19
MADDOX
The cat named Potato happily pranced inside with her tail high in the air as if she already owned the place. I wasn’t about to argue with her, either.
The day had been full of unwelcome revelations. I should have been happy, but instead I was filled with anxious apprehension. Behind me, Addie followed, so she could throw herself onto a couch. The sight of her sprawled out made my stomach clench with a different kind of hunger.
Earlier, I’d nearly kissed her again. I’d managed to redirect myself before she even noticed. The forehead kiss had confused her. There was no ignoring her blank stare earlier. I hadn’t meant to do that.
It wasn’t like I was holding a torch for my ex-wife. Paige had broken my heart, and I wasn’t looking to go through that again. Love could be great, but it also made me vulnerable. I hadn’t been a good partner for Paige, and not much had changed since then. There was no point in opening up if I already knew it would end horribly.
Addie deserved better.
Though, the thought of her being with anyone else turned me inside out. Raw, I stalked away from her. In the kitchen, Potato twined between my legs while I searched for a quick meal. The damn cat wouldn’t stop pawing at my leg until I looked down at her and asked what she wanted.
Potato issued the loudest meow that I’d ever heard. She sank her claws into my pantleg, much to my annoyance.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
For a moment, I feared the worst. I rushed back to the living room to make sure Hel hadn’t whisked Addie away again. Her breath and heartbeat were even. Relief cooled my heated veins. I realized, with my hands curled into claws, that I’d been ready to fight for her.
Addie napped peacefully, her arms folded beneath her head. Her braid hung over her shoulder, much of it coming undone from the long afternoon. I rocked back on my heels as I watched her. She stole my breath. To think, this small woman was capable of summoning monstrosities and bending them to her will…it blew my mind.
My beast pushed me towards her. It wanted me to curl up beside her. I backed away because I knew that would lead me somewhere I wasn’t ready to go. I wasn’t going to put Addie through the torment that was having me as a partner. She deserved better than this raw and unhinged creature that I’d become.
The beast squirmed inside me, but I tightened my leash on it. Fighting with Ryder had tired the creature out. I made a mental note to go back to him if I needed someone who could handle me. With the portals to the afterlife closed, I wasn’t the threat I used to be. Sparring with Ryder was more of an even match now.
I laughed at my own hubris, thinking that I could fight a dragon shifter one on one.
Outside, I unleashed the beast within me and let it come flowing forth. We didn’t fight for dominance. I had complete control this time.
And all I wanted to do was run.
Run away from the burgeoning feelings for the woman sleeping on my couch so that I didn’t fail her eventually.
Addie
“Hey, wake up!”
I jolted awake in a dark room. For a moment, I had no idea where I was. I thought I’d been stolen away by Hel again. Then my eyes sharpened, and Maddox’s living room came into view.
A cold hand touched my shoulder. “Run.”
Perse’s familiar voice was nothing more than a whisper, but it set my heart racing. Was she here? I searched high and low, but there was no ghost present. When I sent my arcana out, I felt something else.
My heart lurched. I shot up from the couch and fumbled towards the door before I stopped to remind myself that there was nowhere I could run—especially when there was a shifter chasing me.
The soul-torn wolf was out there. I could feel his ragged husk of a body tearing through the fate threads around him. He was like a black hole, sucking in everything and tearing it apart all in the same breath.
“Maddox,” I whispered.
He had to be here somewhere. Slowly, I inched away from the door and towards the hall where his bedroom waited. I couldn’t think of any other place he would be.
The room was empty. I rushed to the bathroom then to the spare bedroom only to find them all empty. My lower lip trembled. A presence pressed against my hand, like someone squeezing it in reassurance.
“What am I supposed to do, Perse?” I asked under my breath.
She couldn’t answer. Though I knew she was here with me, she was still trapped somewhere between the world of the living and the world of the dead.