Page 43 of Collar Me Crazy
Ryker remained in the exact center of the room, his wolf still on high alert. The entities were gone, but their words echoed in his mind. The seer who sees too much. When the eighth bond breaks.
They knew about Sonya. They knew about the connection between them, and they saw it as a weapon to be used against Hollow Oak's defenses.
"Ryker?" Cora approached carefully, her silver light dimmed but still present. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Worse," he said quietly. "I think I just got a preview of what's coming for all of us."
Outside, the sounds of normal life resumed as people began to filter back toward the restaurant. But Ryker could feel the change in the air, the way the very fabric of Hollow Oak's reality had grown thinner. Whatever had attacked the restaurant was just the beginning.
The real assault was still to come..
25
SONYA
The scream echoed from somewhere near the town square, sharp and terrified. Sonya dropped the sage bundle she'd been tying and ran to the apothecary's front window, her heart hammering as she watched people scatter from the direction of Moonlit Meadow Restaurant.
"What's happening?" Freya appeared beside her, wiping soil from her hands on a dish towel.
"I don't know, but it's not good." Sonya grabbed her jacket from the counter. "I need to get closer."
"Wait." Freya caught her arm. "If it's supernatural, you should let the protectors handle it."
"My visions have been building to something all week. This might be what I've been seeing." Sonya pulled free gently but firmly. "I have to know."
She jogged toward the commotion, arriving just as Ryker and the others emerged from the restaurant. His auburn hair was disheveled, and she could see the tightness in his shoulders even from a distance. When their eyes met across the small crowd, relief flooded his face.
"Everyone's okay," Callum announced to the gathered townspeople. "Minor supernatural disturbance, already contained."
But Sonya could see through the careful reassurance. Cora's hands still glowed faintly with silver light, and Emmett's jaw was set in the way that meant serious trouble. Whatever had happened inside that restaurant wasn't minor.
"We should check the other businesses," Emmett said quietly to Ryker. "Make sure this was an isolated incident."
"I'll take the north side of the square," Ryker replied, his voice rough with leftover adrenaline.
"I'll come with you," Sonya offered, approaching the group.
Ryker's expression tightened. "You should go back to the apothecary. Until we know what we're dealing with?—"
"I'm a seer, remember? My abilities might help identify what's causing this." She kept her tone reasonable despite the flash of irritation at his protective instincts. "Besides, you look like you could use backup."
"She's right," Cora said before Ryker could argue. "If there are more disturbances, Sonya's gift could give us advance warning."
Ryker nodded reluctantly. "Fine. But you stay close, and if anything feels wrong?—"
"I'll tell you immediately." Sonya fell into step beside him as they headed toward the cluster of shops on the square's northern edge. "What exactly happened in there?"
"Shadow entities. They were possessing people, using them as anchors to stay in our realm." His jaw clenched. "They knew things, Sonya. About the prophecy, about us. They mentioned you specifically."
Ice formed in her stomach. "What did they say?"
"That you see too much. That when the eighth bond breaks, you'll serve their purpose." He stopped walking, turning toface her fully. "Whatever these things are, they're targeting our connection."
"The eighth bond." Sonya repeated the phrase. "Ryker, I don't think our bond is breaking. I think it's the key to whatever's coming."
"What do you mean?"
Before she could answer, the air around them shifted. Not wind, but something deeper—like reality itself was taking a breath. The sensation made her skin prickle with warning.
