Chapter 62
Chapter 62
“Alex. He did this.” Tessa went to the bed and gently removed the ring from Elena’s finger. Her hand was cold and stiff, and Tessa nervously felt for a pulse. Thready, faint, but still there.
“Who’s Alex p>
“He’s the reason I came to Longtooth. I was in a relatio
him, and I tried to end it. But he wouldn’t let me go. So I ran away.” She spoke flatly, feeling oddly detached as she examined the bloodied ring in her fingers. “This was my grandmother’s wedding ring. He stole it from me.” The ring was a message. Alex was telling
her that he had found her. The dreams were real. And if she didn’t come to him, he would hurt the people she cared for.
Natasha was quiet for a moment. Finally, she said, “You should go tell the others they need to stay inside p>
Tessa nodded. Her blood turned to solid ice in her veins. “Okay p>
She stayed up late into the night, sitting on the edge of her bed and staring out her window at the street. Elena’s blood was a scarlet flag. Grandma’s ring bit into her palm, clutched in her shaking fist. Her entire body trembled with the painful cold. She hunched over until her forehead rested against the wooden sill.
She wanted to go downstairs and ask how Elena was doing, but both Max and Natasha had told her to leave the room. As well they should have. It was her fault. Elena was hurt because of her.
“Gracie.” The voice sounded like it came from inside her own head, but when she looked up, Alex was perched on the Juliet balcony outside her window. His beautiful golden face was taut with grief, his glacial blue eyes bleak with sorrow.
Chapter 62
Alex. Her lips moved around the shape of his name, but no sound
came out.
He smiled sadly. “Will you come to me now, Tessa p>
“I don’t have much of a choice, do I p>
“I didn’t want it to come to this. I tried asking nicely p>
Tessa nodded. Tears welled in her eyes. “What’s going
me p>
men to
“I would never hurt you, Tessa. You’re mine,” he said earnestly.
“Forever mine. Put the ring on, love p>
She slid it onto her left ring finger. Elena’s blood streaked her skin.
“There you go. Now, come outside. Don’t let anybody see you p>
She got up without a fight. She slipped her boots and her jacket on. She turned back to the window. Alex was watching her intently.
“Will Elena be okay p>
“Probably,” he said with a note of disdain in his voice. “Their kind are hardy. Now, come outside, darling p>
Her body moved at Alex’s command, and she didn’t resist. It felt like she was observing herself from the outside as she opened her door and walked quietly down the hall. At the bottom of the stairs, she stood still, listening. There was only silence. Moving quickly, quietly, she crossed the dining room and went to the back door. Easing the door open gently so that the hinge wouldn’t squeak, she slipped out
into the cold.
“Into the woods,” Alex’s voice guided her. He was nowhere in sight. Tessa shivered and followed his directions. She walked along the
Chapter 62
edge of the garage, keeping to the shadows so anybody looking out their windows from the Spruce would be unlikely to notice her. She reached the edge of the forest on legs shaking so badly, she could hardly walk.
“Just a little further, Tessa. I’m waiting for you p>
She stumbled in the deep snow, c Romanong into the cover of the trees. The snow–covered boughs blocked the moonlight, plunging her into total darkness. She groped blindly, feeling her v needled branches. She was strangely unaffected–he
steady, her breathing even.
hetween
“Almost there, Tessa p>
The tree cover thinned and she stepped into a rocky clearing. She stood blinking in the moonlight, letting her eyes adjust. Slowly, a figure on the opposite side of the clearing came into focus–a shadow in the form of a man. Tessa couldn’t see his face, but she knew now. There was no way to rationalize it away anymore.
“Hello, Alex p>
She walked towards him, but the shadow would not show his face.
“I told you to come alone, Tessa.” His voice echoed inside her skull, foreboding and impatient.
“I did.” The words emerged as a soundless puff of vapor. Tears spilled from her eyes, freezing to her cheeks.
“You were followed p>
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “No.” Her voice was a croak. “I p>
A deep, animalistic growl reverberated through the clearing. Tessa
stiffened as a massive silver–gray wolf emerged from behind her. That menacing growl continued to rumble in his chest as he positioned himself between Tessa and Alex.
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