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The hives had spread to my thighs and cheeks. Even half-dead, I wondered just how insane I must look to Johnny.
I could feel sweat trickling down the back of my neck and forming along my top lip and hairline, like I was developing a fever. Not even ten seconds later, Johnny peeled open my lips to set a thermometer beneath my tongue.
Maybe he could read minds,I considered.
Although I tried to project how urgent it was that we go find Sariel, he only pulled the thermometer out and cursed in some language I didn’t understand. I blinked my eyes open when a cool cloth pressed to my forehead.
I was wholly unprepared for the face of a wolf hovering above me. I yelped as the wolf’s lips pulled back to reveal several rows of sharp white teeth glinting at me.
The wolf laughed as I tried to scrabble away from it. It moved closer, and my heart sank into my stomach.
The one time I needed my wolf, she was uncharacteristically quiet. I couldn’t even feel her pitter-pattering around in my head. Her silence was unnerving as the wolf’s face grew closer. Its fur was dark brown, its eyes strangely familiar.
“...hallucinating? ...be okay… breathe.”
It took me a moment for my panic to settle enough to realize the wolf was fuckingtalking… to me!
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you, Aria,” it said, eyes glowing. “Drink this.”
I tried to move my head to the side, but one giant paw lifted to cup my face. At the sight of it, I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed. I felt the strain in my vocal cords as the soundescaped me, ragged and painful—my chest ached as I continued to yell.
When I ran out of air, I took a shuddering breath and reopened my eyes. Johnny stared wide-eyed at me. My head gave a mutinous pulse before my vision darkened dangerously.
“Johnny?” I croaked weakly.
“I’m here, Aria,” he said, moving closer to me. “You’ll be okay.”
“I think I’m going to die,” I blurted.
“Please don’t,” Johnny urged. “Sariel would use my pelt as a rug.”
I managed a weak laugh that dissolved into a fit of coughing.
The world around me swam again. Distantly, I could hear Johnny making promises to me that I knew he might not be able to keep.
As darkness took hold of me, I prayed that my mate was waiting for me wherever it took me.
17
PERCEIVED BETRAYAL
Aria
The stirring of my wolf woke me.
She stretched lazily in my mind, then sat on her haunches. The action was enough to jerk me awake.
My eyes snapped open to… darkness.
I’d been blindfolded. My entire head was covered in something that smelled strongly of shit, foul enough to drown out any other scents.
I knew whoever had me, and they didn’t want me to know they were betraying me.
My wolf being awake meant I’d gotten over the bond withdrawals. This could only have happened if I was getting closer to Sariel.
My wolf cocked her head in confusion. She didn’t understand the danger we were going into, of course. She only cared that she’d begun to regain her strength and was getting closer to her mate.
Something had changed within her, though.
