What The Hell?

Zayla

Fire. That is all I see.

It’s burning everything, lashing out at the world around it.

Only it’s not touching me.

It’s calling to me, singing my name.

“What are you?” I call out to it, but it doesn’t respond.

It continues calling out to me, changing its shape into different designs, each one more complex than the last. Crying out for me to save it, to protect it.

“Who are you? Please, I will help you!”

Chasing after it, I’m led to a cliff before it disappears.

Looking over the edge, I’m frightened at the sight before me.

Flowing like lava is a river filled with bodies.

No, these aren’t just bodies—these are souls.

I begin to panic and back up when I feel a warmth on my back. The fire is playing on my skin in a beautiful dance. I watch it sweep over me until it’s resting in my palm.

Fascinated by the ball of flame, I let it consume my mind, avoiding the pit of souls before me.

My mind is at peace until a darkness creeps up my spine. A voice and a heavy breath at my ear have my attention being pulled away from the dancing flame.

“Beautiful, aren’t they? One day you will rule them by my side.” Whirling my body around, I look for Soren, but he’s not there.

In fact, I’m alone.

Calling out to them, I hope they hear me and come back, but before they can, a beast emerges from the shadows.

Its flesh is burned and falling off, its skeleton glowing in an inky substance.

Backing away as it starts snapping its teeth at me, I’m pushed closer to the edge.

The beast continues to lunge at me, its fangs biting into my flesh several times before I allow my fear to take over me fully.

Then suddenly the cliff gives out and I fall, hitting the flowing river of souls with a hard splash. The souls grab onto my body for dear life.

I scream and thrash as they try to drag me under before finally becoming too weak.

As they pull me to the bottom of the river, I watch as my last air bubbles escape my throat and float to the surface.

Before finally…

I wake up!

I’m startled and dazed as I realize that it was just a dream and that I’m no longer on the ground outside with my parents.

Instead I’m lying in their bed with arms wrapped tightly around my furry body.

Moving my head slowly, I take in the delicate features of Draxel’s mate Kimber. Her body is pressed against mine and his is pressed against hers.

Their faces are those of people who have been crying. Turning my body slightly, I look over to the other side and it’s the same scene with Drayden and his mate Blair.

Confusion washes over me.

~Why am I in my parents’ room, and why are they spooning my wolf?~

Wiggling out as softly as a one-hundred-and-fifty-pound wolf can, I crawl backward until my hind legs fall off the bed.

I stare at the sight in front of me for several minutes, trying not to laugh as I watch the twins’ hands reaching for where my body was before their hands touch and they settle back to sleep.

If only they knew how absolutely ridiculous they looked right now. If only I had human hands and my fucking phone, this would be the ultimate picture.

My minute of entertainment is ended quickly as the burning feeling starts to pick up again.

Shaking my head back and forth, my wolf’s instinct to shake the feeling out of my head startles me.

I don’t know how I didn’t notice her before, but ever so slightly, I can feel my wolf in my head. She’s pacing back and forth in my mind like she’s waiting for another bit of pain.

When the pain in my head starts morphing from a shallow pain into another round of lashings, I bite back the need to whimper.

Instead, in a flash, my wolf vanishes again, but not before I feel her guard shoot up. Then, almost like she’s taking the brunt of the pain, it slowly starts easing again.

I won’t lie, it’s still fucking painful, but I’ll take this pain over the harsh bite of what I was feeling earlier.

I stand there staring at my brothers and their mates while I try searching my head for her. I don’t find her, but I do feel that feeling of something being guarded inside myself.

Sighing in defeat, I back away from my parents’ bed, walking out of their room quietly so as to not wake the four of them from their slumber.

Making my way downstairs, I pass by my Uncle Amish.

“Your parents told me what’s going on, how are you feeling, little one?” he asks.

I’m quiet for a moment, taking in his haggard appearance. His deep-brown eyes and dark skin seem so pale today.

“I’m managing, how are you? You don’t look so good.”

A deep chuckle sounds through the hall. “When I decided to get my nearly forty-three-year-old mate pregnant again, I wish y’all would have beat my ass.”

A laugh floats through my fur at his pain. That is until my own pain hits me full force.

Grunting, Amish runs over to me, wrapping his arms around me, rubbing his hand down my back softly so as not to hurt me further.

I whimper for a minute before the pain slowly starts to die back down.

The feeling of my wolf jumping back and forth from my consciousness leaves me confused and more shaken by the minute.

It isn’t until I hear my uncle’s calming tone floating down my eardrums that I snap out of my haze.

“Shhh, it’s okay, little one, the pain will pass. I’m here.”

Taking a deep breath, I sigh through the rest of the pain before mind-linking him, ~“I’m okay, sorry for scaring you.”~

“Oh little one, you never need to apologize.” He pats my head then stands up. “Now, are you going to be okay?”

~“I’ll be fine, I’m going to go find my parents.”~

“Very well. I love you, Zayla.”

~“I love you, too. Kiss Aunty Brim for me.”~

He smiles at me, then kisses my head.

“I will. Be good,” he says before walking away.

Continuing my way down the hallway and the stairs, I’m about halfway when I hear voices I know all too well coming from the living room.

Slowing my movements down, I can’t help but eavesdrop on the conversation.

“I’m telling you, Silas, she’s sick or something!” my father’s voice rings out, concerned.

“Did she mention anything else other than she can’t feel her wolf?”

“No, she passed out in pain! Something’s not right! She was clearly attacked, and her bond with us was cut for more than twenty-four hours.”

I hear my father let out a frustrated sigh before he continues, “The only thing I know is she was with her mate, but then she comes home in a horrible condition, and where the fuck is this fucking mate at?

“Because he hasn’t fucking shown up once to check on her! I don’t fucking like this!”

“Zayn, calm down, we’ll help our baby, but we can’t with you overreacting.”

“Overreacting, Skyla, that’s our fucking daughter! You don’t leave your mate for no reason! She’s fucking hurting and where the fuck is he?”

~Gone. He’s gone.~