down.
But I was firmly rooted inside of Frankie Gardiner. I could not tell where she ended, and I began.
I turned on my heel, determined to leave as quickly as possible.
The downpour rushed over my head, but I did not bother to try and shield my face.
I had made it three steps away from the building, and into the pouring rain before Jae called my name. He roared it, his voice was a harsh crack of thunder.
With my spine ramrod straight, I kept walking.
“Mara!” He bellowed as he caught up to me. Jae grabbed my shoulder and slung me around. I threw my arm back to try and dislodge him but was unsuccessful. My eyes were trained downwards, unable to look him in the eye.
“You're running away?” Jae's voice vibrated with barely suppressed rage.
I slumped but did not look up as I nodded.
“You’re running away.” He repeated in a dead voice.
“I’m sorry.” The cold rain began to seep into my clothes, and I shivered. “I didn’t mean to. I know he's yours... I'm so sorry, Jae.”
Jae let go of my shoulder and took a step back. “You think I’m angry because I'm jealous?” He asked through clenched teeth.
I nodded, glancing up once before looking down. I could feel the undulating waves of his magic. The vanilla scent was so strong that it burnt my nose. My eyes watered with the potency of his power. I waited for the hit—I steeled myself not to flinch.
Jae did not move. “You’ve marked three of us now.” He commented lightly.
I said nothing.