Chapter Twenty
Fabiana couldn’t stop her hand from moving.
The painting came to life before her in great swaths of black and grays and bodies littering the battlefield. Large tiger-like beasts with hunched backs and massive teeth raked through the masses as Skuld led the charge. A swarm of seething bodies followed her, too many to count.
But what Fabianacouldsee, what shattered her heart into a million pieces, was the image of herself at the bottom, alone. Adonis was nowhere on the canvas, and though her hand kept working and adding details, he never appeared.
Asherah was there, rushing water streaming from her fingers as an onslaught barreled toward her. Nanshe hovered near a portal, Carlo at her back in his altered were-form. Silva. Kalinda. Romano. Dominic. Arturo. Zahara. So many of them were accounted for, battling for their lives, but Adonis was not.
Finally, she was able to stop and ripped the canvas away before she was urged to pick up another one.
“Please.”
Begging never stopped the visions, never changed them or made them easier to deal with. Normally, they came to her at night, but this one hit in the middle of the day. Fabiana had been pulled from her lab, only having the presence of mind to send away the men guarding the door before she had to start painting.
Everyone didn’t know of her gift, and she didn’t want anyone to panic if someone saw and didn’t understand. The wolves understood more during the day, moving to other posts nearer to the house to let her work in peace when she wanted a break.
Fabiana slashed at the canvas, her body shaking as she fought to slow the images assaulting her mind. Nanshe had told her to let it come and not fight it, but it was like someone had stepped into her body and taken over. Pictures poured out, flowing from her hand to the canvas in rapid succession, and she saw things clearly until the painting was finished. She was only a passenger without any control over what she created.
“What is it?” Fabiana felt ridiculous talking to herself, but she had to do something to attempt to maintain a semblance of her sanity.
A dark road stretched ahead, the white line in the center cracked and covered with windswept dirt. Desert stretched out from either side of the road. Without any other markers to pinpoint the exact location, it could have been anywhere in Southern Nevada. A truck appeared at the bottom, its lights directed at the street but nothing more.
“I don’t understand. What does this have to do with anything?”
It didn’t match any of the other paintings she’d created. She shook her head. Where was Adonis? That’s what mattered. They’d shared a priceless night and weekend together. Even enjoyed Giuliana and Pasquale’s visit with the Moonstone Pack.
Nothing was going on and Skuld was still quiet.
She went back to her first painting. Maybe she hadn’t seen him. But the more she looked it over, searching every space for him, there was nothing but fighting and blood. Death and carnage.
But no Adonis.
Her head spun, her heart thundering in her chest. She couldn’t lose him, she wouldn’t. If something happened to him before the battle, alerting him may offer a change. Fabiana looked at her watch. He normally met with his team around this time, and she’d told him she wouldn’t join today because she had to make some final touches on the last suit for Russel’s team before she shifted her focus to the Alphas.
She’d already begun work on theirs, gaining their measurements and preparing for the necessary materials. Hopefully, she’d have them taken care of in the next few days.
Now that she’d painted battle, she was happy she was ahead of schedule.
The paintings never told how soon things would happen, but if she was painting it now, she had to be prepared.
Adonis.
She kept her pace as normal as possible as she headed for the house. If she alerted the guards, they’d contact Adonis and bring him to her. For now, she just wanted to see him and bring him to the Temple.
Maybe nothing was wrong and she was just terrified for no reason.
Fabiana ducked into the house, smiling at the guard before heading further inside. She took the long way even though she wanted to run right to the meeting and burst through the door. She needed him, her mate, her heart.
Goddess, don’t let me lose him. Not after I’ve finally found him and can tell him I love him.
She should have said it the night he told her. Should have fought against the sleep holding her down and made sure she whispered it. Or any of the other nights since then.
But she thought she had time, another special moment to give him the words.
The stairs echoed as she climbed them, the sound ringing in her head.
Adonis.
