ZAYNE’S POV
Two days.
Kaela had lain on the bed, unmoving, for two fucking days while I slowly lost my mind.
I hadn’t been able to sleep or eat or do anything other than watch her, desperately praying to the goddess for her to wake up.
Something hot and insistent vibrated in my chest—a strange fear I didn’t think I’d ever felt before, not even during the countless times Andrea and the twins had been in danger.
It burned hotter the longer Kaela stayed unconscious.
I cursed myself for not stopping her sooner. She’d been overexerting herself for a while now, and I let myself be blind to it because I wanted to find Nora as soon as possible.
Guilt ate at me. Kaela had no business being wrapped up in all this; she was only here because of me, because of our bond.
And what right did I have to ask all this of her? To put her in this position? I should have—
“You’re going to b
CLARA’S POVIt wasn’t until two days after Kade left that I got my first assignment from Rowan. It came not a moment too soon because I was already losing my mind in Kade’s home.I’d spent the last two days stewing in anger, frustration, and bitterness, imagining Kade and Andrea reunited again.My hate for her festered, thick and ugly inside me, and when Rowan reached out again with the promise of ruining Andrea and destroying her relationship with Kade… Well, I was only too eager to oblige.Kade had been true to his word that his guards would be watching my every move and it pissed me off to no end.I wasn’t in any real danger, and their presence was more of an annoyance than anything else.The only person I wanted hovering around me was Kade. I calmed myself down, knowing I just had to bide my time and be patient.He would be mine soon enough. I just had to get rid of Andrea first.I waited till midnight before I made my move. I’d spent my time here while Kade was still around, stud
BELLA’S POVThese days, it was hard to tell dreams apart from reality.Mainly because I spent a lot of time sleeping, hiding from the harsh realities of the real world.Besides, my dreams lately…. They weren’t so awful.This particular one was bathed in a soft, golden glow—the kind of dream that wraps around you like a warm blanket in winter.I was curled up on a chaise lounge, staring at the sunset as it cast orange, pink, and gold hues on the surface of the lake in the middle of a picturesque forest.A pair of arms tightened around me, and I snuggled into a warm, firm chest—Nico’s.His steady heartbeat pounded in my ears as we watched the sun descend in the sky, and an odd feeling bloomed in my chest—contentment. Happiness.“It’s so beautiful,” I murmured, enraptured with the way the light danced on the surface of the lake like a pool of lava.Nico kissed my hair. “It’s nothing compared to you.”I laughed, turning to him. He seemed to glow under the light of the sunset. “That’s so c
KAELA’S POVI didn’t know how werewolves knew their mates. By scent? A dream from their Moon Goddess? I never thought it would concern me.For witches, though—for me, at least—it was…nothing.Magic has a noise, a hum. It’s constantly vibrating around me, through me. But the moment I met Zayne—when I stumbled upon him in the woods, studying a Moonshade Bloom plant like it held all the secrets of the universe—all that noise just…silenced.The birds chirping in the air, the squirrels darting in and out of trees, the constant buzz of magic flowing through my veins and around me—it all just disappeared, and in that moment, it felt like Zayne and I were the only two people, the only two beings in existence.That’s how it felt now when he kissed me, blasting everything else to oblivion.We’d kissed before, back in Andrea’s house, when I convinced myself I needed his lip
ZAYNE’S POVTwo days.Kaela had lain on the bed, unmoving, for two fucking days while I slowly lost my mind.I hadn’t been able to sleep or eat or do anything other than watch her, desperately praying to the goddess for her to wake up.Something hot and insistent vibrated in my chest—a strange fear I didn’t think I’d ever felt before, not even during the countless times Andrea and the twins had been in danger.It burned hotter the longer Kaela stayed unconscious.I cursed myself for not stopping her sooner. She’d been overexerting herself for a while now, and I let myself be blind to it because I wanted to find Nora as soon as possible.Guilt ate at me. Kaela had no business being wrapped up in all this; she was only here because of me, because of our bond.And what right did I have to ask all this of her? To put her in this position? I should have—“You’re going to b
ANDREA’S POV“If your phone rings one more time,” I murmured as my tongue flicked out to lick Kade’s nipple. “I’ll throw it out the fucking window.”Kade groaned, his muscles rippling as he arched under me. His hand shot out and flapped around wildly, feeling for his phone. It stopped ringing—and immediately started again.He knocked over my desk lamp, and thankfully, my carpet kept it from shattering.“Fucking hell,” I muttered and sat up. I grabbed it, and the desire coursing through my veins was immediately doused by anger when I saw the caller ID.“Of course.”I shoved the phone at Kade. “Your leech.”Kade sat up and took the phone out of my hand. Without looking at it, his thumb pressed against the side button, and the sound abruptly stopped as the screen went black.He tossed it aside with expert precision, and it landed on the armchair at the corner of his room, right in line of the morning sunlight that shone through a crack in my curtains.Maybe I could find a magnifying glas
KAELA’S POV“Fuck,” I hissed, hovering my hand over the pile of ashes that was still warm. The glow of the embers was just beginning to fade. “We just missed them.”“Do you think they know that we’re on their trail?” Zayne asked.I shrugged, dropping onto a log. I winced when moisture seeped into my pants. “Who knows with Embermoors. They’re as unpredictable as the weather.”“I thought you witches could control the weather,” Zayne said, sitting next to me.My breath caught when his shoulder brushed against my bare arm, and a slight shiver ran through me. He smelled so good, and it was all I could do not to lean into him.If willpower was a muscle, then mine was toned as fuck with how much I’d been exercising it when it came to Zayne. It was absolute torture being this close to my mate and not being able to…do anything.Over the last couple of weeks that we’d been searching for Kade’s sister, I’d exercised restraint that should earn me some kind of medal. Zayne and I slept in motels—al