Page 91 of Dead Wolf Falling (Bad Moon Academy 2)

Jinx claps when we finish and snaps her fingers. “Again!”

With a soft growl, I try to pull away from Brayden, but as soon as I do, Penelope starts to scream and drops to her knees.

Shit.

Brayden pins me against his body. “I’m sorry,” he says again, practically carrying me through the entire dance.

“For what?” I slur the question. Lifting my head to meet his gaze leaves me panting from the exertion.

“Everything,” he mumbles, picking up our speed when Jinx complains about how slow we’re moving.

The ghosts are still moaning and wailing a creepy song, but even their voices fade into the background until all I can hear is Jinx’s foot tapping against the ground. The tempo matches my heartbeat, and when she starts to tap it a little slower, my thudding heart slows as well.

Brayden groans and shoves me away, staggering a few feet from me before he vomits.

“Are you okay?” I ask, trying to get to him, but Jinx appears in front of me.

“Stupid girl.” Jinx cackles and shoves me hard enough that I begin to fall, but before I can put my hands out to save face, everything goes black.

The next time I open my eyes, my wrists and ankles are bound, and I’m lying on my side under a cloud-covered sky. Lightning flashes and thunder rumbles. Some of the angry storm clouds break apart, and the light of the full moon spills through, illuminating the ground. Someone is on the ground in front of me, but I can’t tell who because their back is turned to me. It’s not my guys, Bea, or Layla. Focusing on the pack link, I search for the men, sighing in relief when I feel them close by. The relief is short lived because the full moon catches my attention. A stone drops into the pit of my stomach.

The full moon.

If you have grand plans to save everyone, now is probably a good time,Joan says.

Joan! Are you okay?

She huffs.I am for now. The demon spirit is about to kill us all though.

Lifting my head is a struggle, but I manage to glance around. Everyone is tied up and lying on their sides. Jinx has placed us in a circle, and she stands in the middle of it with her hands raised toward the sky. Her eyes are glowing white like the moon, and she drops her head back, soaking up the moonlight.

I push to my knees, falling on my face when I lose my balance. “Damn it,” I mutter, using my shoulder to get off the ground and flexing my abs to keep from slamming into the earth again. Wind whips over the yard, tossing my hair into the air. Whatever Jinx is saying is carried away with the breeze, but there’s a deep tugging inside of me, like she’s hooked on to my soul and is reeling it toward her.

“Jinx.”

“Good. You’re awake.” Jinx lowers her head to stare at me, her lips drawing back to reveal sharp teeth. Powered by the souls of shifters, Jinx stands completely solid. No more flickering form. Consuming Howard’s spirit the other day gave her an extra boost, and now her skin is as real as mine.

“You don’t have to do this!” I scream into the wind, spitting out pieces of my hair. “You don’t have to listen to the alpha.”

“I’m not listening to him.” I can barely hear her over the thunder. “This reaping is for me, and it’s all thanks to you.”

My face wrinkles in confusion. All thanks to me? Because of my powers?

She laughs, still holding her hands toward the sky. “Thanks to you, Raven, I can take from Death himself and become real once more. No more planes separating me from the living. No more flickering in and out. I’ll be one-hundred-percent demon in the flesh.”

“You’re crazy,” I say, shaking my head. “He won’t let you take from him and go free. He’s going to come for you, and he will destroy you. Is that what you want?”

Jinx scowls and glances at me. “Shut up, you’re ruining the reaping.”

“No. You have to listen. You can’t—”

“Don’t tell me what I can’t do. If you haven’t noticed, you’re already marked for death. You feel that grip I have on your soul?” The tugging sensation returns, this time harder and more painful. I gasp, sucking in a hard breath. “That’s me. You can’t escape this time.”

No. There has to be a way out of this. I look around, seeing a few people moving, rolling over to see what’s happening. They’re still alive! For a second, I thought maybe she’d taken them all already, but Bea’s gaze finds mine, and she calls my name, face screwing up in fear. Another hard pull inside of me makes me cry out, and Jinx begins to siphon my essence, dragging it into herself.

Fight, Raven! Fight!Joan yells inside my head.

Grasping on to my soul with my mind, where the invisible hook is attached, I grind my teeth and tug. The thread between Jinx’s body and mine snaps tight, and I breathe in, yanking again.

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