Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
I was mortal but so much more.
I gave myself over to it.
I welcomed the effortless power.
A brush of fur on my hip.
The pounding of paws as I raced ahead.
A surprised growl as I left him in my dust.
More heat burst through my ribs, ebbing from a black, endless place behind my heart. It sparked and hissed, shooting through my veins until it branded the mark on my leg with fire.
I didn’t feel earth beneath me anymore.
I opened my eyes and—
Darkness.
All around my legs.
Shadows twined around my thighs and calves, circling my feet and ankles, swallowing my lower half until I was part night, part man.
I stumbled.
I gasped.
I tumbled headfirst into the grass, breaking stems and sending a plume of seedheads bursting into the sky. Landing in a tangle of limbs, I swiped at the undulating darkness around my legs. The shadows shifted and slithered, throbbing in time with my heartbeat.
Salak slammed to a stop beside me, his large bulk towering above as he bared his teeth and snarled at the shades wrapped around me. He snapped at the one lashing my ankle.
Ripping my legs away from his fangs, I rubbed my skin and sighed in relief as the darkness faded, the cloying shadows dispersing. They slithered into the long grass like black snakes, removing the grey pallor from my earthen skin, leaving me sunlit once again.
Salak panted, his tongue wet and eyes narrowed. He grumbled low in his chest.
I caught his stare, shrugging with as much confusion as him. “I don’t understand.” Standing, I peered into the grass, searching for the shadows that’d swallowed my legs whole. “That’s never happened before.”
Salak sniffed me as if making sure I was still the mortal he’d chosen. His damp, cool nose inhaled every inch before he sneezed, rubbed his muzzle on his legs, then huffed and turned to retrace the way we’d run.
I moved with him, shaken and slightly afraid.
Had I done that?
Had I somehow summoned the night to infiltrate the day?
Rubbing my face with both hands, I looked over my shoulder to see how far we’d raced.
I froze.
No...it can’t be.
Spinning back, I glared at the silver plume of smoke, twirling in the sky, glittering with sunshine.
The fire.
The never-ending, never-moving fire was only a short run away.
The mark on my thigh stung.
Her touch was the sweetest agony and her smile like a brilliant sunrise—
My chest burst with blistering heartache.
My feet moved on their own accord.
I was summoned, urged—
Salak huffed and darted into my path, filling my vision with wolf. With a soft whine, he pressed his huge bulk against my side. He barked and pushed me, making me trip backward.
“Hey...” I rested my hand on his flank, feeling the hardness of muscle beneath dense fur. “I need to see. Something’s tugging me...”
He snorted and pushed me again, shoving me away from the ever-burning flames.
“Fire can devour this entire plain,” I said softly, trying to convince him and myself that I was leaving for safety reasons, not because my heart pounded with urgency. An anxious desperation that only grew stronger the longer he forbid me.
Salak pushed me again, his body stiff and teeth bared.
He’d never used his dominance over me in such a way before. He’d always welcomed and cajoled instead of outright requested I follow his law. And usually, I would behave. I would accept his decree and follow him back to the cave.
But...
Today was a day of firsts.
Pushing him toward the direction of the pack and safety of the cave, I stepped backward toward the fire plume. “I’ll just look, then I’ll return. You have my word.”
The wolf snarled and shook his head.
I held my ground.
The crescent-moon mark on my hip suddenly switched from an irritating sting to a breath-stealing burn.
I flinched.
Salak glanced at it as if he could feel the sizzling pain, just like me.
I frowned.
He grumbled as his hackles rose.
“You don’t have to be afraid.” I fought the urge to slap a palm over my blazing mark. “Nothing can hurt me.”
He snarled again, his narrowed eyes glowing a darkened gold.
A gust of sooty smoke swirled around us on a breeze, wrenching my gaze over my shoulder, soaking into my bones, goading me to investigate.
I have to go.
Straightening to my full height, I glowered at the alpha and spoke a language he would understand.
I snarled. Loudly.
I bared my teeth.
I held his stare so he knew I would fight if he refused to let me go, and then I turned and walked away.
For a long moment, Salak didn’t respond.
His silence broke my heart because I’d hurt the only creature who’d found and loved me.
But then the grass rustled as he sat on his haunches. The air tensed as he lifted his muzzle to the sun. And a flock of birds shot into the sky as Salak released a spirit-rendering howl.
I flinched as it echoed in my ears.