“I know you’re speaking, but I can’t hear you,” the wolf says in a flat tone.
Shock ripples through me
The pup with no ears.
The pup. With. No. Ears.
The memory of Oma and the Warden’s murmured conversation ten years ago returns to me in a flood. I’d forgotten about it until now.
Could this be him?
And more–could he be the same man I’ve been dreaming about?
His energy feels the same as what I sensed in the elevator at the museum. I didn’t see or hear him, but I feel certain this is the same man who held me on his lap while I had a fit. I’m almost certain that he’s the man from my visions.
But if he’s the wolf with no ears, that means he’s going to destroy the Adalwulf pack.
My survival instinct kicks in, and I fight him, twisting to pry my body free, even though I still can’t see anything. It’s like fighting a stone wall. He’s not hurting me, but I can’t escape his grip.
I’m weak from fasting and the vision-sickness, and everything in me wants to sink into his warm, wild scent.
“Sorry, princess, but you’re coming with me,” he says.
“Coming where? Why?” I ask then remember he can’t hear me nor can he see my lips move in the dark.
I hold my breath, reaching for guidance from the Grandmothers, but, like in the elevator, there’s too much at once. I go into convulsions again, unable to process any of it.
I succumb to unconsciousness as I’m carried off by the enemy, but the visions crystalize into stillness. I’m in my bedroom dreaming, and I wake to see a young man is dreaming with me. He’s in his bed but also somehow in the room with me. He sits up and looks at me.
“Noah.” I project the name without speaking. We’re telepathically connected.
Noah! That is his name. I know his name. And now I’m certain he’s the same man from the elevator. The same man holding me now.
Somehow, I feel I’ve had this vision/dream before; I just didn’t remember it.
I’ve been waiting to meet you for such a long time, I tell him, which I guess is true.
Who are you? he asks.
Disappointment jabs me in the chest. My dream self wanted him to know me. Thought that he would.
You don’t know? I ask.
He shakes his head. I want to.
Chapter Eight
Noah
In for a penny, in for a pound.
I’m sure I just signed my death warrant. I had no intention of kidnapping the Adalwulf Seeress, but I suppose it’s even better than stealing the tiara they want to use to enable her magic.
I’m not one to argue with Fate. I’ve never experienced the kind of clear guidance as I received today. While it may be that the wolf-witch sent the visions, it didn’t seem to be a trap.
Perhaps she needed rescuing. She was at the top of what appeared to be a prison tower, and she’s far too thin.
Either way, I’m certain destiny brought me to her.
