Despite the trepidation still reverberating through me, I have to admit that’s a useful trick. I’ll never get used tomagicbeing real.
“Are you coming?” Amanda asks, not bothering to look over her shoulder.
I quicken my pace to catch up with her, wondering what fresh hell I’m getting myself into. I can’t help but think of the Mad Hatter’s tea party.
Though I have the distinct impression that my trip to Wonderland will be paved in bloodshed and darkness.
And down the rabbit hole I go…
Three
GRAYSON
Iwake to…a wet tongue.
What the ever-loving fuck?
At first, I think I’m imagining things—or maybe having a nightmare where I’m being caressed by an eel.
But…nope. As consciousness returns to me, I become distinctly aware of something wet and soft lathering my face in kisses.
And why am I lying on something so cold and misshapen? This certainly isn’t the bed in my apartment.
I lurch upright when the licks turn into bites. Pain explodes through me at the feel of teeth tearing through my cheek and then my ear.
What. The. Fuck?
I bare my teeth—something I’m sure is about as intimidating as a toddler growling, considering my weakened state—and slash at the animal. All of my movements are weak and sluggish. I haven’t drunk any blood in…who the fuck knows how long. It feels like years. A groan lodges in my throat when stars explode behind my closed eyelids.
Something growls directly beside my ear.
Get up, Grayson. Get. Up.
I allow my lashes to flutter open, even though each individual particle of hair feels like it’s made of cement. The sunlight burns my pupils, and I blink rapidly, attempting to orient myself. All I can see from my position on the ground are the skeletal branches of trees knotting overhead, a few brittle, brown leaves hanging stubbornly to their surface.
Then a huge, ugly dog comes into view.
No, not a dog.
A wolf.
A…furless wolf.
What. The. Fuck?
I blink, certain I’m imagining things, but nope. No matter how many times I close my eyes, the creature remains, peering down at me with intelligent golden eyes.
The wolf growls again, the threatening noise reverberating through me, but I ignore the creature as I once again survey my surroundings.
I’m in the forest.
On the ground.
Why…?
Gracie.
Panic jolts through me, and I jerk upright, very nearly ramming my face into the wolf’s snout.
