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I managed to clear my mind enough to fall into fitful sleep. Dreams tormented me all night—dreams of the blond baby I’d seen, and the little one that might follow.
I’d always wanted babies. More than one. More than two, even, which wasn’t very community-minded or coven-like. We weren’t meant to have more than one child per couple. It wasn’t written anywhere as law, but we had all grown up knowing that was what was expected.
But that vision had been my dream come true. At least, the first part of the vision had been. Until the darkness arrived and destroyed it all.
When morning came, I was awake to see the sunrise, and so were the guys, if the sounds coming from the kitchen were anything to go by.
I lay in bed, listening to water running and their footsteps on the wooden floorboards. But there was something else in the air: frustration in the way they moved; a soft growl in their tone of voice as they quietly spoke to one another. Was that frustration because of my need for space, or fueled by something else?
I threw back the covers, and the cool morning air swept over my pajama-clad body. “Brrr...”
I jumped to my feet and snapped my fingers, cleaning myself with magic rather than an actual shower, then dressing quickly in a pair of fitted jeans, a long-sleeved silver top, and a purple scarf, the latter added just for fun. I brushed my long hair, then headed to the door. My stomach twisted with nerves, but I reached for the doorknob and yanked it open before I could talk myself out of it.
In the kitchen, the guys were still in the clothes they’d worn yesterday.
I covered my mouth with a hand. “Damn, I’m so sorry. I forgot you don’t have fresh clothes.”
I pointed at the kitchen table and instantly created four pairs of pants—two jeans and two trousers—and an assortment of tops, underwear, and shoes for them. I felt funny creating more clothing for them, especially as it conjured up images in my mind of them wanting to take a shower first.
The guys looked at the clothes, then back at me.
“We don’t...” Xander began.
“We need...” Kyle chimed in.
Then they both stopped. Tension filled the air.
I tugged on my scarf, holding the soft fabric in my fingers and twirling the woolen tassels on the end to keep my hands busy. “What’s wrong? What do you guys need?”
Xander and Kyle exchanged glances, which worried me even more.
Finally, Kyle spoke. “We need to run, Monique. Shift.”
I leaned forward, thinking I hadn’t heard him properly. “Sorry... what?”
They couldn’t mean they wanted to change into wolves and go running through my realm. My village full of powerful witches and warlocks, who had been raised to see wolf shifters as the enemy, and would likely eviscerate them on sight.
Xander growled, deep and husky. “Weneedto. No choice.” His voice was barely human. He was clearly hanging onto his humanity by a thread.
I pressed my fingers into my temples and sighed. Obviously, they had to do this. How was I going to help them?
“Um... okay. But first, we need to get into the forest, on the other side of the veil. Any witch or warlock who sees you here is going to kill you. Like, literally, as soon as they see you.”
“Let’s go then,” Kyle said, perking up. “Where do we go? To the forest where we met you the other night?”
Xander stared at me, all intense and brooding, and my gasp caught in my throat at the strange look on his face. Half-human, half-shifter. They were right. We needed to get out of here fast. All of us.
“Do you guys want to change first?” I asked, gesturing to the clothes.
Xander’s lips tilted up into a half-smile. “No. We’re naked when shifting, so maybe when we get back?”
Heat flooded my cheeks.
“Yeah. Okay. Good.” I hurried past Kyle and outside onto the path. “Let’s go.”
I gestured for them to follow. Together, we headed down the path, around the trees, and back toward the hidden entrance to our town.
When we reached the veil, I said the soft spell that would make the barrier penetrable, then drew the barrier back as though it were a curtain.
