I wrap my arm around her waist and try to drag her toward the shore. She resists immediately, her body going rigid, fighting against my grip with surprising strength. Her feet dig into the muddy lake bottom, refusing to move.
“Damn it, Selene!” I pull harder, but she wrenches against me, twisting in my arms, trying to stay exactly where she is. It’s like trying to move a statue—her whole body is locked in place, committed to remaining in this exact spot.
The mist is almost at the water’s edge now, spreading along the shore, and I can feel the wrongness of it intensifying even from here. My skin crawls just sensing its proximity.
Panic claws up my throat. I can’t carry her out by force; she’s fighting too hard, and every second I waste struggling with her is a second closer to that mist reaching us.
“Come on, come on,” I mutter desperately, cupping her face, forcing her to look at me even though I know she can’t see me. “Wake up, Selene. Please wake up.”
Her expression remains blank, empty, lost.
The red mist touches the water.
The moment it makes contact, tendrils begin spreading across the surface like oil, reaching toward us with deliberate intent.
All of a sudden, I remember how I snapped her out of it the first time. No time to second-guess.
I press my mouth to hers hard, and the mate bond explodes between us—fierce, blazing, undeniable. I can feel it roaring to life, searing through whatever fog has been clouding it on her end, burning away the trance that holds her.
Selene gasps against my lips, her body jerking in my arms. Awareness floods back into her eyes.
She pulls back, confusion and alarm crossing her features as she looks around wildly. “What—where—”
The red mist surges forward across the water’s surface, tendrils reaching for us like grasping claws.
“You’re fine,” I say quickly, gripping her shoulders, keeping my voice steady. “I’ve got you. Nothing will happen to you.”
Her breathing comes faster, harder, her chest heaving as panic takes hold. Her eyes are too wide, her pupils dilated with fear. “Seth, what’s happening? How did I—”
“Listen to me,” I say urgently, watching the mist getting closer. “When we shift, hold your breath. Don’t breathe until the mist is gone. Run and don’t stop. Understand?”
She stares at me, terror clear in her eyes, but she nods.
“Good. Now, shift. Shiftright now!”
The transformation ripples through her—fur replacing skin, bones restructuring, her body changing into that of a wolf. Her auburn coat gleams wet in the moonlight, her head barely above the surface now, her blue eyes bright with residual fear.
I shift immediately after her, and then, we run.
My larger wolf form leads the way, splashing into the shallows. The red mist is spreading rapidly across the water now, but it seems thinner here, weaker than it was on land. Still dangerous, but not as concentrated.
Our paws churn through the lake, sending up great sprays as we barrel toward the shore. The moment we hit land, we’re sprinting full speed through the forest, the red mist billowing around our legs like living smoke. It tries to cling to us, tries to creep up our bodies, but our movement keeps it from getting a solid grip.
Selene’s smaller wolf struggles to keep pace with my longer stride, so I stay close, ready to grab her by the scruff if she falters. Her lungs must be burning—mine certainly are—but she doesn’t slow down, doesn’t stop, doesn’t take a breath.
The trees blur past us in streaks of shadow and moonlight. Branches fly across our fur, and roots threaten to trip us, but we keep running.
Finally—finally—the red mist begins to thin. The unnatural sensation of magic fades, leaving only clean forest air and the familiar scents of pine and earth.
I risk a glance back. The mist has stopped following us, pooling in the area around the lake as if it’s confined there somehow.
We burst out of the tree line into the palace gardens, and only then do we stop. Selene collapses immediately, her sides heaving as she gasps for air, her entire body trembling with exhaustion and fear.
I shift back to human form and kneel beside her wolf. My hand strokes her head through her damp fur. “It’s okay. We’re safe. You’re safe.”
She shifts back a moment later, curling into a ball on the cold ground, half naked and shaking. Her breath comes out in ragged sobs, tears streaming down her face.
I don’t hesitate. I gather her in my arms, pulling her against my chest, wrapping myself around her. She clings to me, her fingers digging into my skin like I’m the only solid thing in a world that’s tilted sideways.
