able to enjoy the beach, the crashing of the waves, the sand between his toes. They were so close, he wished he and Shay could have even an hour together to walk along the shore and get to know one another better before he had to tell her about The Colony and about Malcolm.
It was imperative that she understood how important she was to the pack. Her marriage to Malcolm was the only way to bring peace to The Colony, to stop the grumblings and whispers of war. She was Dean’s daughter; she was next in line as successor. As Malcolm’s wife, they would rule together. Side by side, they could bring peace.
Jason walked back into the house. Shay was still sleeping as her body struggled to adjust to the changes going on within her. He sat in the chair next to her, watching her sleep while contemplating the best way to tell her she’d have to leave everything behind.
The crystals twined into the rope on his wrist began to prick his skin. He rubbed his wrist then noticed the faint scent of sulfur drifting into the room. He stood, his gaze immediately going to the cracks in the wall. Dammit, he’d thought he’d have more time. He hurried into the kitchen and, one by one, began pulling family pictures off the wall and placing them in the canvas tote bag Shay had used for her grocery shopping. She would want these and it would be a long time before she would be able to return to get them. If ever.
With the bag slung over his shoulder, he hurried back into the living room. It was time. It was almost dark and the whispers coming through the cracks were getting louder and almost...comprehensible. He sat on the sofa next to her and gently shook her shoulder. “Shay, you have to wake up. We need to go.”
“Huh? Go?” she muttered, trying to rouse herself from a deep sleep.
“Yes, it isn’t safe here.”
“Not safe?” She sat up, rubbing her eyes and staring at him, her face crumpled with confusion. “What do you mean? Where do we need to go?”
“To The Colony.”
“Where?”
Buddy whined at her feet.
He knew what was coming. The dog had enough wolf in him that he could smell the acrid scent filling the room, a cross between sulfur and vinegar, a sign of the demons getting closer, of barriers being breached.
“Where have I heard that name before?”
“The Colony? Hopefully from your dad. He used to live there. In fact, he sort of ran the place.”
“What? When?” She started to stand but, unsteady on her feet, she quickly sat back down again. “I’m confused. Is that where you’re from? This colony?”
“Yes, I’ve come to get you.”
“But what about the candle shop remodel?”
“It can wait,” he lied. “What’s important is getting you to safety.”
Her concern grew to fear as she came fully awake. He could smell it in the subtle shift of her scent. Could see it in the tensing of her shoulders and the way she kept moving her hands across her thighs.
“I didn’t know I was in danger,” she said, her voice soft enough to almost be a whisper.
“I’m sorry. I know this must seem strange, coming out of the blue like this from someone you’ve never met—”
“That’s putting it mildly.” She got to her feet and walked into the kitchen and toward the coffeepot. She took down a clean mug and poured herself a cup, then popped it in the microwave.
He’d spooked her. “I know how this sounds, and I wish I had more time for you to trust what I have to say, but I made a promise to your dad that... I promised I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. I’m not about to break that word. We have to go, and we have to go now. Take only what you absolutely need. You have ten minutes, tops, to get your stuff together.”
She stared at him with incredulity filling her face. “You didn’t know my father. You’re too young. How dare you tell me you promised him? I’m not going anywhere with you. Now I think you should leave.”
He stepped toward her then stopped as fear widened her eyes and she backed up against the cabinets.
“I don’t know why your parents didn’t tell you about The Colony or about yourself, and I’m sorry for that, but I don’t have time to explain it all to you now. Those cracks in your walls aren’t caused by fault lines. They are doorways splitting open and leading into a demon dimension. Soon they will be wide enough for the Gauliacho to get through. Trust me, you don’t want to be here when they do.”
“Demons! Are you listening to yourself?”
“I know it sounds crazy.”
“It doesn’t just sound crazy. It is crazy.”
“It’s the truth. You heard the whispering. You breathed their air and it made you sick.”
She stared at him wide-eyed and began shaking her head back and forth. “No. It’s. Not. Now get out.”
* * *
How could Shay have been so stupid? She knew better than to invite a stranger into her home. But she’d been distracted by his good looks and tempted by his cold hard cash. Idiot. Never before had a smooth-talking handsome man fooled her, and the one time one had....
And then she noticed the pictures that were missing off her kitchen wall and her fingers froze at her sides. “What have you done with my photos?”
He held up her tote bag. “I packed them. We’re taking them with us. You shouldn’t need them to prove who you are, but it wouldn’t hurt. Bring your papers, too—birth certificate, driver’s license and anything that might have this symbol on it.” He pulled up his sleeve and showed her a tattoo on his forearm of a large swirling circle with five claws sticking out from the sides.
Shay gasped as her knees weakened. Coffee forgotten, she dropped into a chair at the table. The tattoo was exactly like the one her father had worn. Her hand fluttered to her neck, to the amulet hidden beneath her shirt as she recalled her father’s words the night he’d given it to her.
You’re a big girl now, Shay. Big enough to wear a big girl’s necklace. Do you see this symbol? Her dad had swung the obsidian amulet in front of her. This is a symbol of a very special place. A place where your daddy came from. If anyone ever comes to you and they have a symbol like this, you must trust them. You must go with them. Never take it off. Promise me, pumpkin?
All these years and she’d kept her word. She’d never taken it off. And now someone who had a symbol just like hers was here.
You must trust them.
But how could she?
“I’m sorry I don’t have time to explain everything that is happening to you. Please trust me when I tell you that you are in danger. We both are. What happened in town today was just the beginning. We have to get out of here. We have to get you back to The Colony where you will be safe.”
“Why?” She didn’t understand. How could she? “Why this colony? Where is it?”
“The
