Chapter18

I still didn’t move, my mind in shock. “What the *fuck*?” I breathed. *No way*! What had just been after me was impossible, something of myth. But there it had been, circling me like I was to be dinner. I gave my head a small shake. A lycanthrope—a freaking werewolf, and contrary to legend, it obviously didn’t just come out on a full moon.

Tires crunched near my pickup then came to a stop, soon I heard doors slamming, and Brielle and Leighton, screaming, “SYDNEY!”

Slowly rolling out from the underside of the pickup, I called. “I’m here.”

A WEEK LATER

~DECLAN

Whatever the fuck I had eaten last night had not set well on my stomach all day—and I was still nauseated as all hell.

I’d shut myself up in my bedroom, drawing the curtains tight and had thrown myself on the bed, groaning out my misery. But as the hours had passed, they had passed with no relief. Now, growing desperate, I shoved the pillow I’d tried suffocating myself with off my head, and sat up on the side of the mattress. Lord help me, I was sick as a dog. That brought a wry smile to my lips, but too damn sick to give it the full appreciation it deserved for wittiness, I covered my mouth and bolted toward the bathroom.

Hunkered over the toilet, I begged the contents of my stomach to come up, but after a few minutes of trying, I realized it wasn’t happening. I’d even tried forcing it by sticking a finger down my throat, but whatever the hell was down there, was staying like glue.

Shakily climbing to my feet, I made my way over to the shower—maybe it would help.

###

Fifteen minutes later, I was once again sitting on the edge of my bed. I couldn’t even beg for death—I’d already knocked on that door.

As I sat with my head clasped in my hands, I wished, for the first time ever, I could have been a different species. That’s the thing about being a sylph—our genes didn’t play well with others. With the transformation, and the gene-pool of whatever sat in my stomach, my body was in complete chaos. Sylphs were not meat-eaters because of how we absorbed other species' cells, and I’m sure good ol’ Vitaba had quite the laugh over making my uncle and I into ravenous meat-hounds. If I wasn’t positive she’d taste like the back-side of a skunk, I’d probably take a chunk or two out of her if I ever met up with her again. But if she walked in through my door right now, I’d probably just vomit on her.

Even though whatever I had eaten had a hold of me, what really had me by the gut, was the fact that a week ago, I had gone after Sydney. I didn’t remember any of it, but Leighton had confronted me with it the next morning after he’d returned from Sydney’s. I hated myself afterward.

It was bad enough that bodies were popping up all over Breaux Bridge, but I had done what I feared the most, I had attacked Sydney. I had done everything I could to stay away from her, stupidly thinking it might help somehow to keep the wolf away from her door—quite literally.

But now, it had become more than obvious I had to leave. I had to go somewhere I could never return from. But where the hell was that? Water could be crossed by boat, and land…by car, train or bus. And air? By blending in with it or taking a plane. So, maybe a dungeon and chains for the rest of my existence was the only option, until I was destroyed. Wherever my final home would be in the end, I had somewhere I had to be here, first.

~SYDNEY~

I missed Declan, there was no sense in denying it any longer. He had filled me up in his presence, and now, I was empty. How did we wind up here? I wondered. I was full of fear, lost in a lonely life, and yes, I still had Brielle and Leighton. But without Declan, I was broken. I felt like I was hanging by a thread. My heart, barely beating as it grew weaker with each day that passed.

Rolling my head, I looked at the clock on my bedside table. Three in the morning, and I couldn’t sleep, I was tired of traveling down this broken road. Maybe it was time to pick up the warrior within me and go to war. I didn't know where Declan was, but it was time I found him.

I never got the chance though, for not ten minutes after I’d thought of him, I sensed him, then heard him, as propped on the window sill he murmured, “You always were beautiful in the moonlight.”

“Declan?” I cried, as throwing back my covers, I leaped from the bed, launching in his direction, crying, “Oh my God, Declan. Where have you been?” My voice was filled with hurt I couldn’t disguise.

Sliding off the sill, he cut short the distance between us, and reaching out, he ran his thumbs lightly across the underside of my jaw, then lifting my chin, he placed his lips on mine. For long moments he kissed me softly, gently. Then lifting his head, he drew me against his chest. I could feel his heart beating, the slight tremble in his touch. Something about him being so tender scared me. And the way he held me, as if he was trying to memorize the feeling of me against him, doubled the fear.

After a few seconds, he pulled back and gazed into my eyes. “Rylee, I’m in love with you, and I know it’s a shitty time to tell you, but I needed it said before I go any further.”

I opened my mouth, but he laid a quieting finger against my lips, then shook his head. “Please, let me get this out, otherwise I may never get the chance again. That night I made love to you in my pickup, is a memory I will cherish for as long as I am able. But in time it's going to fade, Syd. Everything about you, about this life, it’s all going to fade—I’m gonna lose it. All the times we had growing up, I’m going to lose those too. What I’m trying to say is this—I’ve become a monster, a Lycanthrope, and it’s time you know who you are. You’re a witch, a very powerful witch, in fact, your lineage is the most powerful beings’ to walk this earth. Honey, you’re a demi-god, and I need you to embrace that, to bring forth the abilities within you. You have just touched the surface of what you can do, and you’re going to need the full strength of your powers to use against me. You can’t hesitate to kill me, Syd, you can’t wait, because if you do, I’ll kill you. Goodbye, my love.”

With that, he vanished.