Page 98 of Shifting Hearts 1
“Then we better move fast,” he mutters.
I nod. “We start at the lake. That’s where the vision pointed.”
Lucian turns to leave, but before he can step through the door, I call after him. “Lucian?” He pauses. “If this is some game, if you’re playing with me…”
He doesn’t look back. “I don’t play games, little witch.”
And then he’s gone and I’m left alone with the scent of him still in the air, my heart still racing, and the horrifying knowledge that this second first meeting is going to destroy me all over again - whether I want it to or not.
FOUR
Blood in the Water
Lucian
Crystal Falls smells like secrets.
Most towns reek of desperation or decay. But not this one. This place hums under the skin. Like it’s alive. Like it’s listening. Every gust of wind through the trees feels like a whispered warning. ‘You shouldn’t be here.’
Too bad. I’m not leaving until the blood debt is paid and until I know why this thing I’m tracking is leading me back toward the mate I don’t want but can’t seem to fucking escape. Emilia.
She says she doesn’t play games, and I hope that’s true. Because this time, she doesn’t even know the damn rules.
We hike toward the lake after the sun has set.
She walks in front of me, her head high and her hips swinging, like she owns the trail and dares the woods tochallenge her. She’s smaller than I remember. Leaner, though it does nothing to take away from her appeal. But there’s power in the way she moves now. A confidence that I can’t deny only adds to her sex appeal.
She doesn’t flinch when the underbrush crackles or when a bird screams overhead. She’s not the girl I rejected. She’s a weapon now. And gods help me, it’s only making everything worse.
I keep my distance. Not because I want to but because I have to.
I can feel her even from ten paces back, the pull in my chest and the burning in my blood. The tether hums between us, taut and dangerous. She’s the bond I never wanted, the mate I walked away from, and the truth I don’t have the strength to face.
The lake appears ahead of us like a mouth in the earth, black and still, reflecting the angry the crescent moon above. The waterfall crashes somewhere in the distance, but here, it’s quiet. Too quiet.
Emilia slows and I quickly catch up.
“This was the center of the vision,” she says softly.
I nod once. “I can feel it, him. The rogue was here.”
She crouches at the edge of the water, fingers brushing the damp stone. Her nails are painted black, chipped at the edges. She should look fragile here, like prey. But all I can think about is sinking my teeth into her skin. Mounting her, marking her, and claiming her.
No.I shake the thought away. Now’s not the time for these thoughts. Actually, it’s never the damn time.
“There’s something in the air,” she murmurs. “Can you taste that?”
I inhale deeply. Blood, coppery and tangy. It’s old and barely there. But still clinging to the water like a memory.
“I smell it,” I growl. “Underneath the moss and cold. Human and wolf.”
“Two sets of blood?” she asks, shocked.
“Maybe more,” I reply. “But the trail splits here. Like they wanted to confuse anyone following him them.”
She rises, and her eyes flash when they meet mine. “Or they’re waiting for you to take the wrong path.”
I exhale slowly. “Wouldn’t be the first time I made that mistake.”
