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When I cracked one eye open, the setting sun streamed in through the window and onto the large microfiber sofa I was laying on. It made my eyes hurt.
My head was throbbing. Did I have a concussion?
I glanced around at the unfamiliar pale gray walls and the yellow and white throw pillows, wondering where the heck I was. It definitely wasn’t my own living room.
I sat up just as a familiar face came into the room – Jax. It took me a moment to realize I was at his house.
His eyes fell on me and a look of relief crossed his face. “Oh, good. You’re awake.” He handed me a mint green flowery teacup with steam billowing from the top of it. “I want you to drink this.”
“What is it?” I asked with a frown. Unless it was coffee, I didn’t think I wanted it, and judging from the light yellow color, it definitely wasn’t coffee.
It didn’t look like anything that would be even slightly appetizing.
“It’s tea.”
I immediately shook my head and tried to push it back into his hands. “I don’t like tea.”
“I know you don’t. And I know you’re very stubborn and you don’t like to do things that I ask you to do at times, but I need you to drink this. It’s really important.”
“I don’t get it. Why is it important for me to drink tea?” I asked, trying to make sense of it all. Why didn’t he ever just explain things to me?
Jax seemed to hesitate for a moment before slumping down onto the sofa next to me. His eyes moved over to meet mine. “Do you remember what happened to you earlier?”
I thought about it for a moment and, suddenly, it all came rushing back to me: Jax and I arguing, me telling him I loved him, and then that black shadowy, smoky thing that seemed to charge at us before I’d almost been electrocuted and had apparently... passed out?
But that didn’t even seem like it could be real. Had I been dreaming? If I had, it was a freakin’ nightmare.
Jax must’ve noted the horror on my face because he said slowly, “So, you do remember.”
I nodded.
Motioning to the cup of tea in my hands, he said softly, “Please drink it.”
“Fine.” I lifted the cup to my lips and took a tiny sip.
Yuck. It was even worse than the green tea my mom had talked me into drinking once when I had a sore throat. At least that had a hint of raspberry and honey. This... well, I didn’t even want to know what was in it.
Wrinkling my nose, I handed the cup back to him. “I’m done.”
Jax let out a frustrated sigh. “You need to drink the entire cup.”
“No way. If you’re going to make me drink this crap, I’m going home.” I started to rise to my feet, but he blocked me from standing up.
“Actually... no, you’re not. You’re on bed rest right now. Please drink the entire cup.” His blue eyes locked on mine, shooting me a pleading look.
Call me a sucker, but it made my heart melt a little. When he looked at me like that, I probably would’ve done anything he asked of me.
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes and took another small sip. It was just as gross the second time around. “I don’t get why I need to drink it. Why are you making me?”
“It will make you better,” he explained. “That thing—”
“The black shadowy thing?” I questioned.
He nodded. “Yes, that thing. When someone gets touched by one of those things—”
“But it only touched the doorknob, which I just happened to be touching, too. It didn’t actually touch me,” I protested as the memory became crystal clear in my mind.
“Which is probably the only reason you’re still here.” His eyes met mine sharply. “Most people who cross paths with one of those things aren’t lucky enough to tell about it afterwards, Camryn.”
“What happens if it does touch you and not just the doorknob?” I asked. “Do you... die?”
“Not exactly. Your body stays alive, but your soul...” He trailed off, shaking his head.
I didn’t question it further, mostly because I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to know what could’ve happened to me if that door hadn’t been standing between us, acting as a barrier to whatever the black shadowy thing wanted to do to me.
“What was that thing?” I asked Jax, forcing myself to take a few more sips from the cup of tea.
“It’s called a Shade,” he replied. “They’re dead souls – dead werewolf souls, to be exact.”
A trail of goosebumps erupted over my arms. Just its name sent shivers down my spine. “Why did it try to touch me?”
“It’s looking for a Host.”
“A Host?” I gulped, not liking the sounds of that.
“Yeah. When a werewolf soul with unfinished business dies, it goes into limbo for a while,” Jax explained. “During that time, if it touches someone, it can take over their body.” He met my gaze again, this time a scared look in his blue eyes. “The Shade wanted to claim your body as its own, Camryn.”
“That thing was scary,” I murmured, shaking my head at the memory of its lifeless eyes. “Why was it after me, though, and not you?”
“I don’t know.” Jax shook his head. “They have different methods of choosing their Hosts. Sometimes, they prey on powerful wolves, figuring that their body will be like a powerful vessel. Other times, they prey on the weak, the vulnerable, figuring that the Host’s body will be claimed without a fight.”
“Is it going to try to come after me again?”
“That one won’t. I took care of it already.” A dark look filled his eyes. “But in my experience, when one Shade tries to use your body as a Host, more Shades try to do the same. I’m not trying to scare you, but... another one might try to come after you at some point.”
“Great,” I mumbled. Of all the things I could be in high demand for.
“I think it confirms one thing for us, though,” Jax said.
“What’s that?”
“You definitely have werewolf blood and you’ll be a werewolf once the gene activates,” he replied. When I just stared back at him blankly, he continued. “The Shade only ever try to occupy someone’s body if they carry the wolf gene. They have a very strong sense of smell. They can smell if you’re a wolf or not.”
“Humans can’t be used as Hosts?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. I couldn’t help but feel somewhat in disbelief. If I was really a werewolf, why hadn’t the gene activated yet? What was it waiting for?
“They can occupy humans, but they never do. It’s pointless because humans die and the Shade want to live forever. They only claim immortal bodies.”
So, if everything he was saying was true... then he was right.
I really was a wolf.
Allowing the reality to set in, I considered for the first time that it could be real. I’d been trying not to get my hopes up, nervous that I’d be let down when I never made the change.
Pft, I still didn’t want to get my hopes up, just in case Jax was wrong. But for the first time, I was allowing myself to fully believe that maybe I really was a wolf, like I’d been hoping for all along.
*
Two cups of that nasty tea later, Jax said, “It’s my turn to cook dinner for my family tonight. Do you want to eat over?”
“Well, that all depends,” I replied slowly.
“On?” He cocked an eyebrow.
“What you’re having.” I sat up, setting the cup on the coffee table. “I mean, this gross tea you’ve been making me drink is the only thing I’ve had all day. I didn’t eat breakfast or lunch. I may as well get some decent dinner out of the deal.”
“Oh, I can assure you that, whatever it is, it will be more than decent. I’m an excellent cook.” He shot me a cocky grin.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” I replied. “And yes, I’m staying.” The truth was that it didn’t really matter what he fed me – it could’ve been peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches, for all I cared. I just wanted to spend more time with Jax – especially after today’s scare. I didn’t want to go home yet. I felt safe here. If another Shade tried to come after me tonight, I knew that he would do his best to try to protect me.
“Good.” He leaned into me and pressed his lips to mine. “Why don’t you just relax while I start cooking?”
“Okay,” I agreed with a smile.
As he headed out of the room in the direction of the kitchen, I spotted my cell phone on the coffee table. Jax must’ve put it there after the Shade had gone after me.
Picking up my phone, I dialed Zoe’s phone number. It rang once, twice, three times... No answer.
Not that I really should’ve expected anything less. She was busy honeymooning – or whatever they were doing – for the next four days. Since they weren’t allowed to see anyone else, I figured they probably weren’t allowed to receive phone calls from anyone else, either.
Leaning back, I sighed. I didn’t know how I was going to stop her and Sal from forming a new bloodline. All I did know was that I didn’t have very much time to come up with a plan. I had to think of something fast.
Putting my feet up on the coffee table to make myself comfy, I knocked the teacup onto the floor.
“Shit,” I murmured, scrambling to pick it up. I knew I hadn’t made a mess. I had drunk every last drop of that nasty tea. It was the teacup itself I was worried about. It looked vintage, which made me think it may have been a family heirloom.
As my hands scooped up the cup, I breathed a sigh of relief that it was still perfectly intact.
On the hardwood floor, next to the cup, I spotted a white business card. Picking it up, I glanced down at the name written on the card. Lorenzo L.
Lorenzo... as in Enzo. This was Enzo’s card. I was holding his phone number in my hand. I would’ve been foolish to not do something with it.
I glanced around and noted that I heard the sound of Jax pulling pots and pans out of the cabinets in the kitchen. He wouldn’t notice what I was about to do, even though I still couldn’t help but feel guilty about doing it.
Pulling my cell phone back out, I opened my contact list. I clicked “add new contact” and entered the number on the business card.
As I went to add a name, I frowned. The last thing I needed was for Jax to somehow notice that I had Enzo saved in my cell phone contacts. I couldn’t save his phone number under his real name. I had to give him a fake name.
I thought about it for a few seconds and then typed Enrique. Hitting the save button, I heard Jax call from the kitchen. “Camryn, do you feel up to setting the table?”
“Sure, no problem,” I called back, anxious to do something with myself. I really wasn’t good at the whole bed rest thing.