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“I know. For a second, I thought it was Michael and I…” He rubbed his forehead as grief and fear warred inside him. “I should’ve been faster. I’m—”
“Stop. I’m fine.” But the fact that I felt pain right as one of the Seven died was really, seriously, weird. “If it wasn’t Michael, who died?”
“My guess is Muraco. He was fading, but I know what you’re thinking and I don’t know why you felt what you did. He would’ve died peacefully. So, it must’ve been a poorly timed coincidence. But we both feel the same about those.”
I pushed my long, wet hair out of my face. “Is it usually painful when one of the Seven dies?”
“I’ve only been alive for one other death in the Seven, so I can’t say for certain, but both times were painless for me. I didn’t feel any pain except yours.” He paused. “Don’t you remember when Ferdinand died?”
“Honestly, no. I don’t.” I tried to think back. The last thing I remembered about Ferdinand was Donovan saying that he was sending some guy named Mal to find him, but I hadn’t followed up with it. I’d been so focused on dealing with Luciana that I’d kind of forgotten all about Ferdinand. Which was probably a bad thing. “Ferdinand died?”
“Yeah. A few days after the chapel in Santa Fe there was a little ripple along the pack lines, and I knew that one of the Seven had died. That’s when Michael joined the Council.” He sat back on his heels as he thought for a second. “Today, it was the same thing. I only felt a ripple along the pack bonds. And when Donovan left a couple weeks ago, it was barely noticeable.”
“I didn’t notice that either.” I knew he’d left, but I hadn’t felt the exact moment when he broke the bond. I guessed I needed to pay better attention.
“Honestly, I only noticed because I was waiting for Donovan to leave, and I would’ve blown it off as something else, but Michael texted me about it.” He paused for a second, and I could feel him reading my confusion. “The Seven are linked to all the pack Alphas, which means they’re linked to every werewolf in every pack, but unless you’re the Alpha of a pack—which you’re not—the bond is pretty thin. I have no idea why you were in pain today, but I don’t think it means anything good.”
I licked my lips. “You really didn’t feel any pain? Not even a little twinge?”
“No. I promise. The only thing I felt was through our bond.”
This made no sense. “So, what the hell happened? Why did I almost die?”
“I don’t know. We have to call Michael.” His jaw ticked as he stared off into the distance.
Anger burned hot. It was eating him up, but I couldn’t figure out what he was so pissed off about without digging into his head more, and he was still holding back. “Why are you so mad?”
The glow in his amber colored eyes faded a bit as he cupped my cheek. “I’m mad for a lot of reasons. At Michael. Why didn’t he call and let us know that there was a problem? But mostly I’m mad at myself. Why the fuck didn’t I check in? Disconnecting was my idea, and it nearly got you killed.”
No. He couldn’t take the blame for this. I wouldn’t let him. “This wasn’t your fault. I wanted time alone together as much as you did, but now we just have to figure out what’s going on. And I really, really want to know which member of the Seven died today.”
“Me, too.” Dastien’s sorrow made tears well in my own eyes.
I stood to brush sand off my leg, but gave up. Sand caked the whole back of my body. Only a shower was going to fix it. “Come on. Let’s go back to the house.” I grabbed up my bag and towel, and started off toward the house.
I couldn’t believe I’d drowned. I couldn’t believe one of the Seven was dead. And if I was right and I’d been feeling their death, then whoever had died was murdered. Brutally.
Which meant the Seven were down two members. What did that mean for the werewolves?
Three, Dastien chimed in, correcting me. They’re down three members.
“Three? Donovan and whoever just died. Who am I missing?”
“When Ferdinand was killed after his attempted coup, Michael was chosen to take his place. There’s a ceremony involved to become a full member, which he hasn’t done yet. Until he does that, he’s just a stand-in, and his bond to the Seven is weaker than the rest.”
“Wow. I had no idea.” I thought for a second. “And then Donovan broke his bonds with the Seven the day after his and Meredith’s Full Moon Ceremony.” My heart started beating too fast. Oh shit. I wasn’t sure how Donovan leaving the Seven was connected to the demon attacks at St. Ailbe’s, but they had to be related somehow.
Now a third member had been murdered.
I’d had no idea that the Seven was in shambles.
Add to all that my visions being off?
I was wrong. Something wasn’t coming. It was already here.
A shower helped clear my head, but I needed a nap. Near death must’ve killed a royal fuckload of calories because I was seriously dragging. I threw on a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top and managed to clip my hair up before calling it done. The fact that I was alive was good. Better was the knowledge that Dastien was arranging our travel home to Texas. I’d had an amazing time on our honeymoon, but we couldn’t stay when our friends were in trouble. It was time to get back to reality. Something bad was happening and we had to get home.
Dastien smiled at me as he paced around the house, talking to the water taxi people. I left a snack for you on the coffee table. Please try to eat.
