Page 99 of Tethered to the World
They came for her.
They said they would, but she wasn’t sure she’d believed them.
No one had bothered to care about her in that way for a very long time—if ever.
As a fifth and last ferret joined the others, instead of attacking, they jumped on each other and exploded outward in a massive cloud of particles she recognized from the afterworld. With each ferret, the cloud grew until a shape began to take form in the center.
In less than a minute, the dust seemed to be sucked inward and began to settle, forming into a man a few years older than herself. He had hair as black as midnight, but what caught her attention when he looked at her was the pure afterworld glowing in his eyes.
“Annora.”
Recognition sent a shiver down her spine.
Her stalker had finally arrived.
“Edgar?”
Chapter Twenty-five
Annora could only stare at the guy in shock, never once having guessed the truth.
Heat burned her cheeks as she remembered sharing so many of her dreams and hopes with him, feeling embarrassed and betrayed by the subterfuge. “I don’t understand.”
When he rose to his full height, he stood a little under six feet. His build was solid. The way he moved was different from humans, even different from shifters. There was an elegance to him, an effortless self-awareness that she envied.
His skin was pale and smooth, the angles of his face sharp, weathered by life and hardship. His noise was long and straight, his eyebrows full, his lips generous if a bit hard, while his jaw had a strong, stubborn look to it.
Everything about him softened when he looked at her, pure joy and possessiveness shining from him. The afterworld faded from his eyes, leaving behind a blue so dark they were fathomless. “You called me from the darkness. You saved me. Now I am yours.”
Her jaw dropped at his bold claim. “Excuse me?”
At the back of her mind, a warm glow began to burn. As he stared at her, a fierce joy burst through her, absolute devotion and a pure happiness that made her throat ache.
It was him.
When he took shape, a connection between them was forged.
“You called me back into existence from the banished land. Our destinies are intertwined. Only my fated mate would’ve been able to save me.” He edged closer toward her, yearning lightening his dark eyes. “We belong together.”
Oh, fuck!
Did she just call a creature from her nightmares to life and make him into a real boy like some fucking fairy tale?
A commotion echoed down the hall, the chaotic sounds of fighting edging closer each minute. Mason’s roar actually shook the room, the walls shivering as something heavy smashed into them, as if he was plowing through them to reach her.
Edgar edged in front of her, his movements forcing her back to avoid being trampled. “Don’t—”
“Kill him and take the girl,” Director Erickson ordered. He began gathering items on the desk in front of him, his movements hurried but not rushed. When he reached for an old, leather-bound book, she knew the spell he used had come from it.
She couldn’t let him leave with it. Who knew what else it might contain?
If it had information about phantoms, she needed to get her hands on it. She needed to learn more about her heritage in order to protect the people around her.
She sidestepped around Edgar and headed for the desk.
Tyson moved at the same time, lunging for her.
Edgar whirled, his body exploding outward in a swirl of cloud and smoke, only to take shape between them. He grabbed Tyson by the throat, lifting him easily off the floor, unfazed by the slashes the wolf inflicted with his claws.
