Page 27 of A Wolf's Wound

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In fact, I know it’s about to.

Chapter 15

Ryder

I’msurroundedbybodies.They’re everywhere I turn.

I don’t know where I am.It’s too dark to see much.But I have the feeling I’ve been here before.

Not just any bodies.The councilman lunges at me, his lips curled in a mocking sneer.Then the man I found in the forest is in front of me, his eyes wide.I turn around and see a man I know is the third body found in the forest.

I’m sweating and stumbling in the dark, trying to get away from the macabre scene.My legs feel like they’re moving through quicksand, though, and the harder I run the slower my progress.

But finally, I make it into a dark alley and I look around at my surroundings.Am I alone?Have I dodged the men?

I hear a noise behind me and turn to see a shrouded figure.I think it’s a man, but I can’t see his face.He approaches and I instinctively take a step back, my shoulders tense.All of my senses are on high alert, ready for the fight.I look at the figure more closely, trying to determine if he has a weapon.

He moves toward me, his arms emerging from the shroud, and—

I open my eyes.

I’m drenched in cold sweat.My bedsheets are in a heap on the floor.My hands are clenched as if ready to punch someone.My heart’s beating so fast I gasp for breath.

It was just a dream.Scratch that—a nightmare.But that’s all it was.

Or was it?Everything that happened felt so real, more like a memory than a nightmare.The look on the councilman’s face.The eyes of the man I found.The gait of the third man, the way I automatically knew he was the other body found in the forest.

I didn’t feel like I was dreaming.I felt like I was reliving actions I’d taken before, situations I’d been in before, in my own life.I was seeing all three men in the moments before they died.

But how is that possible?How could everything feel so familiar?

The thought hits me like a blow to the heart: What if these really were memories?

What if I knew what they looked like, what they were doing, right before they died because I was there?

What if I was the one who killed them?

What if I’m the one who’s changing people?

“No,” I say out loud, turning on the light near my bed.“No!”

I get out of bed and pace my room.There’s no way I changed these men.That’s not who I am.That’sneverbeen who I am.

And I would remember doing that.Of course, I would… Wouldn’t I?

I shake my head as if that will drive away my doubts.I don’t have gaps in my memory anymore.It’s been months since I’ve gotten blackout drunk.There are no missing hours or nights anymore, no more mornings when I wake up with chunks of the evening obliterated from my memory.

“Get a grip,” I tell myself, running my hands through my hair in agitation.“It was a fucking nightmare, okay?That’s all.”But my words ring hollow in my ears.

Finally, I leave my room in the pack house and go downstairs.I don’t have a destination in mind, just a strong desire to get out of my bedroom.Maybe motion will help.Maybe walking will clear my head.But a light is on in the kitchen.Curious about who else is up in the middle of the night, I enter the space and find Gavin sitting alone at the kitchen table, a glass of water in front of him.

“Hey,” he greets me wearily.“Couldn’t sleep?”

“Something like that.”I drop into the chair across from him.“You too?”

“Never even tried,” he grunts.“I don’t think I’ll sleep until we figure out why these shifts are happening.”

“If that’s what they are,” I remind him, and he nods.