Page 43 of Wolf Promise

Regie smiled and curled into his side, her limbs slack. She tried to respond, but could only groan.

He chuckled and kissed her temple as he pulled the comforter over her.

She muttered her thanks and then sleep claimed her.

CHAPTER 21

Regie woke slowly, the sunlight filtering through the window indicated morning had arrived. She stretched and felt a pleasant ache in her body, especially between her legs.

Smiling, she opened her eyes but found the other side of the bed empty. She got up and walked to the door. Had he left to go sleep on the couch? Or worse, had someone relieved his shift, and he’d left the apartment?

As she opened the door, she heard his voice from the kitchen. Nobody responded, so he must be on the phone. She quickly showered and got dressed in yoga pants and a t-shirt. Padding down the hallway, she thought about how to greet him. Or more about how he would greet her.

As she entered the kitchen, he looked up at her with a smile. “Hey, Babe.” The man looked ridiculously rested and too handsome for his own good, dressed in a maroon t-shirt and jeans.

She groaned at the corny nick-name. “Please stop using it.”

He rose from the breakfast bar where he’d been sitting. “Nope, I love it too much.” His face turned serious. “I know there are things we need to talk about. But your grandfather just called. There’s some kind of emergency at Lofn and he’s downstairs waiting with a car.”

“What kind of emergency?”

“He didn’t say. Just told us to meet him downstairs. I heard you get out of the shower and told him we’d be down shortly.”

He walked to her and enveloped in a warm hug.

To her horror, she felt the black energy inside her rise in response. Like a hibernating snake waking up, the power uncoiled and stretched hungry tendrils toward Bolt.

He pushed her away as if she’d burnt him. “What the fuck?” His arms fell.

She couldn’t look at him. Trembling with the effort of containing the dark evil inside her, she took a step back. What if he touched her again? Would she kill him, like she’d almost done with the man in the college parking lot? She knew he had barely survived because she’d called the hospital to check up on him the day after the incident. He’d been diagnosed as having a major cardiac arrest event.

In her panic, she forgot everything Laney had told her about how to control her powers.

Bolt reached for her, but she took another step back and then ran back into her bedroom. Tears clouded her vision as she dug in her closet for socks and shoes.

He entered the bedroom. “Regie, what’s going on? What was that?”

She couldn’t look at him. Her thoughts stumbled over themselves in her brain. “I can’t explain. We have to go meet Grandfather.” She rushed by him, careful not to touch him, and ran for the front door.

She heard Bolt call her name from behind. Blindly, she stumbled forward, out the door, and kept going. The elevator would take too long, so she ran down the stairs. Maybe the burst of energy would burn away the darkness. She could hear footsteps behind her, and as she reached the bottom floor, Bolt caught up with her. He reached for her, and she sidestepped. “Regie, you can’t run off on your own. It’s not safe.”

“Don’t touch me, please,” she whispered. Tears welled in her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

He frowned, but dropped his hand. Together, they walked through the lobby and out of the building.

Her grandfather stood on the sidewalk, next to a black town car. “Regina,” he said. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” She cleared her throat as Bolt stepped closer to her. “What’s the emergency?”

“I’ll explain on the way. Get in.” Grandfather gestured toward the car.

She turned and faced Bolt. “You don’t have to come. Send someone else to guard me for today.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but then tilted his head and inhaled deeply through his nose. His gaze turned cold, and his eyes narrowed. “Witch,” he said so quietly she almost thought she imagined it, contempt dripping from every syllable. The disgust in his eyes made her stomach clench.

How did he know what she was? She couldn’t ask him in front of her grandfather.

“I’m staying,” he said, tapping furiously on his phone, probably to Arek, Nora, or Laney. She didn’t want to think about what he may be telling them. At least they knew about her abilities and weren’t scared of them. But they really should be. She knew Laney couldn’t have figured out the true darkness of the energy inside her. Thinking that Regie would be able to control her powers had all been hopeful thinking.

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