“That’s bullshit.” She turned on him.
He shrugged. “I didn’t make the rules. Because he is with you, he holds even more power.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What kind of power?”
Instead of answering, Lucas stood straight and looked at her. Right before her eyes, he shifted, much like Mia had. Only, instead of a cute black-haired dog, Lucas stood before her as a six-foot wolf with pitch-dark hair. His yellow eyes gleamed with both humor and hunger.
As with Mia, when he spoke, his mouth didn’t move. Instead, the words filled her mind.
“There are things beyond our comprehension, sister. Learn what you must at the ranch, but know this—before the next full moon, if you don’t bring him to me, I’ll be forced to take matters into my own hands.” With this, blackness swirled around her brother until she could only see his glowing yellow eyes. Then he disappeared.
She woke with a start as sunlight blinded her. Scott stood next to the bed, holding out a mug of coffee.
“Morning.” He smiled down at her. “Did you sleep well?”
As an answer, she sipped the coffee in silence.
“I forgot, you’re not a morning person.” He sat on the edge of the bed. She noticed that he was fully dressed and grunted. “Mia’s going to be here in half an hour. I thought you’d like to shower first.” She grunted again and he chuckled. “If you go stand under the water, I’ll get you a second cup of coffee.”
She rolled her eyes and tossed the covers off her naked body. Taking the cup with her, she stood under the spray, letting the hot water wash away the darkness from her dreams.
Had she really visited her brother last night? There was no way her imagination could conjure up all of that.
When Scott’s hand appeared between the foggy glass doors of his shower with a fresh cup of coffee, she figured she’d better wash her hair and get ready.
“Thanks,” she said, taking it from his hand.
“Do you know how hard it was not to poke my head in there? But,” he said with a heavy sigh, “if I did, there would be no way we’d be ready by the time Mia gets here.”
She smiled as she rinsed the shampoo from her hair and shut off the water. Taking the full cup of coffee, which she’d set on the glass shelf in the shower, she stepped out. Scott was there, holding up a large white towel for her to step into.
“Feel better?” he asked her.
“Rested,” she confirmed. “And eager to get learning. Something tells me Mia has more than just one thing to teach me.”
“She does seem like an old soul,” Scott said, leaning against the countertop.
“Do you believe in that stuff?” she asked as she pulled on some clean clothes. His laughter stopped her. “What?”
“After growing up beside you, watching everything you can do, you really need to ask me if I believe in old souls?” His eyebrows rose.
She shrugged. “It’s just…” She thought about what she’d learned about herself and Tara. How this hadn’t been the first time that their parents had consumed them. Suddenly, she had another question plaguing her. Why them and not Lucas?
Instead of answering, she shook her head and finished dressing, then spent a few minutes trying to tie her long hair back. She’d let it grow out and still had no clue how to make it look like anything other than a rat’s nest. Finally, she pulled it up into a messy bun and gulped down the rest of her coffee.
“Breakfast?” he asked, just as a knock sounded on the door. “Guess we’ll stop on the way.” He shrugged and stepped out of the bathroom.
Sitting on the edge of the massive sunken tub, she pulled on her boots, then grabbed up her overnight bag filled with her necessities and went out to see Scott talking to Mia.
“Ready?” Mia asked with a smile. “I thought we’d hit the bakery downstairs before we hit the road. They have the best sticky buns.”
Selene felt her stomach growl at the thought of a sticky bun.
“Sounds good,” she said, tossing her bag over her shoulder. Scott’s backpack was already over his shoulder.
For good measure, Selene grabbed a sticky bun and a breakfast quiche, as well as an iced coffee for the road.
She sat in the back of Scott’s car while Mia gave him directions. They headed out of the city and weaving through the Atlanta traffic actually took up the majority of the trip. The second they hit the open road, Mia had Scott turning off the highway. Another half an hour and they stopped outside of two massive iron gates.