“The first time I felt him again was when you’d gotten hurt at the hospital,” James whispered, looking away from me for the first time. His eyes screwed shut and his features morphed into those of pain. “When you’d fallen and cut your head.”What a day that was. “What exactly changed?” I finally pulled away from his face, urging him to pull over to the side of the road so that we could continue this conversation. He nodded, continuing to look as if he was going to be sick at any moment. “Honestly, I think it was your blood. I was sitting with the doctor in the other room, and the scent of copper mixed with what I now know was your scent carried me back. I felt Onyx fighting against whatever has been keeping him away,” James leaned his head back, staring out of the open sunroof. “What do you mean by something keeping him away? Do you still feel him?” His head lolled to the side, “It feels like he’s in a little glass box in my head.” A ghost of a smile graced his face, “And before

My head is spinning as I run through the darkness. I started along the road, the sound of my feet pounding against the pavement creating an eerie echo through the woods. I need to get to Dante and Joan before it’s too late. But the further I get from James, the more the ache in my chest intensifies. It’s almost debilitating. Stealing my breath from my lungs without care. It’s like every nerve ending in my body is pulling me back to where I left James alone with those three monsters. I stumble to my knees as the pain nearly sears my body in two. It feels like I’m being torn in half. Like my insides are begging to return to James.The feeling isn’t foreign to me. I’ve felt this once before. The night of our last movie night. It was similar to all of the times I’d had my episodes before, but so much stronger. Even now, the pain is far more intense than it was that night all those years ago.The mate bond. I forced myself up from the pavement, ignoring the screaming pain from where

My body felt as if it were on fire. Every nerve ending was pulsing in hot agony.I felt Onyx break the restraints in my mind, making my head pulse with tiny explosions of pain. Then he forced the shift, all within a matter of seconds.‘Where the hell have you been?’‘Later,’ he growled, ‘I have some business to take care of first.’I knew exactly what business he was referring to. Onyx was a bloodthirsty wolf. He loved the hunt. Loved being on the front lines. But more importantly, he loves to protect.He’s got a knight complex.Rosa’s scent swirled heavily around me, sending a shiver through Onyx. Sweet rose and savory peaches overwhelmed me like a drug coursing through my veins. I’d smelled her scent before. Faintly lingering in the house or blowing in the wind, but this was something entirely different.Even when I’d realized that Marina was my mate for the first time; It didn’t feel like this.Onyx growled, the sound shaking the earth beneath our paws. Flutters above our head sign

Mud was caked on the left side of my body where I’d skidded roughly across the damp Earth. The rest of me… I’ve not had a patient come through looking this morbid in years. Crimson splattered across my skin as if someone had painted me in blood. And James pressed his lips to my dirt covered face. “Do you think you can stand?” James whispered, ignoring my obvious shock at my appearance. “Yes.”The moment my feet touched the ground, a wave of pain danced through my side, but I bit my tongue in hopes that he wouldn’t notice. “What can I do to help?” James gently wrapped his arms around me once more. “I’m fine,” I spoke through gritted teeth, reaching down to peel the sticky shirt from my body. “Rosa,” James stared into my eyes, “Let me help you. I can feel your pain.”My brows pinched together in confusion, making James tilt his head like a puppy, “Our bond. I can feel everything that you feel. Please.” He reached up, tucking my crusted hair behind my ear, “Let me take care of you.

“What do we do now?” Rosa stared up at the sky through the sunroof.We’d spent the last few days hiding out at Dante and Joan’s house, but I was desperate for my own space. I love my aunt, but she was overbearing… Especially with Rosa. And she didn’t hesitate to remind me that everything that happened to her was my fault.“We’re going to start with breakfast. And then we’re going to go home and spread out in my very soft, enormous bed,” I winked at her, causing a flush to creep up her neck, landing on the tips of her cheekbones. “Everything else can wait until tomorrow.”“I suppose you’re right,” she let her head fall lazily to the side. The cocktail of pain meds that Joan has been forcing on her have kept Rosa in a constant state of high, but the fact that she’s not in pain is worth every second.The bruises on her ribs have gone from a deep, angry shade of purple to yellows and greens. She doesn’t flinch with every movement, and for that; I’m grateful.Guilt has planted itself deep