Page 1 of Lavender and Lightning

Prologue

Lydia

MyheadswimsasI sit in the darkness of my car. There’s a long, droning noise, like someone is laying on their car horn. Voices around me sound muffled, and I try to take a deep breath to clear my head and focus, but my chest explodes with fiery pain. My head feels wet, and something warm is sliding down my face. I try to lift my hand to wipe it away, but I can’t feel my left arm, and my right arm only twitches limply in response to my command to move.

Flashing red and blue lights reflect strangely in the cracks of my windshield. Cracks? Why…

My thoughts feel like pudding as I try to sort them into order. Leaving the pack house. The pictures. Driving. The headlights. Crunching metal.

My head flops to the side, and I find my phone sitting on the floor of the passenger seat. I try to lean to get it, to call... my alpha. Rhett. I need Rhett.

“Hold on, ma’am. Please don’t move. The paramedics are on their way,” a male voice says sharply, cutting through the fog.

I try to turn my head toward the voice, but another hot flash of pain makes me hiss, setting off the agonizing pinch in my ribs. The inhale brings a scent to my nose: coconut, bamboo, nutmeg. Soft, but not threatening. Beta. I whine, trying to hold back my tears. I need graham crackers and fresh towels. Whiskey and old books and dark chocolate. Lemonade and ozone. Mulled wine. My beta. My alphas.

“You’ve been in an accident. I need you to stay still until the medics get here, okay? Can you do that?” the beta says again, voice deep and calm.

I try to nod, but it only makes me dizzy and nauseous with pain. The beta seems to understand, and the heat of his body radiates near my shoulder. I look out of the corner of my eye, finding a man, maybe in his early thirties, leaning down into my broken window. He’s wearing all black, with a heavy vest and utility belt wrapped around his torso. The blue and red lights reflect off his badge. Police.

“What’s your name, ma’am?” he asks, tone gentling.

I swallow, throat raw and mouth dry. Something drips off my chin and hits my collarbone. “Lydia Anderson,” I croak.

“I’m Officer Nyueng, but you can just call me Lee, okay? Where were you headed tonight, Lydia?” the beta asks.

I look at Lee’s face, his dark slanted eyes and close-cropped black hair weirdly distorted in the dark, only illuminated by the lights of his squad car.

“Home. I... I was—” I swallow again, as other vehicles pull up, trying to get my brain to clear enough to focus.

“Where’s home? Do you live alone?” Lee prompts, hand coming up to muffle a radio on his shoulder as it squawks.

“I—my pack. I’m supposed to spend the weekend with my pack,” I whine, voice cracking with unshed tears.

“You have a bond mate? Someone I can call?” Lee asks urgently.

I try to shake my head but whimper in pain. I twitch my hand toward my phone again. “My phone—Rhett, my alpha, I need—”

“Hey, okay. It’s okay. I’ll try to get your phone. Do you remember what happened, Lydia?” Lee soothes, shifting a little in his crouch.

“I was—” The photos. Darren’s text. “I need my pack. I’m—I need them. Please,” I beg, tears flowing down my face and mixing with whatever was oozing from my forehead.

“Shh, you’re safe. You’re going to be just fine. The medics just pulled up. I’m going to find your phone and let them take over, okay?” Lee asks, throwing a quick look over his shoulder.

“Don’t leave, please—I need—Please.” My words fade into sobs, my head swimming again as the pain returns.

“I’m not going anywhere, Lydia. We’ve got you,” Lee says softly, his scent edging into clean water and bamboo.

Another scent, cherry pie mixed with orange juice and maple, hits me like a slap. I flinch away. Alpha, bonded. Voices become muffled again, my vision fading in and out as it gets harder to breathe. Hands touch my face, warm and rough. I whine, trying to find Lee with my eyes as the hands hold my neck still and straight. He’s on the passenger side, leaning through the broken window to scoop my phone and bag off the floor. My hands are wet, but the red and blue lights make it impossible to tell with what, even as my finger leaves a smear on the screen when I unlock it for Lee.

I close my eyes as more hands touch my arms and legs. I want to lean away, the urge to vomit strong, but I’m held in place. All the noise—running diesel engines, shouting voices, hydraulics—sounds like it’s coming from the other end of a tube filled with water. My eyelids are pulled open, a bright light flashing in my eyes. I glimpse a younger man, the cherry pie alpha. His lips are moving, and he looks at me expectantly, but I don’t want to open my mouth, too afraid that I’m going to throw up.

“Lydia, we’re going to get you out of here. It’s going to be quick, but it might hurt. Ready?”

An unfamiliar voice. I open my eyes again. When did I close them? Cherry Pie is still close to my face. His eyes are green, more seafoam than my bottle-green. I try to nod, but my head is still being held in place by those hands on my ears.

“Lee—”

“Still here, Lydia. I’m trying to call your alpha.”

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