Page 15 of Mate Me

Pain throbbed in my back, sending the discomfort into my legs. I shifted, moving myself to a sitting position and tilting my head so it rested on the wall beside me.

“It burns,” I murmured. Sin held my hand I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to breathe through the stinging wave that surged over my body.

When I opened them again, I tensed, gasping at what I saw.

The opposite wall transformed from cheap wood paneling and a closet door to an oval of shimmering color. The palette swirled, forming a picture. A scene. A place I didn’t recognize.

“Do you see this?” I whispered, unable to look away.

“See what?” Sin asked, looking in the same direction. She shook her head. “Reagan, look at me. Stop and look at me,” she said in panic, grabbing my face to pull my attention back to her, but I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

I could make out a face in the cloudy wall. A man. I’d never seen him before, but my heart knew him . . . and it knew I should be afraid.

He was tall with strong shoulders. He didn’t lack muscle, but he wasn’t as bulky as most shifters were. Despite that, the shadows radiating from him communicated loud and clear that he was immensely powerful. A cruel smile curled up his lips, and his black eyes bore into mine, fire and flame dancing in them as though we were looking through worlds and seeing each other in real time.

My sister shouted my name again, but my voice was lost. Blistering heat lanced through my back, and I cried out, the scene before me disappearing.

“Reagan, what’s happening?” she said, holding my shoulders and pulling me to her.

“It was him,” I choked out.

“Who?”

“The Soulless One.”

Chapter5

Reagan

It all blended together. Reality. Imagination.

I dreamed again of a place I knew yet had never visited. Faces I could recall of people I had never met.

A fever had taken me deeper into a place of nightmares. Whatever sickness I’d been plagued with was rapidly consuming me. The pain had intensified, and I felt weaker each time I woke up. I’d never been ill; not like this. The ward protected me, just as it protected what I guarded. If I was this unwell . . . the barrier would struggle to remain intact.

Fear coiled in my belly, but I didn’t dare acknowledge it.

That would give a voice to what lingered there.

Harsh, anxious whispers echoed in the house, bouncing off the plaster walls. The deep tenor of my father’s voice was unmistakable. I had no idea how long I’d been out. My eyelids fluttered open to see my living room ceiling. They’d moved me to the couch at some point, no doubt due to the size of my room. It was a small space, and if they wanted to keep an eye on me, there was no way everyone would be able to squeeze in there.

“I can hear you talking about me,” I mumbled, my scratchy throat giving a gravelly quality to each word.

“Hey,” my dad said softly. “There’s my girl.”

“You’re awake,” Sin breathed, rushing to my side. My father followed behind her, worry etched all over his face.

“Hard to sleep with you two fussing at each other.” I smiled weakly. “Where is everyone?”

“Tía took Jo back to their house to rest, and Dad wanted some time to check things out for himself without Nog and Clara bickering.”

“Sounds about right.” I tried to take even breaths between speaking. Everything felt harder than it should. “When did you get back?”

“About two hours ago. Sin caught me up.” His eyes left mine, concentrating on my neck. A dark shadow passed over him.

“One thing at a time, Dad,” Sin said, and I chuckled half-heartedly. Dad was an alpha. He never did things one at a time. I’d have to talk him off that ledge or Ben would end up six feet under. He deserved a swift kick in the balls, but he didn’t need to die.

“Did you make it to visit Tía Sarah and Tía Abbey?” Shifting my body, I tried to sit up. Instead, a burning sensation shot through me, and I hissed. My sister dropped to her knees, helping me readjust.