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“Back-to-back,” I shouted. I turned my body, pressing against him and taking a defensive stance as a fox shifter leaped from the bushes snarling, jaws open and ready to bite.
As soon as I saw it, I knew I had only a moment, but I pushed my power into it. I tried to see into its soul. Its mind. Its heart. Anything. No images came through. Just pulsing pain. Anger. Hurt. Generations of sorrow and loss caused by ... destruction.
And it wanted vengeance.
I let go of my power then threw myself at the fox, forcing it off track using my momentum. It landed with a yelp, and I stabbed into its neck, severing the spine quickly, to minimize the pain. After being immersed that shifter’s soul, it felt wrong to kill them, even though they were dead set on killing us first.
I walked over to Pan as he was leaning down, finishing off the puma that had tried to attack me earlier. Wiping my blade on my muddy shorts, I frowned. Not the best way to take care of a weapon, but I didn’t have many other options.
When Pan stood, I looked up at him. Some of that pain and sorrow I’d felt from the fox was radiating off their god-king as he stood before me. My sister was the one who’d been filled with an unnatural empathy after her change, but now it felt like it was consuming me too.
As I opened my mouth to tell him I was sorry for the loss of his people, a searing pain ripped through my arm, and I screamed as I twisted around. There’d been five. Shit. Another mountain lion, identical to its dead brethren, had taken a swipe just as Pan pulled me away.
I gripped the wound, and the cat went for me again.
A warm and protective arm pulled me into an unyielding body, holding me close, its hand splayed on my chest just above my breast. I turned to look at Pan, but my vision clouded.
The scenery changed.
Pan held me in the same position, but this hold was tender. His thumb gently stroked my skin. He looked at me with admiration. With ... love. He looked happy. His eyes were filled with hope. He leaned into the crook of my neck, trailing little kisses to my ear. I could feel the heat of his breath against my skin, and the press of his hardened cock against my backside. I could hear the sound of a waterfall near us, almost drowning out the words he whispered.
You’ll were made to be mine.
“Adora!”
Pan shouting and shaking my shoulders brought me back to the jungle. The real world, where we’d just battled a group of half-shifted animals. Where dead bodies littered the forest floor, including my attacker. I came out of my stupor, but the strange memory I’d just seen had me at a loss for words.
I was fully aware of a throbbing pain and blood dripping down my arm, but I didn’t much care. I looked at him in a new light while he spoke to me, asking if I was okay. The best I could do was nod.
What had just happened? Could shifters play mind tricks? That was the best explanation I had, but even I didn’t believe it. That memory with him ... it felt real. I felt it in my heart. My soul.
Pan cupped my cheek. “Adora, say something. I need you to focus.”
“I’m okay,” I said, my voice cracking slightly on the way out. I cleared my throat and nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. Just taken by surprise. Not thrilled about it.”Part truth.
Relief shone in his eyes, but then he pressed his lips together, trying to remain stoic as he had been before. “I don’t want to risk another encounter. We need to take a different path.”
“You won’t hear any argument from me.” I shuddered, thinking about the misshapen shifters and the weird flashes I experienced. “There’s been entirely too much death since I got here.”All truth. I was just thankful this latest group hadn’t included any children.
Pan lingered for a moment, and I held his gaze. Warmth bloomed in my chest, telling me I’d found something I’d been searching for. The moment his hand left my face, a longing for his touch pulled at me.
I reached up and dug my fists into my eyes, rubbing like this was a headache I could make go away. What the hell was wrong with me? Becoming one of those insipid women that developed feelings for a moody alphahole they’d just met.
Gag.
I knew myself better than that.
Whatever was happening to me had to do with this place, and whatever mystery it held. Part of me wanted to figure it out. Part of me wanted to take a nap and pretend this wasn’t happening.
I had to settle for a long walk deep in my thoughts.
Not exactly a good place to be.
Chapter7
Pan
I replayedthe earlier encounter on a desperate loop. An inkling of hope fluttered, but I didn’t dare acknowledge its presence. If I did, it would infect me with its poison. I’d fall for her again. I always did.
