laughed. “But where are you? They found
Kyle’s truck out on Pine Valley Ranch. Are you with him? How did you leave the
cabin?”
“Keep the information general, just in case,” Jake
cautioned. “You’ll be with her tomorrow. You can catch up then.”
Ava nodded. “Jake says to keep it short. I’ll see you
tomorrow.”
“Don’t you dare hang up!”
“I wasn’t going to. It’s just better if we leave the details
until tomorrow.”
Clearly beyond caution, Carissa persisted, “Jake? I thought
you were with Kyle? Where are you?”
“It’s a really long story and Jake’s right. This phone is
disposable, but you’ve had yours for years. Chances are slim that we’re being
recorded, but better safe than sorry. The important thing is we’re both safe
and we’ll be together soon.”
Carissa finally calmed down enough to pause. “I really
missed you. This has been the worst week of my life and yet it’s been the best.
It’s so confusing.”
“I’m right there with you.” Several times literally. Ava
smiled.
“I love you. Please be careful.”
Emotion thickened her sister’s tone and Ava blinked back
tears. “I love you too. And I’m always careful. You’re the reckless one.”
“Tell Jake to be nice or he’ll answer to me.”
Ava looked at the brawny tiger-shifter seated across from
her and smiled again. “I’ll tell him.” She ended the call and handed the phone
back to her host.
“You’ll tell me what?”
“To be nice or Carissa will kick your ass.”
He chuckled as he returned the phone to the bag. “Ordinarily
I’d welcome the challenge, but Quinn’s scent was all over her long before we
defined her.”
“‘ We defined her’?” She scooted forward and lowered
her voice to a harsh whisper. “You were part of that ritual, weren’t you? You
were in that classroom. Carissa drank your blood.” Images from the vision
flickered through her mind and she shuddered. She only saw Quinn and the blond
man, Ian, clearly, but she’d sensed others in the background waiting to
participate. “How many were there? How many different natures did she absorb?”
“I can’t believe Kyle got into all that with you. He should
have made sure you were safe before he even brought it up. There’s devotion to
the Omni Prime and then there’s outright obsession. He’s moving closer and
closer to obsession.”
Warmed by Jake’s overreaction, she quickly hid her smile
with a sip of water. He was concerned about her, even to the point of being
angry with his friend. But it wasn’t fair to let his misconception stand. “Kyle
didn’t say a word. In fact when I brought up what I’d seen in my dream, he
confirmed that the ritual was real then refused to talk about the specifics.”
Jake stretched his arm out along the back of the booth and
narrowed his eyes. “You saw the ritual in a dream?”
She nodded. “That’s why I decided to run. I knew it wasn’t
happening live. I’ve had enough dreams to know the difference between real time
and memory. But I was left with a sense of dread. Something was horribly wrong
and I needed to get the hell out of there.”
“So you threw your stuff in a backpack and headed for your
motorcycle, but Kyle grabbed you when you ducked around the corner.”
They’d already been through all this, so she just nodded.
She was pretty sure he was thinking out loud anyway.
“What if ‘fight’ engaged rather than ‘flight’. The flash
might have taken you to the source of danger rather than away.”
She scrunched up her forehead as she tried to follow his
logic. “I took Kyle with me, but that wasn’t intentional.”
“I’m not talking about Kyle. The wolves didn’t find the
cabin until after you’d flashed out, so there was no real danger at the time.
Kyle was there to protect you. I have a feeling your Therian side knew that all
along.”
“Where are you going with this?” She rubbed the bridge of
her nose as a dull throb erupted behind her
Kyle’s truck out on Pine Valley Ranch. Are you with him? How did you leave the
cabin?”
“Keep the information general, just in case,” Jake
cautioned. “You’ll be with her tomorrow. You can catch up then.”
Ava nodded. “Jake says to keep it short. I’ll see you
tomorrow.”
“Don’t you dare hang up!”
“I wasn’t going to. It’s just better if we leave the details
until tomorrow.”
Clearly beyond caution, Carissa persisted, “Jake? I thought
you were with Kyle? Where are you?”
“It’s a really long story and Jake’s right. This phone is
disposable, but you’ve had yours for years. Chances are slim that we’re being
recorded, but better safe than sorry. The important thing is we’re both safe
and we’ll be together soon.”
Carissa finally calmed down enough to pause. “I really
missed you. This has been the worst week of my life and yet it’s been the best.
It’s so confusing.”
“I’m right there with you.” Several times literally. Ava
smiled.
“I love you. Please be careful.”
Emotion thickened her sister’s tone and Ava blinked back
tears. “I love you too. And I’m always careful. You’re the reckless one.”
“Tell Jake to be nice or he’ll answer to me.”
Ava looked at the brawny tiger-shifter seated across from
her and smiled again. “I’ll tell him.” She ended the call and handed the phone
back to her host.
“You’ll tell me what?”
“To be nice or Carissa will kick your ass.”
He chuckled as he returned the phone to the bag. “Ordinarily
I’d welcome the challenge, but Quinn’s scent was all over her long before we
defined her.”
“‘ We defined her’?” She scooted forward and lowered
her voice to a harsh whisper. “You were part of that ritual, weren’t you? You
were in that classroom. Carissa drank your blood.” Images from the vision
flickered through her mind and she shuddered. She only saw Quinn and the blond
man, Ian, clearly, but she’d sensed others in the background waiting to
participate. “How many were there? How many different natures did she absorb?”
“I can’t believe Kyle got into all that with you. He should
have made sure you were safe before he even brought it up. There’s devotion to
the Omni Prime and then there’s outright obsession. He’s moving closer and
closer to obsession.”
Warmed by Jake’s overreaction, she quickly hid her smile
with a sip of water. He was concerned about her, even to the point of being
angry with his friend. But it wasn’t fair to let his misconception stand. “Kyle
didn’t say a word. In fact when I brought up what I’d seen in my dream, he
confirmed that the ritual was real then refused to talk about the specifics.”
Jake stretched his arm out along the back of the booth and
narrowed his eyes. “You saw the ritual in a dream?”
She nodded. “That’s why I decided to run. I knew it wasn’t
happening live. I’ve had enough dreams to know the difference between real time
and memory. But I was left with a sense of dread. Something was horribly wrong
and I needed to get the hell out of there.”
“So you threw your stuff in a backpack and headed for your
motorcycle, but Kyle grabbed you when you ducked around the corner.”
They’d already been through all this, so she just nodded.
She was pretty sure he was thinking out loud anyway.
“What if ‘fight’ engaged rather than ‘flight’. The flash
might have taken you to the source of danger rather than away.”
She scrunched up her forehead as she tried to follow his
logic. “I took Kyle with me, but that wasn’t intentional.”
“I’m not talking about Kyle. The wolves didn’t find the
cabin until after you’d flashed out, so there was no real danger at the time.
Kyle was there to protect you. I have a feeling your Therian side knew that all
along.”
“Where are you going with this?” She rubbed the bridge of
her nose as a dull throb erupted behind her
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