#18

Evander POV
She washed out the glass jars and silverware, setting it to dry. As I sat at the table finishing my water. "I want to show you something," she moved from the counter. I stood, following her as she went back upstairs. She instinctively curled her hand around mine as she tugged me along. Her way was lit by the flame at her fingertips. She sat on the bed, pulling her pack up next to her. She pulled out the leather-bound notebook and another I hadn't seen before. I piled the pillows against the headboard and sat comfortably against them, motioning for her to bring her items over. I pulled her back close to my chest as she sat between my legs. Which allowed me to peer over her shoulder.

"This," she picked up a worn notebook a school-age kid may use. "Blake gave this to me before he left. As kids, we were obsessed with wolves." She opened to a page with a cartoonist-looking dark wolf. She flipped the page. "We would take turns drawing." This page held a delicate white wolf sketched in a very fine pencil. She was regally sitting with her fluffy tail wrapped around her front paws. But the eyes of the wolf were unusual in the grey matter. I couldn't make out what my instinct was telling me. Page after page. It was similar to the cartoon black wolf and the realistic white one. Various poses. "You drew these at 12?" I asked her, dumbfounded. She flipped back to the first 2 pages and pointed at the date in the bottom corner. There were 6 years of drawings in here. She glanced up to meet my dumbfounded stare. "What?" She asked cautiously. "How on earth does a 6-year-old draw that?" I pointed at the white wolf. She shrugged, setting it aside.

She ran her hand over runes that were embossed into the lush oiled leather. I kissed her hair, as she unbound the journal. And opened to the first page. “Tonight, I will be chasing specific dreams. These were gifted ones.” She said, running her fingers over the images. “They disorient but are harmless. When chasing, the visions, themselves are harmless. The fear they can invoke can, however, cause you to get stuck. The first night out here I was being pulled so blindly The Mother sent an owl to stop me,” she stroked the image of a fluffy bird with knowing eyes and light feathers. The next images were muted, and unclear, but she flipped the page, showing the predator's eyes, the muscled arm and chest, a starry sky, and the thick woods. With her fingers, she checked each off including my tail. This I think is where we are she pointed to the woods and circled the stars with a finger. “I haven't seen.” She flipped the page as the scene of the pool encompassed both sides. It was breathtaking. She was magnificent. I could almost replay the experience in my mind down to the droplets running from her hair and dripping around her curves. clearing her throat. She continued pointing at the runes. “These, Blake will need to decipher. But can you tell me the wolves I don’t know?” She questioned. She passed me a pencil. “Yes, but is my writing it going to interfere with anything?” I didn’t know how this witch stuff worked. “You're fine. We are in this together.” She cooed. She rested back against me for reassurance. Green eyes were Elijah, silver Dunn, and gold was Cole's. I skipped me and Diablo. “You know us,” I offered, pointing towards the two I knew she knew. She nodded. There was one wolf unaccounted for the one with the amber eyes. It was smaller than the others flanking the pack at the back, but it wasn’t one I knew.

"So what happened with 'Blake'?" I asked, the name sounding foreign on my tongue. She shrugged. "He came out here for the same reason I did, my parents passed shortly after dropping him off." She paused letting out a heavy sigh. "I can’t blame him, but I also can’t forgive him." She thought for a moment. "Not yet anyway." 'He's the only one who really knew what I went through. So even if I had my Aunt and I do love her in my own way, as my teacher. He knew it the moment our parents died same as me. And he knew what life he left me to live."
“Tell me your story before us.” She asked softly, changing the subject. "Well, I was the 1st son to an Alpha of a superior pack. My father, our Alpha, decided we needed to humanize and commercialize. My little brother Dominic took on my father's ideals. I was born to do something different. My mother had always told me to live my life on my terms. Outside of the whispered expectations of the pack. I just wanted a simple life. Me and my sister, as well as a few like-minded ones, left that pack and we started forming this one. My sister didn't like my overprotective attitude and took off one day. I went after her coming face to face with a forest fire and your brother. We pulled them both out of that fire because she refused to leave him. I don’t know what started it, but Diablo ended it the second he came to. “I’ll talk to him about it,” she said, appearing deep in thought. “We don’t have all the facts.” She added. She moved the book to the side table, leaving it open with a pencil on top of the next empty page.

“How do I know when to get your brother? " I worried. “If my breathing is so fast, my heart sounds like a racehorse at the Kentucky Derby,” She offered. “If it’s too slow, well, you've experienced me near hypothermic." She stated, looking up into my eyes. I sighed, still not convinced this was the right move. "You knocked me out for that one." I reminded her. “Well, if it's so slow, you're truly worried. Or If you can sense that overpowering fear, I assume you can sense that? You seem to be pretty empathic.” She said too calmly. “I can only feel for you that way, Love,” I made clear. Not wanting her to think I was wrapped up in everyone else's emotions. Otherwise, expect thrashing, noises like I'm in a nightmare I can't get out of.” She said simply. I gave her a pained look. "I don't like this." I stated. "You don't have to like it; you just have to see me through it." She said with finality. I sighed. "Better turn in. Sounds like there's not much sleep happening tonight." I started shifting the pillows down. We pulled the covers back, and I pulled her into my chest. She turned in my arms to face me. “Most important," she paused, waiting for me to give her my full attention. I looked back at her serious gaze. "Do not, under any circumstances, wake me, or I may never get out. I’ll be in a coma." My eyes widened, my arms tightening around her. She burrowed into my chest and fell asleep in my arms.

I worried until sleep overcame me. Not long after I drifted off, she began twitching and tossing in my arms. The more frantic her movements became, the tighter I held her until I realized my grip may be harming her. So I propped up on my elbow, giving her room. My sensitive hearing zoned in on her heartbeat. At one point, she sounded like a wounded animal, and at another, she stilled suddenly. Her eyes moved rapidly beneath her lids. The heartbeat in her chest would accelerate and come back down. The moments became hours before she lurched awake with a gasp.