“Only in my dreams,” I whisper.
“Was this wolf a protective figure?” he asks, seeming to climb around in my mind and pluck memories I’ve forever held my silence on.
“How did…”
My voice trails off, and he turns my hand over, kissing the inside of my palm as we go through a stretch of woods that starred in my wild dreams last night. I shiver as the dream hits me hard with all the sensory memories I can’t recall from my travels.
“Just piecing things together, sweet girl. So which motel did you wake up in this morning?”
“Edgebrook Motel,” I say, still distracted as I try to piece together all the weirdness for myself.
He releases my hand, and I look over as he types in a quick message into his phone. As soon as he puts it down, he’s taking my hand in his again, this time threading our fingers together.
“There’s something going on, and I need you to stay with me for a while. I think I can help you. If you’ll let me.”
Great. Now I’m a charity case, and he’s stuck with the crazy girl.
“Thad, you don’t have to—”
“I know I don’t have to do anything,” he says with that cocky grin forming. “But I really want to do something, Roslyn. And all those things revolve around you. Let’s get back. I have someone waiting who can help.”
I don’t argue with that. I feel like a complete and total pathetic drama queen, so I shut up and just let him continue holding my hand. My tears try to fall, but as I’ve done so often, I restrain them.
“By the end of today, you’ll be mine,” he says as we enter Pine Shore. Looking over, he stares into my eyes with a determination that almost stings. “And it’ll stay that way.”
I’m already his, but I’m surprised he still wants me. This is way too intense, and I should be running like a fire is behind me, but he should be running, too. Instead, we keep colliding.
“Why?” I ask as he heads down our stretch of the street.
He bypasses our houses, confusing me, and he doesn’t bother answering me until we’re pulling up at the same house where we went for the party the other night. Without a word, he gets out and jogs around to my door.
I almost want to crawl under the seat as opposed to going in looking like this. Why did he bring me here first?
“Because,” he says as he opens my door and pulls me to him, apparently deciding to answer the forgotten question, “you’re not quite as sweet as I thought, and I like you even better now.”
I have no idea what that means, and he doesn’t give me a chance to process it before his lips are on mine, stealing whatever words I might have conjured up. His wicked tongue breaches my lips, devouring me as he clutches my sides and lifts me out of the Hummer.
My arms go around his neck, but my feet dangle in front of him. My sheet is too confining, so I can’t wrap my legs around his waist. My fingers thread through his hair, and I pull him to me as I return the kiss with just as much primal hunger as he’s showing.
By the time he breaks the kiss, he’s almost growling, and I’m full-on panting like an idiot. His forehead touches mine, and he puts me down on a porch rail. Hell, I don’t even remember him walking up the steps.
“Definitely going to be mine,” he says, smirking as though he has a secret I don’t know.
Chapter 17
THAD
Alyssa stands the second we walk in, and Roslyn tucks herself against my side. I can’t even begin to explain the relief I felt the second I saw Jenny’s car at that gas station. I was inside before Zee, but I just stared at her when I finally found her, unable to fully comprehend that she was safe and standing right in front of me.
And she didn’t have a fucking clue what was going on.
I still don’t know if her memory is wiped, or if she feels crazy for believing all that she’s seen. I think it’s the latter of the two, and she refuses to accept it as reality. I do, however, fully believe that she has no memory during the times she’s in changed form or using her with powers.
“You couldn’t have let me get some clothes?” Roslyn whispers at my side.
Alyssa battles a smile, and eventually covers it.
“The toga looks good on you,” I tell her, giving her a wink that has a blush creeping up on her. I’m gonna miss the hell out of that. She’ll change once she remembers everything.