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It felt like bricks were thrown into my chest. I tried to yell for it to stop, but then I was coughing.
The world tilted and spun.
Water gushed out of my mouth.
“That’s it. That’s it. Get it out.” Dastien’s voice shook as he rubbed a hand up and down my back.
My whole body heaved until nothing else could possibly be left in me.
When I was done, I collapsed back into the sand exhausted as if I’d run back to back marathons. Every muscle ached and throbbed. My throat was on fire, and I wasn’t sure how I was still alive.
“Hang on.” Dastien disappeared for a fraction of a second and then helped me sit up. “Just a sip,” he said as he tipped a water bottle to my lips.
One sip was enough. I’d had enough water for the next year. My heart was pounding, and I couldn’t believe what had just happened. “Did I drown?”
“Yes, but you’re a werewolf. You’re hard to kill.”
Thank God for that.
I grabbed the water bottle. My hands were shaking so much that more water splashed on me than got in my mouth. The pain had left my limbs, but the terror lingered. The waves still lapped at my toes, and I wanted to move back but couldn’t.
I wasn’t sure if I should be crying right now, but I felt disconnected. Like I was floating above my body.
“You’re in shock.”
I licked my lips. “I don’t understand…” My hands still shook as I drank from the water bottle again, this time taking little sips. The fact that I’d almost died was so crazy and felt surreal. “What happened?” I asked Dastien, who was kneeling beside me. And then I realized something scarier.
I grabbed his wrist, needing a connection to him. “Why can’t I hear you in my head? Why can’t I feel—” For a heartbeat, I could feel his paralyzing fear so strong it was as if I was drowning all over again. I couldn’t breathe as his confusion swamped me. His anger raged through my veins. And guilt. Guilt so strong I—
He tightened the bond, and all his emotions dulled just enough to make it bearable. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” He paused his forehead to mine, and I knew he needed the touch just as much as I did. “I don’t know what happened. All I could tell was that you were in pain and disoriented. If you never go swimming again—”
“It wasn’t the swimming—”
“Being a wolf and sw—”
“It was different.” I drew up my knees, creating space between us.
Swimming might be harder as a Were, but I was
fine out there. Whatever had happened to me, it was a magical attack. I knew that much. “We’ve been here for nearly two weeks. Have I had any problems in the water?”
He was quiet because we both knew the answer.
I laid back on the sand, throwing an arm over my eyes to block the sun. My senses were on overload and I felt raw and empty. What had happened?
“I was trying to get to the island. I was fine. But then there was so much pain… My arms felt like they were being sliced apart and they locked. I couldn’t make them move. Then the same thing happened with my legs, and my buoyancy is all shit now, so I started to sink. When I could move again, I was so deep…I couldn’t make my way up.”
Where had those pains come from? Why did I lose control of my limbs? I had to focus on anything but the fact that I’d died. Not almost died. For a second there, I was gone.
Goosebumps ran up my body and I met Dastien’s glowing amber gaze as he leaned over me. “What happened?” I asked him again.
“I don’t know.” His wolf was close to the surface, itching to get free. “I took too long to get to you. I’m so sorry. I was distracted. Around the time you started freaking out, one of the Seven died and—”
“Wait. What? Who died?” I grabbed Dastien’s arm. My heart raced, and I prayed that Mr. Dawson was okay.
“Other than knowing that it’s not Michael? I don’t know.”
I quietly thanked God for that. When Dastien’s parents died, Mr. Dawson had taken Dastien in. Raised him like his own son. Losing Mr. Dawson would destroy my mate.
