Page 4 of Enemies By Fate

Annoyance ripples through me, even though I try to shove it down. She promised me she’d go.

Circe is the only one who knows about my dreams and how they depict the Apex Alphas killing my father. She’s the only one I trust—well, besides Sadie, but I don’t want to burden my guardian with anything else until I’m sure I have answers for her. I can’t be sure that the dreams are real unless I confront the Bloodstone brothers, but to do that, I have to meet them face-to-face. And that will only occur at one of their monthly full moon events. From what I’ve gleaned about shifter culture, the Apex Alphas rarely leave their magically guarded town for any other reason.

It has to be tonight, which is why Circe and I planned this for weeks.

And now she’s backing out on me.

I have no idea how to respond to my best friend except with anger, but I can’t fault her for changing her mind, upset as I am.

The tapping on the window reaches a fever pitch as my phone chimes again. Annoyed, I ignore Circe’s texts and set the phone down on the counter, rising to shoo the bird away from the window. There’s too much happening around me now, and I’m getting sensory overload.

I wouldn’t have to go alone if you would come like you promised me,I think irritably, but a small part of me is relieved. If something goes wrong tonight and Circe gets hurt, no one will ever forgive me—nor will I forgive myself.

I shrug off the unbidden thought. This isn’t Circe’s problem or anyone else’s. I shouldn’t have asked her to come in the first place. She had no more business being at an Apex Alpha party than I do being at a coven assembly without Sadie.

Circe is smart to back out. I should do this on my own. I just need to make sure Circe doesn’t say anything to anyone and ruin my plan before I can see it through.

The crow taps so hard on the window, a slight crack appears on the glass, his screams deafening now.

“What is wrong with you?” I snap, knocking back on the glass to scare him off, but the bird is unflappable—no pun intended. My movements stop him for the moment, and we have a stare down for a solid thirty seconds.

“Stop it!” I tell him again. “Go away!”

Run. Run, Poppy, run!

The recurring nightmare floods back over me in a torrent, goosebumps erupting over my arms and legs to chill me to the bone. The crow’s eyes pierce into me, and I take a step back, my hand on my chest, blood spilling in my mind’s eyes as my gangly form sprints through the woods to escape the Apex Alphas chasing me.

The dragon.

The white wolf.

The lion.

Again, the bird screams as my phone rings, his wings extending, and he flies away, breaking the spell between us.

I exhale, my heart hammering in my throat.

“Hello?” I gasp into the phone.

“You didn’t answer my texts,” Circe complains in my ear nervously, her voice low. “Are you still going tonight? What are you planning on doing?”

I peer into the woods to see where the crow has gone, but he’s disappeared, leaving me alone in the cabin to collect my composure and my thoughts.

“Yes,” I answer honestly. “I can’t wait another month. I have to confront the Bloodstone brothers. This has gone on long enough.”

“You don’t even know if your dreams mean anything.”

“They do!” I insist.

“You can’t be sure of that when you’ve never discussed them with Sadie,” my ever-logical best friend cuts me off. “Maybe if you talked to her about it, she could shed some clarity on it.”

“No!” I growl. “If Sadie had something to tell me about my past, she would have by now. She has always been forthcoming with me, and I won’t worry her by bringing her into shifter business. I think this side of me makes her nervous enough as it is.”

“I still think you should talk to her about it.”

I balk slightly. “No! And you promised you wouldn’t either,” I remind her. “No matter what.”

“No, I won’t,” Circe agrees, and I make my way out of the kitchen toward the living room, flopping onto the sofa unceremoniously, my socked feet hanging over the arm of the L-section. I wish I had Sadie’s magic to ignite the fireplace from where I sit, but it’s not so cold today, anyway. Still, the crackle of the fireplace comforts me. “But I still think you should talk to her about the dreams, about what they mean and why you keep having them now when you never had them before.”

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