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Speaking made my head spin, the words like little ten-pound weights rolling off my tongue. What the hell had just happened? How was that vision even possible? I had no memory of killing Nadia in the cemetery. She’d called me, I went, and she was dead when I got there. But that wasmein the vision. That was me plunging the dagger in her neck.
“Uh, she’s turning green again,” Shado announced, drawing me from my reverie.
I shook my head. “I’m fine.”
A growl reverberated in Jackson’s throat, and he shifted his weight closer to me. “How many times do I have to tell you that you’re a bad liar?”
I arched an eyebrow at him and sighed. He was hovering and shielding. A technique that predators used against their prey. “Your wolf is showing.”
He grunted and his canine teeth slid out of sight.“I knew you wouldn’t wait for me to drive you, so I figured I’d come and try to head you off, but—I smelled your distress when I turned down the hall and it triggered me.”
I nodded, understanding what he meant. That his wolf sensed its mate was in trouble and reacted. The moment I saw the yellow in his gaze, I’d figured something like that must’ve happened. He couldn’t help it. His wolf had chosen me long ago, and those instincts were near impossible to ignore.
“I’m sorry,” I said, trying and failing to hide the true sadness in my voice.
He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “It’s not your fault. Did you see who the killer was?”
His question rang through my head like a gong. I had seen the killer, but it didn’t make sense. I saw that face every day when I looked in the mirror, but it couldn’t have been me. It just couldn’t have. Could it? Could I have killed her without realizing it? Was I capable of killing someone?
“Who was it, Rebekah?” Jackson asked, shifting closer. His voice felt so warm and welcoming, but I could still feel the steady current of tension running through us both.
I met his gaze, and the world cracked open. “Me.”
5
Connected Horrors
“I’m sorry, what?” Shado asked, taking a step forward.
Jackson’s head snapped around and he growled at her. His eyes flashed a brighter shade of yellow, and a wave of intense heat burst from his body.
“Woah, down boy,” Shado gasped, jumping back half a step. “I’m not a threat.”
“Stay back,” I said to her as I slid a hand up Jackson’s chest.
My fingers slipped along his shirt, but I could still feel his heart racing. In this state, Jackson was at his most vulnerable. Staying in control took a massive amount of effort.
“I’m just trying to help,” she said.
“It’s his wolf. It’s trying to surface,” I explained. “He’s not in control.”
She threw up her hands. “I got that. Do I need to call someone?”
“No,” I shook my head. “It’s fine. He’s fine.”
Jackson’s wolf had come rushing to the surface a handful of times over the course of our relationship. He’d fought frat boys who tried to take advantage of me and protected me from a mugger. It surfaced when we were intimate, but he’d never hurt me. Not once.
Another soft growl rumbled in his throat, and he turned his face into my palm.All he needed was time, stillness, my scent. He needed to be sure I was safe. He dipped his head down to the crook of my neck. His nose skimmed the space behind my ear, and he inhaled deeply.
A chill rippled over his body, and mine. It had been too long since he’d come this close. I wanted to touch him, kiss him, and he knew it by my scent.Sliding one hand around my hip, he squeezed tight and I felt the power of his wolf burning through the fabric of my jeans.
Out of the corner of my eye, Shado’s hands radiated with faint white light. I closed my eyes and the air around us cooled with healing energy. An aura of calm.
Jackson groaned as I scratched lightly at his chest, whispering to him, “It’s okay. I’m okay. We’re both safe. Just breathe.”
He growled again and pressed a surprise kiss into the hollow of my throat. My skin tingled and a vision flashed in front of my eyes. I saw Jackson lying dead beneath me in our bed. My hand hovering over him, clutching a dagger.
“No,” I whimpered. “Please no.”
