Page 49 of The Omega's Bloodline: Part One

Mean.

She traced her fingers over the water’s surface. “I’m not as mad as I was. I don’t want to be left behind.”

You and me, both. I’m sorry I came to you. I know you told me I could because Caden is family, but this is all my fault. You wouldn’t be fighting if it weren’t for me.

She snorted. “Caden’s as stubborn as me. We get into fights without your help.”

Good to see the years haven’t smoothed out that trait in him.

“I’m going to win this stubbornness battle,” she said. “If I could get him to take his pills when he was a cat, I can win any argument he throws at me.”

My shoulders shook with silent laughter.

She reached out a hand and watched me expectantly until I shoved my face into it. She worked those magic fingers behind my ear until I was sloppy purring—drool falling in fat droplets, paws attempting to make biscuits on the floor.

Her laugh was sweet. “Having a good time?”

I might be.

“Seth, I didn’t tell you that you could come to us because Caden is family. I told you because you’re mine, andwe’refamily. You’ve been mine since the moment I found you, and maybe it’s silly of me, but I’m never going to let that go.”

It was unfair how much I loved being called hers.I don’t want you to let it go.

I felt Caden watching us, his eyes burning a hole in the back of my head.

I bet Caden would love some of those magic scritches.

Her shoulders slumped. “I should go talk to him.”

She lifted her feet out of the water and I scampered out of the way of the falling droplets. I couldn’t do much, but if I could get Caden back on Logan’s good side, that seemed like a decent start.

The forest woke me. I didn’t know how, but I felt the trees reach for me. I slid out of bed and it was a testament to Caden’s exhaustion that he didn’t wake at my first movement. Seth was awake in the living room. His hazel eyes locked on me when I emerged from the bedroom.

The pull toward the window was stronger than the pull to him, so I walked right past him, opening the curtains and then the patio doors. Outside, the voice of the forest was louder.

It’s coming.

Goosebumps skittered over my flesh. I’d felt the forest before but I’d never heard it speak to me. Their cry reverberated through my bones, sending a surge of panic leaping up my spine that made my stomach clench and my breath squeeze out in a soft moan.

The hunter—what I’d dubbed the strange entity—was close.

I turned to Seth and he’d already gotten off the couch, his body frozen and trembling not far from me. He was looking at me like he was starving and I was a meal freshly set before him. Heat pulsed through my core and my clit throbbed. His nostrils flared and his muscles tightened further. I could have reached out and touched him if I wanted to, and want I did, but I wouldn’t hurt Caden like that.

Instead of pulling Seth close, I stepped back. “We need to leave.”

My words seemed to break the spell holding him immobile.

“Caden,” I called. He appeared in the doorway a second later. “The forest is warning us. It’s time to go.”

“I’m going to need to ask some questions,” said Caden.

“In the car,” I insisted, dragging the curtains closed.

Most of our things were already packed, so getting ready didn’t take long. We returned our key through a slot in the door and as our car pulled away, I saw it. Emerging from the trees like a disease, the hunter was amorphous—black sludge, smoke, and shards of blinding sunlight brought to life. It rippled at the edge of the forest, smashing flailing arms against the trees that tried to hold it back. Energy burned through me, revving like an engine until I was sweating and unable to look away.

“Drive,” I whispered, my attention focused on the beast. Caden tore out of there and the hunter shrieked. It ran at us but thankfully it wasn’t nearly as fast as we were in the car. I stared out the window until it disappeared from sight. Caden drove as fast as he could.

You saw it?Caden’s voice filled my head.

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