“Spinach?” His voice was muffled by the refrigerator. “Funny. I didn’t imagine wolves to be veggie eaters. Definitely not surprised by all the booze. I suppose it helps, to drink your problems away. Might as well do as much of that as you can. You may not have much time left for such human vices.”
He was hitting too close to home after the dream I’d just had. Since I still hadn’t had a chance to process it, I was reluctant to talk about such things. As hard as it was to bite back the flood of curse words dancing on the tip of my tongue, I kept quiet and waited. Eventually he would have to tire of this game. Right?
After criticizing my groceries, furniture and even my attire, Falon grew bored of hearing himself talk. “Shya wants you to stay in town. After all the crap in Vegas, he insists that you stay local for a while. He wants you close.”
“And he couldn’t leave that in a message on my voicemail?” It was getting harder and harder to resist the urge to throw a dirty dish from the sink at him.
Falon gave me one of his famous glares, the kind that implied I was a total idiot and a waste of his precious time. “Your voicemail is always full. I’m sure you do that on purpose. And no, unfortunately, there’s more.”
He stepped toward me with an intimidating gait. Instinctively, I backed away, into the living room. I held up a hand to ward him off, a blue and gold psi ball blazed in my palm.
It did nothing to deter him. “Don’t even try it,” he warned. “I’ll strip your power and leave you here crying and weak.”
“What are you doing?” I gasped when he seized my arm. Turning it over so the dragon on my inner forearm was exposed, Falon dragged a finger over the winged beast, drawing some kind of symbol over top of it. I shuddered at his touch.
Nothing visible appeared, but I could feel the dark magic take hold. It burned, searing my flesh until I yelped. Although it hurt, it was nothing compared to having the dragon first etched into my forearm.
“Just a little binding so you stay put,” Falon said, releasing me. “Try to leave, and it will cause you crippling pain. So please do be your stubborn self and find out the hard way. I’d love to see that.”
I held my arm close, focusing on slow, steady breaths until the burning subsided. Falon left without another word. Only the sound of feathers ruffling accompanied his departure.
A binding to keep me in town? What kind of f**kery was that? I sank slowly down on the arm of the couch. Shya wanted me close bad enough to bind me. The heavy meaning of that action set bats loose inside me. My insides turned. It could only mean one thing. The time was near when he would use my death as planned to open the seal that held the scroll he so desperately sought. Had he found it already then?
A knot of panic choked me. The dream now held meaning. For a year, I’d known that I would one day rise as a vampire. Now it felt real. Things were changing and fast. Had the dream merely been a frightened projection of my subconscious, or was it a vision of what was to come?
Chapter Twenty
A house full of werewolves can make for an interesting party. The engagement party for Kylarai and Coby was off to a great start. Being there with them was easily the highlight of my whole week.
The heavenly aroma of barbecued meat tantalized my senses. It mingled with the scent of coffee, liquor and wolf. Gifts were stacked in the living room despite Ky’s insistence that nobody bring any. Mine was among them, a gift certificate to a local home decor store where I knew Kylarai loved to shop.
The entire town pack was there. It had been awkward to walk into Kylarai’s house, knowing what they all thought of me. Thankfully, our differences were set aside for the night. We were there to celebrate a friend. That’s all that mattered.
“Are you going to run with us tonight?” Shaz leaned in close, gracing me with his musky wolf scent.
“As long as nobody has a problem with that.”
Shaz pulled me in close for a nuzzle. “Well, I’m Alpha, and I say that anyone with a problem can take it up with me.”
I eyed the wolves of my former pack, expecting animosity but finding none. Being kicked out of my own pack had been damn hard, though I knew it was best for everyone. For the most part my former pack was polite, greeting me as I passed, asking how I was. We all knew it was just for show. Facing them all like this made it feel very fresh.
If I’d been any one of them, I would have felt the same way. I was a liability. No longer able to promise them safety, it just made sense that I had to go. Still, I had never been a lone wolf. Until now.
A cool blast of air entered through the open patio door. People went back and forth from the house to the yard, voices raised in joyful chatter. Everyone had hugs and words of encouragement for the happy couple. I awaited my own moment with them.
I sipped from a glass of whiskey on the rocks. Falon’s words flashed back to me as I savored the burn. He was right. My time for human vices was running out. I might as well make the most of it. Abandoning the notion of sipping, I slammed back the drink and rose to get another.