Chapter 8
Effie Harlow
My paws hit the ground, dirt flying up around me as I sprinted as fast as I could. Everything told me I had to keep running through the forest. I would tell my grandma why later. I still didn’t understand why myself. I was breathing fast and uneven as I let out a howl that echoed in the night.
There was something different in the air.
Something I didn’t understand.
I could hear footsteps ahead of me. I could hear labored breathing and what sounded like a sob. I didn’t understand why, but it felt extremely important to get to the person making the sound. Almost essential.
When I broke through the tree line, I felt myself come to a complete stop.
A wide-eyed girl around my own age stood frozen in fear. I nearly turned around, confused on why she was scared, until I realized it was because of me. I was the one scaring her. I let out a bark that was supposed to be friendly but seemed to freak her out even more.
“Please don’t hurt me.” Her voice was soft and beautiful as she shook in fear, wrapping her arms around herself.
She was wearing a torn dress that was made out of a really pretty material, and her hair was an odd almost lavender color streaked with blue.
It was beautiful—she was beautiful. I wanted to shift back to tell her that, but I didn’t know if she was a shifter.
I thought she was, but I’d never experienced anyone like her.
Around her neck was a pendant that shone in the bright moonlight.
I approached her, wanting her to understand that I meant no harm. When I reached her, I lowered my head submissively and nudged her stomach with my nose. Instantly I felt relief as she seemed to relax, whispering a ‘thank you.’
Didn’t she realize that she didn’t need to thank me?
I would never hurt my mate.
Shock permeated my system as I was forcibly yanked, by my own magic, from Julian’s memory.
Was it his memory? That was the only explanation—I’d been seeing it from his eyes…
when he met me? Why didn’t I remember that?
My head pulsed in pain as magic like I’d never experienced before pulsated between the two of us, running over every single nerve ending of my body and lighting them up all at once.
I inhaled sharply, feeling like my wolf was about to explode from my skin as the gem underneath my fingers flashed between icy and searing.
My breathing turned uncomfortably fast, and a tremble worked over me as I nearly passed out.
Tore caught me around the stomach as Julian’s knees broke, and I followed him onto the floor, the two of us frozen in time. Frozen in memories.
I never looked away from his eyes.
His eyes, which were black, swirling with gold, just like his wolf. Coffin and he were both completely present, their magic running over my skin in a possessive, claiming way. I felt something break from my center all at once and run up my spine as my brain melted against the heat of it.
A wave of past memories collapsed over me, reminding me of that night. Shock permeated my thoughts as I began to remember a part of my consciousness and all the emotion that I had completely forgotten. A piece of my past I’d completely forgotten.
Loss. I’d been taken from what I’d known. I couldn’t remember it exactly, but that feeling had been cemented in my chest, like I was in mourning.
Fear.
Terror. Something was coming after me.
Sadness. Why had I been forgotten by those who were supposed to keep me safe? Who was that anyway? I’d had to keep myself safe until they found me—but how?
Relief. A large black and gold wolf emerged from the forest. I shouldn’t have felt comforted upon seeing him, since I also felt fear…but I think there was a part of me that had known he wouldn’t hurt me.
After all, it was now a wolf I recognized despite never having seen him before.
It was Julian—he had been the bitten wolf to find me outside of the forest. His memories proved that.
He had been the wolf hesitant to bite me even when I begged him.
In the memory I couldn’t feel Coffin—he hadn’t been with Julian yet.
It had just been us when he had bitten me. When he had saved me.
I had already been a wolf—I didn’t understand what type—but his bite would have disguised me as a bitten wolf.
I hadn’t counted on my magic reacting and hurting us both.
It had changed both of us, and while I couldn’t remember what happened after, it had clearly hidden both of our memories of the incident and anything before.
“Julian,” I whispered, pain seeping through my tone.
“Coffin found me that night. He told me he was attracted to the power surge,” he said, his eyes filled with realization. “I’d been so scared. I hadn’t understood what he meant. I didn’t know where I was, but he got me to a pack to keep me safe. I…I forgot everything before that.”
“I’m so sorry.” I put a hand over my mouth as a sob broke from my throat. “You lost everything because of me.”
“No.” He grasped my face, both of us kneeling on the dirty floor of the apartment, “I gained everything because of you, Effie.”
I wanted to believe he meant that, but everything inside of me rebelled against that notion. I’d taken so much from him.
“I don’t understand what is going on.” I felt tears falling down my face. “I don’t understand how I got there, what came before—”
My voice broke off as sob erupted from my throat. I doubled over, nearly throwing up my lunch as my stomach spasmed painfully. I could hear voices around us, Dakota’s commanding tone standing out. He’d probably seen and heard everything passing through my mind.
“What the hell is going on?” Jesiah commanded.
I could hear him trying to use Alpha power, but that didn’t matter to me.
He didn’t matter to me. All today had shown was just how little power these people had in truth, and yet somehow they had ruled over so much of my life.
Power surged in my chest, fueled by frustration and anger.
Why was there so much confusion?
Why was there so little I knew?
Why was I always playing catch-up?
“We need to leave," Ryder determined, his voice raspy and hard.
“We can’t allow you to do that,” Gerald said, his tone causing my hackles to rise. “We didn’t get the profit from selling her last time. If we can’t have the pendant, then we are taking her—”
A snap sounded, followed by an ear-piercing scream.
I didn’t need to look over to know that someone had broken something on Gerald’s body.
Theresa screamed, and Jesiah began to yell at whoever had done it.
I closed my eyes, tears leaking down my face, as I felt my magic collapsing around me in a shelter of pink light.
At that moment, all I knew for certain was that I wanted my mates and I to no longer be here—to no longer be around these people.
When a hand came down on me, I snapped my gaze up to see Theresa yelling at me and pointing at Gerald. It was all I needed to have my magic completely break out.
The world around me went pink as I drew on all of my mates’ magic and forced us to leave this place.
I just wasn’t conscious to see where we had landed.