Chapter 18
Pain wracks my body.
The smell of blood fills my nose, and a dark voice whispers in my ear.
“You bleed so prettily, Chosen. I can feel the power in your blood. You will be mine once and for all. You’re mine, Kinley!”
It’s as if my name is the key to unlock what I have been missing. Untapped power bursts from me, my entire being changing into something powerful and menacing.
My vision clears, the pain that had overcome my body now a mere memory. I whirl to face what attacked me. This new body is lithe and agile. I don’t know what I have transformed into, but I’m no longer on two feet. My wounds stitch back together and the bleeding stops entirely. I’m finally whole.
I bring my eyes up to the cloaked creature, a growl ripping from my throat. Surprise and anger flashes across its eyes.
“How! You should not be able to transform yet!”
I bare my teeth, a deep rumble of fury comes from deep within me. The creature’s power coils around me, preparing for action.
Before it can lunge at me, I lunge first. Instincts I didn’t know I had take over as my beast leaps through the air. My powerful jaw opens wide, preparing to meet flesh. I’m mere inches away, my sharp teeth so close to ripping into this creature, but I’m halted midair.
Suspended and paralyzed by a power I do not know. I try to break free, but nothing I do can release its grip over me. I rage within these new bonds, howling my anger, until I’m silenced as well.
The Crone steps between us.
She no longer appears as she did before, but I know her instantly.
Gone is the polished, docile crone that held my hand and whispered that everything was going to be ok.
She now gazes at me with eyes of electric purple and elongated claws of black.
No longer is her body hunched but standing tall, power rolling off of her in waves.
“You were banished! You dare disrupt our sacred rite! You cannot have her, and you are a fool to think you could.”
The cloaked creature struggles against the Crone’s hold but is only able to hiss. “You can’t keep her from me. No matter where she is, I will find her. It is what I’m owed!”
“You are owed nothing! You greedy, foul beast! It is because of you that we are broken! It is because of you our Clan suffers so!”
The creature roars in fury at her words, thrashing harder in his magical bindings.
The Crone begins chanting, and from her mouth a chorus of hundreds chant with her.
The creature rages and screams but cannot break free.
I’m helpless to do anything but look on in horror as the creature turns into mist. The screaming is unbearable to my sensitive ears when a portal opens in the very ground it once stood on.
The portal sucks what remains of the creature into it, snapping closed when nothing of the creature remains on this side.
The chanting slows and comes to a halt. My body slowly gains feeling, and I’m lowered to the ground.
The Crone then turns to me, “Turn back child; release the hold on the beast. It is not time for the two of you to unite.”
No, that can’t be right, this form finally makes me feel whole. I don’t feel empty any longer.
She must sense my unwillingness to obey. A sad smile coming over her face.
“I’m sorry, child; it is not your time. You are still not ready.”
Power pushes into me, and it’s beyond my ability to fight against it.
A howl unleashes from my throat. Pain washes over my entire body as I feel the tugging and pulling of my beast being shoved back into a deep locked away place within me.
Gasping for breath, I find myself once again on two legs.
Every muscle in my body is shaking from the exertion of changing so rapidly, and against my will.
Tears pour down my face as my eyes meet the Crone’s, and I want nothing more than to beg her to give me my beast back.
But then I glance just behind her, and I’m stunned to see the destruction and hysteria that is left behind.
My beast will have to wait for now; there are more troubling problems to be dealt with.
“How can one creature do all of this?” My voice is raw and raspy.
People are cowering and sobbing; others are frozen in horror.
The ceremonial altar is destroyed; crystals have been shattered, and the flowers and greenery are burned to ash.
All the beauty is gone; blood and debris are everywhere.
Members of the clan are lying still on the ground, and I can’t tell if they are unconscious or dead.
My parents are nowhere to be seen. That thought makes me frown.
My parents? Had they been here?
The Crone touches my arm, bringing my shattered attention back onto her. Her mouth opens in preparation to speak.
I jolt awake, gasping, unsure of my surroundings until I feel the comforting warmth of Don’s body lying next to me.
I inhale his scent, grounding myself to the present.
That lingering touch of the woman, the Crone, echoes off my skin, making me feel like I’m forgetting something.
Something that I shouldn’t have, something that is important but just out of reach.
Is this just a dream or is it a memory? Nothing feels real anymore. How the fuck am I supposed to make sense of any of this?
Broken images flit through my mind but still nothing makes sense.
I can remember a ceremony of some sort, but then there is blood, pain, and despair, and the memory fades away.
Is this ritual where it all changed? And that woman, the Crone, is she even real?
Did I know her? Some part of me recognized her, and remembered that night, but why I was there and who all of those people were are still beyond my recollection.
I wish I had the answers; I wish this all made sense.
I know I’m not getting back to sleep with my dreams plaguing me, so I leave Don sleeping in bed.
Not wanting to wake anyone else, I go out onto the back deck, soaking in the comforting presence of the moon.
It‘s always brought me peace, but now I’m starting to realize maybe it’s because of my hidden past.
Seeing Don in that form earlier was alarming, but he’s pure perfection in any form he takes.
There was a lot of confusion and questions from all of the guys, but I had no answers for them.
I had no idea how I had done it. It had just felt right in the moment, and I couldn’t stop my body from taking over.
Don finally got a hold of his grandmother, just like he said he would. What I had done was beyond all of their knowledge. I didn’t understand how she would have been able to help, and I had been right.
Not even she could shed any light on the situation.
She told Donovan that she would have to see me in person to get a better idea of what we were dealing with.
Even when he had asked if it was possible for a Maiden to be missing and have no memory of her life within a Clan, she had scoffed and said that wasn’t possible.
Hearing that put me right on the edge. How could she be all knowing?
Something had obviously gone wrong for me to be in this position.
A trip to see Don’s family made me want to throw up.
I’m not any good with families. My parents left a lasting impression on me for the worse, and all I wanted to do was hide at the suggestion.
I’m lost in a sea of doubt, but Don has become a beacon for me.
If he is by my side, then I will do whatever needs to be done.
Mate is what he had called me, and I know that is exactly what he is to me. Even now I can feel his presence within me, like a bridge has been linked between us. It’s comforting, knowing that I’m not alone.
I should really go back inside and try to get back to sleep.
I’m just about to go snuggle up to Don when my phone lights up; it’s Megan. My stomach sinks. I answer it immediately. There is only one reason she would be calling me this late at night.
I walk quickly back into the house, going straight to where Don is sleeping. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I reach over to touch him.
“Don.”
His eyes instantly open, “What’s wrong?”
“I have to go. It’s Megan, she needs me.”
He sits up quickly. “Baby, it’s not safe.”
I cut him off before he can go further.
“In this, I won’t budge. She is my family, and right now she needs me. All of the rest can wait.”
Seeing the look of determination and sorrow on my face, he does the only thing he can do. He pulls me into his arms.
“I’m not sure I can be away from you right now.”
“I don’t know if I can either, but I can’t ask you to take off more work than you already have. You have done so much already.”
“The hell I can’t. What do you need me to do? Tell me, and I’ll do it, unless you ask to go alone. That I can’t do.”
I lean forward, snuggling further into his arms.
“I need to go home and pack, figure out where to put Beretta, and then drive up to Megan’s.”
“One of the guys can watch her. What about your cat?”
“Oh, Indy will be fine at home as long as he has food and water.”
“Do we need to leave now, or are you ok getting a few more hours of sleep?”
Sighing, I whisper softly, “I haven’t been asleep for a while.”
He gently pulls me away from his chest to look at me properly. His brow furrows with worry. “Why didn’t you wake me if you couldn’t sleep?”
“I just needed some time to process.”
He nods in understanding. “Ok, let me go talk to the guys.”
“Thank you,” I murmur quietly, “for everything.”
“Anything for you.”
He slips some pants on and walks out to talk to the others.
We leave an hour later. Brent promised to go pick up Beretta later and to make sure my house was locked up tight.
Aiden offered to house sit, but I vetoed that immediately.
I’m seriously against anyone else showing up on my stalker’s radar.
Taking Don’s truck, since he will be considerably more comfortable in it—he’s a big man—we waste no more time getting on the road.