AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Our bond flickers, turns to static again, comes back…
“Don’t go,” I whisper. “Please don’t go.”
Javi’s body twists and morphs, his jaw extending. I’ve seen his wolf before—I’m certain of it, since he won the hunt—but never close up in the light. He’s the biggest lycan I’ve ever seen, with blue-black fur and glassy green eyes, acid green spines running down his shoulders. The wolf sways on his feet, lies down, rolls onto its side.
It takes desperate, panting breaths.
And he cries.
I crawl toward him again, my eyes wide as I stare down at the creature I know so well.
It’s Javi, but it’s not.
He’s here, but he’s not.
We’re in this in between place, and I hate it.
The wolf’s chest rises and falls too fast, his tongue lolling out. His eyes are huge and shining, his pupils the size of dinner plates, spinning and spinning. I’m surprised he’s not violently ill, with how dizzy he must be—especially when I’m getting queasy myself.
Of course, that’s probably the pregnancy.
I reach out with a hesitant touch, but Javi doesn’t so much as twitch when I weave my fingers in his fur. I move into the wolf’s reach completely, extending my arms to wrap him in an embrace. I rest my head on his side. His heart beats erratically, desperately, like he’s trying to live.
There’s nothing I can do to stop his pain, and that kills me.
“I’m here,” I whisper. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Javi doesn’t respond.
He just takes more panting breaths as he dives into the fight of his life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
?
PEACHES
Javi stays unresponsive and fully shifted in our room for a whole day, despite my requests for medical help. I even try to open the door, willing to risk going out into the hallway and potential punishment, but they’ve locked us in. No one comes to get me, no one brings food or water. I spend most of the morning curled up with him, my head on his chest as he continues to gasp for air.
He can’t keep going like this, can he?
He has to get better or worse.
…he doesn’t.
We’re trapped in limbo, between life and death.
Morning turns to afternoon, then the sun sets outside the grimy old window. I don’t move from his side, drifting in and out of sleep after a totally sleepless night, breathing him in. The ugly thought that I should appreciate this time—that he could be gone any second—keeps intruding on me, and I keep crying.
The hard part is waiting. Now knowing if anyone is coming for us.
Looking at Javi and seeing him right beside me, but unable to feel our bond.
I’m starting to think they’ll leave us here to rot until I hear the door unlock after sunset. I cover Javi with my body, holding onto his fur and meeting the intruder’s eyes straight-on.
Abel.
“What do you want?” I ask, staying close to Javi.
