Page 109 of Wolf Mate

When the elevator door opened, Hecate took my hand, but I could feel her annoyance. I was getting on everyone’s nerves, and I couldn’t blame them.

“Go get us something to eat,” Hecate called back to Zella. “I have a feeling we won’t be able to sit down for very long.”

I rushed into the woods. The hum flowed through my blood and out of my body, and a fir at the front of the tree line cracked in half and crashed to the ground. Still, my blood kept humming.

The next tree shook, and the entire trunk fell to my left, causing the ground to shake.

“Dammit, Sky,” Hecate growled, “You need to calm down.”

As I reached the edge of the trees, my legs gave out. I dropped to my knees and rolled onto my side. I tried to pull up a memory to calm myself, but all I could picture was Raffe’s face, and my emotions rioted harder. More things broke and cracked, and my eyelids grew heavy. I’d never exerted power like this before.

My eyes closed, and exhaustion overtook me.

Mutters filtered into my mind.

“She’s getting worse, and he keeps watching her,” a voice that sounded a lot like Slade’s replied. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing good,” Priestess Olwyn’s strong female voice replied. “We need to make sure he stays away and figure out how to help her. I’m heading to the library to see if we’ve overlooked anything in aBook of Twilight. Get her up, feed her, and take her back to her apartment so she can rest. She’ll need it after this. Cade and Eva are restoring the trees, so no one should notice. Luckily, most everyone is at the game.”

A shiver shuddered through me, and I peeled my eyes open. Slade and Priestess Olwyn stood five feet away, and Hecate was sitting next to me on the ground, flames dancing in her hands. We were deeper in the woods than when I’d passed out, and I felt like a freight train had run me over. At least the flames explained why I wasn’t freezing.

“She’s awake,” Hecate said.

I sort of wished my blood were fizzing so I could read everyone’s emotions, but when Slade and Priestess Olwyn glanced at me, I could see the concern etched in every crease on their faces.

“Good.” Priestess Olwyn moved toward me, her long emerald dress flowing behind her as she squatted beside me. “We were worried. You radiated quite a magical blast.”

“I know.” My eyes tried to close again, and I forced them open, feeling the burn of fatigue. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.”

“We’ll figure it out, dear. You just need rest.” She patted my hand and looked at Slade. “Once she’s settled, join me in the library. We have a lot to learn.”

He nodded, and she rose and strode away.

Hecate and Slade helped me stand, and Slade wrapped an arm around my waist. My vision blurred from unshed tears. I wished the arm around me was Raffe’s. I’d give almost anything to have him here.

Knowing that wishing was a waste of energy, I leaned all my weight on Slade. He placed his other arm under my knees and lifted me to his chest.

It was firm, but nothing like Raffe’s chiseled chest. And his herbal scent wasn’t tantalizing like Raffe’s. Heartache choked me, and I gasped.

“Make sure no one comes near here while they work. I only put up a quick ward,” Slade commanded, and he carried me away.

Without Hecate’s flames, I shivered. At least I thought it was from the lack of heat, but maybe it was from feeling so wrong in someone else’s arms. I tried to push the thought away, but wishing wouldn’t accomplish anything. Raffe wasn’t mine.

Not anymore.

My blood jolted, but my eyelids grew heavy once more, and sleep took me hard.

“Damn cat,”Lucy growled from somewhere nearby.

A threatening hiss responded, and something shifted on top of me.

What the hell was going on? I opened my eyes to find the cat’s back arched as she bared her teeth at Lucy, who was peeking through my partly open door, holding chopped-up meat on a plate.

“I’m trying to make sure you don’t starve since Sky has been passed out since last night,” Lucy spat as she opened the door wider and set the plate on the floor. “So we’re clear, this is only because Sky needs you.”

I laughed despite feeling like I had the flu. My body ached, and my head spun.

Lucy’s gaze snapped to me, and she frowned. “Fine. I take it back. I’m not feeding you.”

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