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"Stop," I tell Dominic, smacking his arm. "You have to stop. Whatever's been talking to me, spirits or whatever, that's who is talking to her. Pull over."
There isn’t a proper place to stop, but he listens, pulling the car onto a grassy patch of land next to the highway. "Are you crazy? We don't even know if it's safe out here right now." Dominic stares between the two of us, waiting for some kind of explanation as he leaves the car in drive, his foot on the brake. Still ready to pull out of here at the first sign of danger.
"I have to get out," Tasha says, her voice hollow like it's not coming from her. Dominic and I both open our mouths to protest, but she's already throwing the door open and climbing out.
I unlatch my seat belt hastily, open my door, and jump out to follow her.
"Tess! Dammit." Dominic shifts the car into park to follow, but I turn my attention on my sister who looks on the verge of shifting.
"Tasha, what the hell is going on?" I ask, making her pause just before she shifts. She looks nervously at me, her eyes darting all over the place as if she's worried someone is watching us. A shiver runs up my spine, warning me that maybe someone is.
Tasha covers the distance between us and grabs my hands. "Tess, listen to me. You have to go check things out at the house. And then figure out what's going on with our family and why. But the spirits are warning me that I can't go with you. They're calling me somewhere else, and I need to go."
"What, no? This is insane. How do you know it's not a trap?" I cling tighter to her, confused over why this is coming from nowhere. The warnings I've received are about an impending war. The last thing I want is us to be separated. If anything, I think we needed to bring Tevin here and all be in the same place.
Dominic rounds the car, staring furiously at us. "Tess, get your ass back in the car right fucking now."
I ignore him, struggling to hold onto my sister as she starts to pull away. She can't do this.
"You can't go." I remember how it felt to run and be separated, and it wasn't good. I don't want to go back to that, having to wonder if she's okay because I can't see for myself. She's grieving still, she shouldn't be alone for that. Nothing should be calling her away from me.
"The spirits have spoken, Tessie. It'll be okay," she whispers, her eyes apologetic as she starts to slip from my grip.
It feels almost impossible to keep hold of her, but I put everything I have into it. The feeling of being watched grows. Whatever is watching us will know if we split up. Tasha could be vulnerable to anything, and we wouldn't even know it. The Luna Sovereign herself was just killed out here, my sister is crazy assuming she's safe.
"Let her go," a voice whispers into my ear. A voice I know isn't really there. I want to disobey, to keep holding onto her. Having her in front of me is the only way I know she's safe, but Tasha is right. There's no denying these spirits once they speak. My hold on her breaks, my hands falling away even though I desperately try to tell myself to keep holding on.
"Dammit, Tess," Dominic growls.
As my sister shifts, her pure white wolf taking over, Dominic grabs me around the waist and throws me over his shoulder like the day he took me from Luca's house. I pound my fists against his back, a wave of déjà vu hitting me as I try to get him to put me down.
"She can't go by herself!" I cry out as she starts to run, leaving me behind.
"Let her go, Tess. The spirits are talking to her for a reason, sending her where she should be, just like they did for you." He sounds calm and assured, but of course he freaking feels that way—the spirits drove me back to him when it was the last thing I wanted. It's only more proof she shouldn't be blindly listening to them.
Things have turned out quite all right for us,my wolf points out.
Not good enough.Tasha is the closest thing I've had to a parent in a very long time. Seeing her running from me when I feel like I need her brings a wave of emotion I'm not prepared to deal with. It stokes a fear of abandonment that I've been fighting for a long time.
And that's why we'realways trying to run. My wolf is so matter-of-fact about it, disappointed but not necessarily rubbing it in. And she's right, I have always been good at that. She soothes me the best she can;We can do better.
I'm not sure I care about doing better, not if it means staying while my sister runs off on her own. But Dominic doesn’t give me a choice. He doesn't even drop me off at the passenger's side of his SUV. He walks me around to the driver's side and then easily moves me into a bridal carry in front of him.
"Let me go," I mutter, still desperately looking back for a glimpse of my sister, though I know she's long gone.
"Absolutely fucking not." He somehow manages to climb into the car with me in his arms.
It isn't easy, but he maneuvers me over the center console and deposits me back in my seat that way. I instantly reach for the door, but he puts an arm across my chest and crosses my seatbelt over me, pinning me into the seat when he clicks the seatbelt but doesn't let go.
His movements are jerky as he reaches over himself to use his left hand to switch gears, putting the SUV back into drive. He peels off from the grassy lot, his hand never leaving my seatbelt. I shut my eyes and slide down in the seat. This is a nightmare. This is not how I expected any of this to go, or I would never have suggested this trip.
If I've learned anything these past couple of weeks, it's that nothing is worth sacrificing family for.
"Tess, I have something to say, and you better listen." Dominic's voice is all gruff and Alpha again, like in the beginning. Whatever tenderness grew between us after sex and letting him mark me is suddenly gone.
I don't say anything, but apparently that doesn't matter. I'm a captive audience again, after all.
"I don't care who you think you're trying to protect or why, you don't ever,everput yourself in possible danger over anyone else. Do you understand me? Sister. Pack member. Even me. If one of us is in danger, it will be my job to deal with it, you understand? We don't know what's lurking around here—and I'll be damned before I watch something happen to you because you're feeling fucking invincible."
