Page 25 of Unforgivable Fate

He waited, but she continued to breathe out and his brain twitched uncomfortably. There was no way she had that much air in her lungs. There was no way she didn’t need to take another breath yet. He had held his breath when she first closed her eyes and already he needed to breathe but Nova only continued to blow air out in a long, seemingly endless exhale.

His wolf was suddenly there, just beneath his skin, growling and Griffin couldn’t figure out why until he felt it. The bond between them, the one he’d only just strengthened, was being tugged and pulled on. It felt as if the link between them was being stretched like elastic and his wolf didn’t like it. Neither did Griffin for that matter because though he could see that Nova was standing right there in front of him, he felt as if she was slipping further and further away.

He was just about to step up beside her and see if she was in some kind of trance, her body jerked. Her head snapped back and she gasped in air. The sudden jolt knocked her backwards and she stumbled, letting go of Leo and Darius. With their triangle already broken, Griffin moved quickly to catch her before she fell.

Nova blinked up at him as he wrapped his arms around her. Her eyes were distant at first but as she continued to breathe and blink, he could see that she was remembering where she was and coming back to them. After what couldn’t have been more than a few seconds she finally seemed to recognize him.

“Griffin?” she whispered.

Leo was across the space and at their side instantly, “Jesus, Nova. Are you okay?”

“What the hell was that?” Darius frowned.

Griffin frowned now too, “Is it not normally like that?”

“Not even close.” Darius glanced at him with a worried expression and then back at Nova who was still in his arms, still staring up at him with amazement shining in her eyes. “Are you okay? Did it work? Did you have a vision?”

When she didn’t answer, Griffin's stomach twisted with concern, “Nova? Are you okay?”

“They were right.” She finally said, softly, as if her throat hurt.

“What do you mean?” He searched her face for some sign that she was really there with him and not still stick in some vision he didn’t understand.

“They were right. It was you. It was always you.” Nova fluttered her lashes and seemed to come back to herself more, shaking her head. “You were the block in my vision. The dark spot I couldn’t see coming. But now that you’re here…” A wide smile broke out over her face and the cold chill that had taken up residence in Griffin’s chest melted as her warmth soaked through the bond and back into him, “My visions are back.”

CHAPTER NINE

Griffin heard Leo ask another question but he didn’t hear it. Not really. He was too focused on Nova and on the way she was looking at him. It was as if this was the first time she was truly seeing him and her smile was for him and him alone.

“Nova! Focus.” Leo snapped, jolting them back into the moment. “Are your visions really back? No black spots?”

Nova sighed, wiggling a little so that Griffin would put her down. He did, gently, but he didn’t let go of her. She had been knocked out of that vision so violently that he wasn’t sure she didn’t have a concussion. She’d been out of it for a minute there even though her eyes were clear now, sparkling even, he worried about what she had just put her mind and her body through. He kept one hand on her back, steadying her, and she didn’t pull away from him.

“Yes. They’re back.” She spoke to Leo but her attention was already back on Griffin, her eyes studying his face. “”Did you see what I saw?”

“No.” He admitted, “No. I didn’t see anything but I felt…”

When he trailed off, Nova tilted her head slightly, “What did you feel?”

“Like I was losing you. Like you were here, but you weren’t within my reach and I… I didn’t like it. My wolf didn’t like it.” He admitted.

Nova’s face went soft and she put a hand on his chest, just over his heart, “I felt it too. Like we were being separated by time if not by space. I think that’s what sling-shotted me back so hard. The bond jerked me back here, back to you.”

“Interesting.” Darius hummed thoughtfully.

“I wasn’t here. Not in my head. I was in the future.” Nova dropped her hand from her chest and shook her head, amazement in every word, “But my soul knew I didn’t belong there, that I belonged here. It was the strangest feeling, like nothing I’ve ever experienced before with a vision. It was like… instead of just watching the vision I was actually there, like I was there, being me, in the vision, instead of just floating above it.”

“Wait, you were in the vision? You saw yourself? Your own future?” Darius was watching her closely. “You always said that wasn’t possible. Your own future is your blind spot.”

“It wasn’t my future though.” Nova turned to him, rubbing her head and looking like she was still trying to make sense of it herself, “It was your future. I was just there, on the sidelines of it, and I couldn’t see me, not really, it was more that I was me.”

“That is… weird.” Griffin looked between them, knowing that wasn’t the right word but unable to come up with anything better. “Why would her visions be so different all of a sudden?”

“You?” Darius shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s the only thing we know of that’s changed. Her connection to you. Maybe with the bond she can see more, go further than she could before because her mind knows that her soul will pull her back to you?”

“Seriously?” Griffin gaped.

“It’s the only explanation I have right now but… I don’t know. I need to think about it some more.” Darius turned, as if he had suddenly realized Leo wasn’t chiming in with his opinions on what had changed. “Hey, you okay?”

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