Page 38 of Wolf Marked

Elara swims until her hands and feet go wrinkly, then climbs out. Jordyn joins her as Kira and Laith decide to stay in. Elara and Jordyn exchange glances and a smile. The couple definitely wants some alone time. Further proof that she’s being hyper-sensitive thanks to everything she’s been through the past couple of weeks.

Laying back on her towel, Elara lets the sun dry her skin as Jordyn stretches out next to her, pulling a book out of the small bag she brought. Elara wonders if she should’ve done thesame, but as she closes her eyes, she decides that maybe a short afternoon siesta would be better.

The sound of the breeze through the trees reaches her, along with some small animal scurrying up a trunk. Pine needles brushing up against countless others. Even a car passing on the highway despite the distance.

And then she hears voices.

It’s Kira and Laith. And it sounds like they’re arguing.

Elara tries not to listen in, she really does. But her over-sensitive hearing can’t help it. Especially when Kira throws out an angry accusation.

“You still like Elara, admit it! You’re only getting close to me so you can be with her!”

Elara can hear the tears in her voice, barely drowning the anger, and her heart squeezes.

The last thing she wants is for her friend to be hurt because of how someone feels about her. She wants to tell Kira that it doesn’t matter, that she doesn’t have any feelings for Laith, but she can’t. For one thing, her feelings aren’t the problem here; Laith’s are. For another, she shouldn’t be able to hear them. It’s not a normal thing, and she's only just now convincing them that she's getting back to that elusive place.

“I told you,” Laith says, clearly frustrated. “It didn’t even know her when I asked her. I was pushing myself to take a risk!”

A trickle of relief runs through Elara. Laith no longer has feelings for her. Probably never did. Surely Kira can hear the sincerity in his voice?

“Then how come you keep wanting to spend time with Elara and Jordyn? Rather than just be with me?”

There’s the sound of splashing, and it gets closer to shore. “Because I thought it would be nice for us all to hang out! I want to fit in with your friends.”

Jordyn looks up as Laith’s voice gets louder and louder. She glances at Elara, who shrugs. As much as she doesn’t want this argument broadcast to any other people, she’s glad she no longer has to pretend she can’t hear it.

“How do I know you’re not just saying that?” says Kira, the question part demand, part pleading.

She wants to believe Laith.

But she’s scared.

He appears at the edge as he hauls himself out of the water, then spins around to look down. “Maybe because I haven’t tried to see Elara in the past two weeks? Maybe because I haven’t even mentioned her?” His arms shoot out wide. “Maybe because I told you I liked you, Kira!”

He spins around, flushing when he sees Elara and Jordyn sitting on their towels, watching him. They look away simultaneously, but it’s too late. He knows they have an audience.

Cursing, he strides past them, a gust of wind seeming to follow him.

Elara pushes to her feet, frowning. Surely not…

But the trees ahead are now thrashing as if they’re caught in a storm, despite the blue sky overhead. Laith keeps walking toward them, not seeming to notice.

Or drawn to their chaos.

Elara’s frozen to the spot. This is very similar to what happened to her after she was attacked. How has Laith gone so long without showing any signs like she had? It doesn’t make any sense. Her first few days she’d been fully surrounded by weirdness, unable to control anything because she hadn't even realized she was doing it. It’s been weeks since Laith was scratched, and he hasn't shown a single sign of any abilities before now. She doesn't know how that's possible, but she doesknow that something strange is going on with him, just as much as it's with her.

Laith’s emotions are out of control. And so are their surroundings.

She hurries over to him. “Laith, you need to calm down. Why don’t we take a walk and just cool down for a minute?”

She reaches out like she’s going to touch his arm, but Kira leaps to her side. “Why don’t you back off, Elara?”

Laith shoves his hands into his hair as he glances between the two of them. “She’s just trying to help,” he says to Kira. “Can’t you see that?”

The wind picks up even more, whipping Elara’s hair into her face. She brushes it away just as a branch breaks somewhere. Bark flies past, leaves and pine needles peppering her skin. Behind her, Jordyn cries out that they should get back to the car. Somewhere, a branch snaps.

Suddenly it occurs to Elara, and she kicks herself for not thinking of it before. Everything that's happening around them is a result of magic, the same kind of magic she hadn't been able to control in her first few days after being scratched. But she can control it now, at least a little bit. It might be enough to negate Laith's magic so that they're all safe, even though Kira and Jordyn are here. If she doesn’t, someone’s going to get hurt before Laith can get control of himself.

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