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She doesn’t reach to take the clothes but instead smiles, setting my nerves at ease.
“Nonsense,” she says, waving away my words. “I can go down there with you.”
“If you’re sure.”
I flick on the light before we start our way down the stairs, slowly. They are steeper than I expected and I’m thankful for the handrail. The woman almost glides down the stairs. It’s unnerving because I’m just a big klutz.
“I’m positive. I’m Lucy by the way.”
“I’m Grace, but you probably already knew that.”
“Yes, Captain told me about you,” Lucy says with a smile.
“Captain?” I ask, confused. “I don’t think I’ve met him yet.”
“Oh, you would know him as Oracle.”
“I’ve not really met him. Just seen him once or twice, but I don’t get out of my room a lot.” I’m starting to feel silly about that. I’ve just been staying in my room because it felt more comfortable. I’m introverted and meeting everyone can be intimidating. Still, it’s unnerving to find out there are two whole people—Endy and Lucy—living here that I. knew nothing of.
“I’ve noticed,” she says, giving me a pointed look. “That really needs to stop.”
“It does.” I nod. I feel like this is a sign. I feel more comfortable with Lucy than I have anyone outside of Seven.
“Your life with Seven is fate. You should accept that and enjoy the days you have as they are all too short.”
“I think you’re right. That’s what Ettie said too. She said I should concentrate on the present.”
“Ettie is very smart, and her advice is worth listening to,” Lucy says. There’s something about her that makes her seem wise beyond her years. Her presence reminds me of a grandmother although she can’t be much over thirty—if any.
When we reach the bottom of the stairs, we are in front of a big door that’s open. I see Seven and the others all gathered around a type of hospital bed. But that’s not what grabs my attention. There’s a second bed with a man tossing around in pain, struggling with heavy chains. He’s obviously a prisoner.
Is this some kind of high-tech prison and Seven is one of the guards?
My knees start to weaken as the man turns to look at me. A scream rips through my throat as his face elongates before my eyes into the snout of a wolf. His piercing eyes are yellow as he opens his mouth to bear his fangs, growling at me. My knees buckle as the darkness begins to overtake me and my vision blurs…
25
#7
(STARK)
I dab a cool cloth against Grace’s forehead as I sit on the bed next to her. She’s not come around yet, but Oracle swears she’s all right. Today has turned into an absolute shit show. It held so much promise this morning with her in my arms and then it all went to hell.
When I got to the lab, Sean explained that Scar was trying to push through his connection with Endy and Jacob to get them to shift and attack. Endy was too weak to shift completely, and it caused him to go into convulsions. It scared the crap out of me to see how much it took not to lose him. He almost died. Shit, there was even foam coming out of his mouth and his eyes went glassy.
We had only just gotten him stable when Grace appeared at the door. I didn’t even notice her until she started screaming at the sight of Jacob. It’s my fault for not closing the blasted door when I got there. Someone would have heard her opening it. We could’ve stopped her from seeing him. I barely caught her as she crumpled to the floor.
Her soft moan catches my attention. “We’re going to get through this, Gracie.” Even I can hear that there is no confidence in my tone. I was panicking when she fainted and only Oracle could talk me down as I carried her to our room. “I promise I’ll make all this worth it if you don’t run away from me.”
She moans again as her eyes begin to flutter open. Fear is all I see on her features, and then her entire body tenses up. When her eyes reach mine, she slowly beings to relax and I almost breathe. Maybe she will be more accepting than I thought—she is my mate after all.
“I did it again, didn’t I?” she asks groggily.
I clear my throat. It’s hoarse from me barking out orders as I started to lose my shit. “What’s that baby?”
“I swear I saw that monster that’s been haunting me, and I fainted. I’m sorry. I must’ve embarrassed you in front of your family. I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she says, shaking her head. “Maybe I need to let Dr. Brashear put me in the hospital to run some tests. These hallucinations or whatever, are just getting worse.”
