I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. The moment in the hallway comes back to me again, and I see Shane’s beautiful blue eyes glittering like points of light dancing on the surface of a shallow pool.
“I hate this because I want him,” the words come out in a rush of breath. “I want him so badly, I can barely breathe.”
I keep my eyes closed a second longer, dwelling on thoughts of when he grabbed me in the parking lot.
I’m truly over the edge now. I can’t be in a rational state if I’m looking back on that moment with lust instead of fear.
“Hyacinth—” Sadie begins.
“No,” I cut her off firmly. “This is exactly why you have to help me get out of here. My attraction to him is putting me in danger. I barely know Shane, and a whole pack of werewolves being in trouble doesn’t change the fact that I am here against my will.”
“We can talk to Shane,” Sadie says. “And make sure he gives you plenty of space and freedom. If you promise not to run, that is.”
I stare at her, my gaze slowly hardening into a glare. My earlier resolve to never run away wavers as I feel the urge to defy her just for its own sake.
“What are you saying?” I ask. “Are you seriously telling me that you wouldn’t help me if I wanted to get away?”
“Hyacinth,” Trina says, hurrying over to kneel at my feet and take my hands. “Please, just listen. Both of us are fully part of this world now, even though we came to it suddenly, just like you. We care about you, but the people in the wolf packs have become our family. Letting you go will hurt them. It’s a fact.”
“And me?” I ask, looking at my friend in disbelief. “What if it hurts me?”
“Hyacinth,” Sadie says, her voice rippling with power. “Are you sure this isn’t exactly where you are supposed to be?”
I look over at her, feeling that strange sense inside me again, as if a power of my own is rising to meet hers. Sadie tilts her head and hardens her gaze a little.
“Trina, are you getting anything?” Sadie asks.
Trina is still sitting on the floor, holding my hands. She shakes her head a little. “No, nothing.”
“Wait, what?” I snap, pulling my hands away. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Testing you for power,” Sadie says, sighing as she picks up her coffee cup. “I was just pushing you a little to see if anything would happen. Are you absolutely sure you got nothing, Trina?”
“Not even a whisper,” she replies, going back to her chair. “But that doesn’t mean much. You couldn’t get a read on me at first, either.”
“That’s true. But you were always a witch and were trapped by a blocking spell. I’m not feeling anything in Hyacinth.”
“Neither am I,” Trina replies.
But I felt something. I’m sure I did.
I look up at Sadie again, wanting to tell her but not knowing how to explain.
Maybe she just pissed me off. I mean, she was trying to, so I could have just been mad at her. It doesn’t mean she was awakening ancient powers in me.
“If I truly have no powers, then I shouldn’t be here,” I say. “You’re wasting time and energy on me when you could be searching for the right person.”
“Even though I agree, that’s out of the question now,” Sadie replies. “The ritual did name you—even if it was only once. That’s better than nothing, and it implies a magic link. You’re bound now, and trying to cut you loose would create a negative ripple. I want you to understand, it doesn’t matter if you’re the right person or the wrong one—Shane’s pack cannot survive the ripple of the tie between you being cut. The bonding ritual is a serious thing. It can’t easily be undone.”
“But that means in a worst-case scenario, all of the pack will die a bit slower,” I protest. “Either they get hit with negative energy from severing the bond, or slowly die because I can’t save them.”
“The second option gives us time,” Trina says. “We’re working on this as hard as we can. We may find a way to slow it down if we can’t break the bond.”
“It’s also true that it took some time for Trina’s power to awaken,” Sadie says. “I thought it was hopeless at first. So, it is possible your own powers will still activate.”
“How much do we know about the origin of the curse?” I ask, avoiding Sadie’s last comment.
“I’ve found pages from Lynette’s diary,” Sadie says. “She loved Darian, that much is obvious. I don’t know exactly what happened, but he believed she had betrayed him, and he locked her up in the manor. In her despair, she cursed him and all his wolves, but deep down, she never gave up hope that he would come for her and true love would win the day. That’s why there is a way to break the curse—if we have love.”
