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“Don’t touch the silver on it, okay?” Jules says quickly, yanking his shirt over his head. “It’s real silver. And if something happens, get under the seat. With the silver all over it, it’ll be hard for a werewolf to get to you.”
I nod, trying not to stare at his chest, but the pale moonlight gives me a brief glimpse of the lean muscles carving his abs. Luckily, before I start drooling like a dog, Legend snatches my hand and yanks me out of my gawking lust daze. Then we rush to the sleigh.
He helps me steer around the silver on the edges, and I manage to plop my ass into the seat without getting burned. Then Legend hops in beside me and grabs my hand. I squeeze my eyes shut just as a loud series of cracks, like bones snapping, cut through the air. Howls and yaps follow.
My stomach churns. “I think I’m going to be sick.” I smash my lips together, puke burning at the back of my throat.
“Shh …” Legend places a hand over my ear and angles my head against his shoulder.
I focus on breathing.Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. In. Out—
The sleigh jerks forward, and my eyelids pop open. Four massive wolves are pulling the sleigh by leather straps. The two in front are moonlight white, and the other two are a dusky black. At least ten other wolves run beside the sleigh, their fur ranging from white to black to golden brown. I’ve never actually seen a werewolf in shifted form before, but I imagined them to be beast-like creatures with scraggly fur, red demon eyes, and sharp fangs. These look the exact opposite of what I saw in my head, with smooth fur; pale, glowing eyes; and teeth like a dog. A very large dog.
I wonder which one’s Jules?
I shove the thought from my head.That shouldn’t matter to you, Lake. You need to keep your guard up.
“They’re not as scary as I thought,” I whisper to Legend.
He drapes his arm around my shoulders and props a foot onto his knee. “No, they’re not. I’m way scarier.”
“Yes, you are.” I nod in agreement, recalling the time he protected me when he was in full vampire form. “When are we going to get to those weird whispering dream daisies things—”
Luminous light cascades across the field as indigo flowers sprout from the ground. As the petals burst open, splashes of glitter shower the air.
“Pretty …” I slump back in the seat as the glitter rains down on me and douses me with sleepiness. Hardly any lands on Legend, though, as if all the glitter is drawn to me.
The idea of falling asleep with so many wolves around sends my heart into a fitful panic. I try to fight past the exhaustion, but my head flops onto Legend’s shoulder as tiredness overpowers me.
Right before my eyelids slip shut, a wolf barrels past the sleigh. Its fur is unlike the other wolves—black with hints of deep purple and blue, like raven feathers; its eyes like the stars.
“Jules …” His name is the last word that passes my lips before exhaustion wins.
CHAPTER13
Idon’t know if I dream that night, or if nightmares haunt my sleep. The poison puts me too far under for me to remember anything. So when I open my eyes, for once I’m grateful for magic.
I haven’t slept like that since the day before the attack, perhaps even before then. I wonder if I slept like this before I forgot all about my werewolf life.
As exhaustion evaporates from my body, I sit up and stretch my arms above my head, practically purring over how great I feel. That is, until I note I’m sitting in an unfamiliar four-post ivory bed decorated in sheer violet curtains with a comforter and pillows to match.
“How the heck did I get from the sleigh to here?” I mumble, searching the room for signs of familiarity.
Pale purple walls, black hardwood floors, and a set of french doors where sunlight trickles in through the glass. None of this strikes any sort of recollection, which means I probably wasn’t awake when I was brought here.
Uneasiness twists in my stomach at the idea of someone carrying me to the bed while I was passed out.
Throwing the blankets off me, I sigh in relief. I’m still wearing the same skirt, shirt, and knee-high socks as I was last night. The only thing missing is my shoes. But I can handle someone taking those off while I sleep.
Now I just need to figure out where I am.
I climb out of bed, doing a bit more stretching, then pad over to the shut door. I start to reach for the doorknob, then decide to head for the french doors instead.
Flipping down the lever handle, I open the door and step out onto a balcony.
A gentle breeze gusts through my hair as I approach the railing and take in the scene. Acres of blooming trees and flowers laced with the same thorny vines that were at the entrance of the portal stretch for as far as my eye can see. Towering mountains sit in the horizon, and dirt roads zigzag across the land with hundreds of quaint houses and shops. The air hums with the chatter of people—werewolves—the air sweltering with the aroma of moonlight. Above me, the sky is painted a glistening ocean blue, the sun a violet orb shining halos of light across the city.
Wow. Jules was right; sunrise is even prettier than the night sky.
