Page 41 of Lost Girl

Let me go, please let me go!I try voicing it, but of course, the words ring out only in mind.Please, please let go!

I can’t breathe.

I can’t breathe!

“Wendy.”

Let go, please!

“Wendy.”

LET GO!

“Wendy...”

“Wendy, it’s me,” a voice hisses and, just like the last time, I shoot up on a gasp, heart thundering in a full-on rampage.

Kind brown eyes highlighted by silvery rays of the moon are the first thing I see, then worried brows and an unsettled, firm line thinning his lips.

“Tavi.” my voice cracks as I throw myself at him and lock my arms around his neck, grounding myself after sub-consciously living throughthat.

I can still hear the flies, shooting my shoulders up to my neck.

Make it stop, please.

Tavi doesn’t move, it’s like he doesn’t know what to do. How to react. Hands held up in surrender, he just lets me hang there, and honestly? I don’t even care. I’m just thankful to be coherent again.

But then he wraps his arms around me and I instantly feelsafe. What terror had chilled me to my core melts away and I justbreathe, let everything go. “You really came back.”

His chest bounces against mine through a soft laugh. “Third time now, little wolf. Why are you surprised?”

“Little wolf?” I smile, easing back.

He chuckles again. “You may not physically shift, but you’re part of the pack now. They’ll protect you just as they would me.”

I don’t even know what to say to that. The sentiment touches me, providing warmth within my mangled heart; perfect strangers with a willingness to help me.

But in the same hand, part of the pack?

“But—” My throat clogs with some odd, undefined emotion. “I just want to go home. I don’t belong here, Tavi. My dreams have proven as much.”

His face falls, but I note how quickly he recovers, an unbothered mask falling into place. “Then we’ll get you home.” He nods surely. “Until then, the pack will ensure your safety. You don’t have to worry aboutthemanymore.”

There’s a deep-rooted hate to his tone,a slight curl to his lip, too. I’d already determined they’re enemies, but it’s clear as day now, piquing my interest more than it should.

An interest that must be just as clear on my face because he follows up with, “I’ll answer all of your questions, I swear it, but we need to get you out of here first. Are you ready?”

Yes.

“I’ve been ready,” I admit, palms sliding down hishardchest as I release him and fall back on my knees. “Just lead the way. Where you go, I go.”

Tavi stills, holding my stare without falter. The way he’s looking at me right now? I feel iteverywhere, like this wild, free burn.

I’ve not felt anything of this magnitude before, not even with Peter.

“It’s gonna get dark, okay? Like pitch black, can’t see your hand in front of your face. I’ve got you, though. Keep your hand in mine and we’ll make it to the end before you know it, alright?” The question cuts my train of thought, snapping me back into reality.

“Just lead the way,” I repeat. “If I had to tread through hell to get out of here right now, I would. Feels like I have already honestly.”

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