Page 128 of Cosmic Power

Wind whistled in his ear and his head snapped to the open window. He blurred to it, staring out into the plush green yard. It was a three-story jump. Easily achievable by any supernatural.

Who could have taken her? Barnabas was dead. The threat to her life should have died with him. Why—

Something caught his eye. He glanced down, seeing a piece of paper with his name on it. He tentatively reached for it, terrified of what he was going to find.

Luther,

Don’t freak out. Don’t go on some murderous killing spree and DO NOT hurt Axel. I know you assigned him to guard me—which, by the way, wasn’t needed—but we can talk about that later. I will be VERY, VERY upset if you hurt him. He did nothing wrong. I slipped out the window without him knowing.

I just need to take a little time for myself, to think. I can’t do that when you’re around. You complicate things, jumble my mind until I can’t even think straight.

I just need a day, maybe two.

Don’t worry, I’ll be back.

Love, Z.

Luther read the note once,twice, three times. And then he roared, his anger exploding out of him in a powerful torrent that tossed the furniture into the air, whipping it around the room. Volatile energy slammed into the floor and walls, shattering the glass windows and making cracks appear all along the mahogany walls. Someone tried to talk to him, but he couldn’t hear them over the anger rushing through his head.

He scrunched the note up in his hands and leapt out of the window, landing with a thud on the ground below. He ignored the shriek of surprise from one of the vampire warriors patrolling the area and blurred off, hunting for Zamorra’s scent.

ChapterThirty-Six

Zamorra slowly swung her legs back and forth in the water, leaning back on her hands and rolling her neck from side to side as she enjoyed the heat of the sun boring down on her. Her uncle, the child that he was, was jumping off the small cliff to her left, doing cannonballs into the lake.

After the intense meeting the Ancestrals held yesterday, she’d gone straight to her room and had a little cry. It wasn’t often that she cried. But seeing those horrifying images had done something to her. Shattered something within her.

She’d done some pretty fucked up shit in her life. Killed others without a second thought. Human, shifter, vampire. None of it had bothered her in the slightest, because what it came down to was survival. It was them or her. She always chose her. Duh. But seeing those sadistic fae assholes killchildrenand laugh about it afterwards was just too much for her.

She realised quickly she needed to get away. Not only from the crushing pressure of the upcoming war with the fae, but also from Luther. Just for a little bit.

It was impossible to think around him. His scent, his presence, that gorgeous, sculpted face of his made it too hard to form a coherent fucking thought around him. All she wanted to do was climb that jungle gym of a body and lose herself in the pleasure of him. His blood. His bite. His…everything.

She was hoping that a little time apart might help things between them. Her werewolf hated being away from him. The second she jumped out of that window and ran, her werewolf wanted to turn right back around and look for him. Zamorra hoped that by being so far away from him, it would make her werewolf see what a life without Luther would feel like. Maybe it would make her werewolf forget about the need for a mate bond.

Despite what she heard Luther say, she didn’t believe he really wanted her as his mate. She understood his hesitation, and didn’t blame him one bit for it. She tried to picture what it would feel like to be betrayed in such a way by someone she loved. It would be something impossible to come back from.

So no, she didn’t blame him for not wanting to bond. But her werewolf wasn’t as understanding. Zamorra still felt the hum 0f anticipation vibrating from the entity when it came to a mate bond. That told Zamorra her werewolf was still very much wanting one. Until that feeling went away, Zamorra didn’t think she could ever commit wholeheartedly to Luther. Not when there was a chance her werewolf would cut their connection in an instant. It would be too heartbreaking to end things. Zamorra wasn’t sure she’d survive it.

The cool, chilly water lapping against her skin zapped her out of her thoughts. She glanced around, a small smile forming on her lips as she took in the beautiful view. They’d found the lake in a secluded section of the forest, surrounded on all sides by plush green trees, wildflowers and various small animals that used the lake as their own personal watering hole. At first, they ran off in fear. But after a few hours, a few of them had slowly started to make their way back. She saw a family of ducks. Some deer. Wild bush turkeys. Even a bear cub. She had to be wary of that last one; where a cub was, the mama was sure to follow.

“Cannonball, baby!” Void yelled, sailing off the cliff.

Zamorra laughed when a spray of water hit her full on. When she called her uncle, asking if he wanted to come with her and get away for a few days, he’d said, “Uh, hell fucking yes.”

She felt bad about deceiving Axel. She knew the vampire was only doing what Luther told him. But shehadto get away. She just hoped Luther wouldn’t take his anger out on him. She had every intention of returning, and if she found out Axel had been hurt because of something she’d done, the guilt would lay on pretty fucking thick.

Void swam over to her, his arms gliding through the water in slow, measured strokes. When he got to the edge, he propped himself up by his arms, shaking his head like a dog. “Man, this is awesome,” he panted, wiping a hand down his face. “You sure you don’t wanna get in? The water is cold at first, but it feels amazing after a few minutes.”

Zamorra shook her head. “This is enough for me,” she said, kicking her legs.

“Suit yourself.” Her uncle jumped out and went over to the cliff to jump off it again. And again, and again.

For hours, Void repeatedly leapt into the water, doing twists, flips and cannonballs. Zamorra watched. It was nice just to sit there and not have to think or worry about what was going on. For right now, right in this moment, she was just enjoying the heat of the sun and seeing her uncle make a complete fool himself.

Zamorra reached for her werewolf, brushing her mind against the entity’s.You okay?she asked. Her werewolf had been uncharacteristically quiet over the last few days. It was strange. Usually, Zamorra couldn’t get her werewolf to shut the fuck up and now, she was actively having to reach out to talk.

I’m fine,her werewolf said with a pleasant enough attitude that made Zamorrathinkshe didn’t have to worry, and yet…there was something off about it. Her werewolf slunk away to a far corner in Zamorra’s mind, making their connection even more strained. It was like she was hiding away. But why?

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