Page 76 of The Hunger
Mom’s voice rose above the clamor.
“Shield my daughter!”
Something brushed against my consciousness. It wasn’t a pull like Mom was feeding or quite like the push we used to coerce others. It felt stronger, more urgent, and even slightly sexual.
I looked at Mom and watched her eyes roll back before she fainted. Dad yelled for help as he caught her. Oanen rushed toward him before they were all blocked from my view by the wave of people who suddenly surrounded Fenris and me.
Humans pressed in so tightly with their arms raised over our heads that I couldn’t move. Breathing became harder, and I started to panic.
Fenris’s abrupt lick over my lips broke through my fear.
“They can’t help themselves,” he said. “They’re protecting you like your mother wanted.”
The creaking stopped. Yet, the floor continued to shake under our feet. As I stared up into Fenris’s eyes, I worried about Mom.
“She’ll be okay,” he said softly. “Feel the tremors? It’s almost over.”
He was right. The shaking underfoot wasn’t nearly as severe as it’d been. And it stopped as suddenly as it started.
The surrounding humans came back to themselves, disoriented as they moved away from us and looked around.
“Drinks on the house,” Ymir called as I rushed to Mom, who lay on the stage, still out cold.
“Is she okay?” I asked Dad.
“I think she just fainted.”
I looked at Oanen. “What did she do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why are we still having damn earthquakes?” Megan asked angrily. “Enough is enough, Oanen. We need answers before someone gets seriously hurt.”
She disappeared in a flash of flames that had me worriedly looking at the humans. However, they seemed completely oblivious to what Megan had just done.
A burst of anger from Oanen redirected my worry over what the humans might have seen to what he was about to do as he reached for the top button of his shirt. I grabbed his hand.
“She’ll be back before you’re halfway there. It’s better to wait and catch her before her next move than to miss her completely.”
The look he gave me was pure frustration.
“Megan isn’t the type to sit back and let people suffer any more than you are,” I said calmly. “Don’t fault her for taking action when you would have done the same if it were within your abilities.”
He heaved a sigh.
“Thank you.”
I smiled at him before moving to sit next to Mom. Her eyes fluttered behind her lids when I took her hand in mine.
“Wake up, Nicolette,” Dad said gently. “You’re worrying our daughter.”
Mom blinked her eyes open before I could deny the claim. Her gaze immediately landed on me, and I could feel her relief.
“I wasn’t sure it would work.”
“What would work? What did you do?”
She smiled weakly at me.
