I squint my eyes open at the frantic ticking of a clock. Scratch that, the speed at which the ticking continues makes it sound like a ticking time-bomb, nearing its limit and ready to blast any second. It’s so close to my ears, it seems almost deliberate, a shameless attempt to wake me up from my peaceful slumber.

Hurrmph! What’s up with this annoying sound?

I turn my head to find I am in a specious bed in an equally specious room. Thick brocade curtains hang on windows totally obscuring any light out so I cannot make out what time of day it is. A low hum of air conditioning shields out any background sounds except for the fretful ticking. I scrunch my eyes to locate the source of it and there it is – a man hulking on the nearby sofa, his eyes scrunched onto a laptop screen, typing away furiously.

The left side of his face is groomed smooth, his sharp jaw clenched with every muscle poised like a snake ready to strike out. The damaged right side of his face remains motionless like a dead skin shed recently, dark, welted, dripping with disdain.

“You are awake.”

His voice brings me back to reality and I realise he has noticed me. With an effortless flick he shuts the laptop and stands up from his place. My jaw drops. He is wearing a suit – a custom-made suit of a lustrous dark black fabric that rolls effortlessly over his powerful body. The top two open buttons of his shirt give a peek at his sculpted chest. The fabric is taut against his muscles as if trying to sink into his skin for its own sinful pleasure.

A prickly heat creeps my neck as I try to shake my head. He looks more like a newly minted millionaire than a werewolf in his prime. No one should be allowed to look this mouth-wateringly tasty. Whatever happened to the ferocious beta of the Silver Shadows?

However, his aura is the same – hot alpha waves, the dominance and the rigid menace he exudes will put the most arrogant tycoon to shame. Ha! So much for a sweet saviour.

I smirk , a disdain curling my lip. He takes two strides to stand by my bed.

“Something funny?”

I clear my throat. “No. Nothing.”

“You were not smiling last night.” He says with his own smirk.

My face loses its sheen as the images from last night flash in front of my eyes. It’s not even twelve hours. It was a full moon night. Mirabel dragged me to an orgy in the woods, then disappeared with a man. Then I met Gerhart and then he brought me to the cemetery to…

I jerk with violent shudder, sitting up straight as the memory of him ripping up my shirt zaps through my mind. With frantic fingers, I pull the blanket up close to my neck to feel my top half, only to find it’s covered with a loose t-shirt. My skin breaks into a cold sweat as the rest of the events flood my mind.

Yeah, there was nothing to talk home about. I was taken for a ride by Gerhart. What a fool I have proven myself to be. A stupid, pathetic, trusting fool who never learns her lesson how many ever times she is let down.

“How are you feeling?” Adam takes a step towards the bed, his eyes narrow, lips pursed. I press my lips to curb my quivering heart.

“I am fine.”

“Great. So can you tell me what you were doing with that necromancer last night in the middle of a graveyard?”

“Necro….what?” I ask frowning, still gathering my wits. My brain is swamped not only with memories of the last night but with everything before.

“A necromancer. I hope you know the term or so you need me to define it for you?”

I make a sour face.

Yeah, I know the term. From my extensive knowledge of made-up worlds curtsey the furtive imagination of hundreds of teenage fantasy authors, a necromancer is a sorcerer with a particular affinity towards death. They hunt dead, draw power from them, and sometimes resurrect them to do their bidding. They are few and far between and always the most dangerous. But Gerhart does not fit in this definition. He has nothing to do with the dead.

“He was not a necromancer. Just because you found us in a graveyard does not mean you can draw any conclusions.”

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“You are siding with him after what he did last night?” Adam frowns, his eyes seething with anger. “If it were not for me arriving in time…”

“What were you doing there by the way?” I cut him short with a counter-question. “Shouldn’t you be at Silver Shadows minding your business? With your parents gone and Tammy and half your family away, should you not be there to take care of the pack?”

Even as I ask my anxiety leaks into my voice. I want to know about all of them – Tammy, Tina, the twins. Myra and my sister Olivia. I saw them in the Oracle’s vision, but I am eager to get a first-hand account from Adam.

“How is everyone?” I ask as irritation starts simmering beneath the surface. “And why are you here anyway?”

“Everyone is fine.” He exhales, looking a bit lost. “Well as fine as they can be in these circumstances. I am in LA on pack business. And while I was here, I thought I would…”

His voice trails away as he looks away from me. My realization is slow but I guess his reason. He is here to check on me? I do not know what happened after I fell from that cliff. This man watched me falling. He was part of the reason I jumped.

And then he had his little ‘darling’ who he met in the graveyard. How eager he looked when he rushed towards her. Even in my vision, I could sense his desperation.

I shake my head, trying to forget the image. It’s hard when it’s lodged itself into my heart like a stinging thorn.

“So while you were in LA on pack business you thought to check on my grandmother’s grave? That does not make sense, Mr Stevens.” My voice is dry, devoid of any emotion. He clears his throat.

“That’s exactly what it is. I searched for you after you fell. I searched everywhere, waited for days but could not find you. I thought you were…”

“You thought I was dead and cleaned off by wild animals?”

He sighs, raking his fingers through his pristine dark hair. “I did not want to believe it but that was the conclusion we reached. You have no idea how shocked I was last night. How happy I am to see you well.”

Our eyes meet and for a fleeting second, I see something flickering. Care, concern, guilt. My own face is calm. I very well remember the woman from my vision. The woman he called his beloved.

I still do not get why he is here. He rejected me and I accepted his decision and that is that.

“Well, thank you again for helping me out. I am not sure how I can repay your kindness, but I will when I can.”

He stares, his hands balling into fists. I do not know why he looks so angry. It’s not like we owe each other anything. He saved me as he would have saved anyone in that situation and I would repay his debt whichever way possible, whenever I can.

I lift my chin defiantly, giving him a stare. He grits his teeth.

“You still haven’t told me what you were doing last night. How did you come across that necromancer? Was he the one who saved you from the cliff?”

I roll my eyes.

“I am telling you again Gerhart is not a necromancer. And yes, he saved me from the cliff. It is all thanks to him that I am alive today, so I owe him the same debt I owe you.”

I don’t know why I am spouting this rubbish, but it feels nice when I see Adam riling up. Gerhart’s ‘debt’ as I call it, is nothing but his deceit. He saved me knowing I was related to Adele Winters, the greatest witch of our times. He wanted her as his mate for his own shady reasons but when grandma refused to fall for his tricks, he found me to attain the same goal.

What had he said last night? He wanted to suck my soul. I shudder at the memory. I am lucky Adam reached there when he did. If not for him, I would have turned into a soulless zombie by now.

My mood plummets drastically. Gerhart was the only sorcerer powerful enough to undo grandma’s curse and now that he is not an option, I do not know where to turn to.

“If it helps, you do not owe me anything. I did not save you as a favour. You are my responsibility. You are my…”

I wait for him to finish his sentence. He doesn’t. Coward!

Whatever. At this point I have no expectations from Adam. Our bond is broken or is on the way to break as none of us are interested anymore. It will eventually wither and die away as it should. And in the meantime, I need to continue my search of the next powerful wizard who could counter grandma’s skill and will.

I need to get going. I cannot afford to waste time here. But I do not know where to go next. For the first time in ever I feel truly on my own.

Desperation boils up my heart but I keep a firm grip on my emotions.

“If there’s nothing else, I would like to take your leave. Thanks for all your help again. I’ll be gone soon.”

I push my covers to stand up. I am still wearing my jeans still damp from yesterday’s rain and the oversize t-shirt that I suspect belongs to Adam hanging loosely below my hip swamping me out. My jacket is draped on the back of a chair and my boots are sitting neatly in a pair near the door.

I make to grab my boots, only to be blocked by Adam-the-insufferable. He stands in front of me like a menacing wall, grunting, frowning, spitting fire like an enraged dragon.

“Get back into bed. You are not well. You have no idea what spells the necromancer put you through.”

“I said I am fine. I feel fine. I am not injured and I am well enough to leave.”

“I said you cannot leave.”

“I said I am leaving. You have no right to…”

“I have every right, dammit Danny! Get back in there!”

“Let me go!”

By now I am backed to the bed, my wobbly knees touching the bed. Adam advances like a savage beast, his unnerving growl knocking me off my kilter. I yelp as I fall backwards, limbs splayed in an unseemly fashion. I flush in embarrassment, staring wide-eyed as the giant looming over me.

“Yeah, that’s right. Stay there. This is how I prefer you to be.”

“Wh…what?”

He makes a face, then pulls the blanket to throw it on me to cover my dignity. I grit my teeth. I am about to lash out when someone clears their throat at the door.

“Ahem! I hope I am not interrupting.”

My eyes snap to the door to find a young woman. with an amused smile dancing on her lips. She saunters in on her four-inch heels, carrying a bag that she plops on the coffee table.

***** *****