Page 18 of Mate Me

“I’m sorry,”a voice whispered to me. A voice only I could hear; one that had been hidden in the deep recesses of my mind, unlocking another memory that had been closed off from me against my will.

Eres. My animal.

I jumped up without thinking, startled at hearing her speak to me after only ever feeling her general moods and presence. The moment was short-lived, and I dropped to the floor abruptly as pain racked my body. The world turned sideways as my cheek pressed against the cold tiles. I laid there with my stomach down and arms sprawled out. Consciousness threatened to leave me.

“You’ve always been there?”

“Yes.”

“You lied to me,”I said to her.

“No, I protected you,”Eres responded softly.

As my sister and dad shouted in response to my graceful descent, the front door burst open, and my Tía Celeste came running in with Clara, Nog, and Jo at her heels.

Celeste and Clara dropped to her knees, sliding across the floor as she reached me. With palms out, a shimmering white light wisped around my cousin’s hands. I heard the familiar flick of my dad’s switchblade opening before I realized he was cutting the nasty t-shirt down the middle of my back.

My stomach roiled at the sudden stench.

“Dear Gods, Alvaro. It’s rotting the flesh,” Tía Celeste said, shock filling her voice. “Where is the safety kit? And her moonshine?”

“I’ll get it,” Sin said, heading to the kitchen in a hurry.

My throat felt like sandpaper again. Tears pricked my eyes once more.

“Jo,” Clara said softly, patting the ground beside her and he came to sit. “This ward is stronger than me. I need you. We have to cut the infection out and reinforce the ward long enough for her animal to come out and shift. Do you think we can do that?”

“No,” I mumbled against the floor, and I tried to shake my head. “Too much. He’s only nine. He doesn’t know his . . . strength. He doesn’t understand . . . his limits.”

“It’ll be okay,” he said, an innocent smile forming while he stroked my face gently. “Have faith.”

Across the room, a wavy figure appeared, catching my attention.

This isn’t real,I told myself.It’s another hallucination. It has to be . . .

The same enchanting eyes I’d seen earlier glared at me; the same cruel smile curved up his lips.

The Soulless One.

Terror seized my chest. He looked right at me like he was here. It was just as real as everything happening in the room right now. The barrier was breaking completely. Realization dawned on me, and my panic surged. They were going to rip it wide open if they cut at me.

“Stop,” I cried, trying to move away from them, but any strength I’d once had was long gone. “Seal it. Close . . . the ward.”

“Are you insane?” Nog asked. “They’d seal the infection inside you, you dope.”

Clara knocked her brother on the head. “We can’t do that, Rea. As dumb as he is, he’s actually right.”

“Seal . . . it,” I said through clenched teeth, a tear falling as I accepted my fate. “Transfer . . . ward.”

“We don’t know how to transfer it,” my dad said. “Eres can protect you. We just need to get the infection out.”

My sister returned, holding a kit we used for injuries. Whatever was in there wouldn’t be enough. All of this was pointless, and they just didn’t understand.

“I see him,” I whispered, praying they would listen. Sin’s gaze hardened as she looked at my cousin. Though the words came out mumbled, I had to keep trying. “Ward . . . breaking. Need . . . guardian . . .”

Clara chewed at her bottom lip. “Maybe she’s right, Tío. We can try to transfer it to me. It would buy us time.”

“What are you saying?” Nog shouted, grabbing his sister’s shoulder, and turning her to face him. “We don’t know how! Not really. Both of you will probably die if we do that!”

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