Laurie’s Wolves(60)

She wasn’t sure.

A rustling inside the tree line forced her to spin to her left.

Black smoke.

She relaxed. A week ago, she would have freaked the fuck out. But now that she’d seen the cloudy substance several times, she wasn’t nearly as disturbed. It wanted her attention. As far as she knew, no one else had been visited by this spirit in recent days.

Nope. This sign was for her.

The smoke swirled around itself until it formed a bear-like shape in front of her and continued to inch closer. She stared right at the center of the mass, desperately trying to open her mind. If there was a message to relay, she wanted to hear it.

“I’m with you, child.” Mimi’s voice came through their connection.

Laurie pulled her hand free of Corbin and stepped toward the apparition. She reached out slowly, attempting to make contact with the gaseous substance. It was clearly not a solid. She wouldn’t be able to touch it, but she hoped for at least a feeling that might come from her proximity.

Warmth spread through her body from her core outward. In spite of the bitter temperature, she suddenly stopped shivering and relaxed her shoulders.

No words were communicated, but she closed her eyes and let the spirit speak to her in its way. It was agitated. That much she was sure of. But then again, its presence alone implied there was unrest among the spirits.

What was it trying to warn her about?

Her frustration mounted as she squinted at the black fog. She took a deep breath, feeling the renewed cold at her back.

Someone screamed, and she spun around to see massive shards of ice raining down from the sky. More of the ice was forming in the air from the water.

Corbin slammed into her bodily, pressing her to the ground.

The air was knocked out of her lungs as she twisted her neck to reengage with the spirit.

It was gone.

Voices could be heard all around her, and she could see people running—dozens of them. They were shouting instructions and pointing at the incredible formation that was growing in size as it froze.

Only yards separated her from the mayhem, but she felt much farther away, as though she were observing the incident from an enormous distance instead of her relatively close proximity.

Her ears felt clogged.

Corbin lifted off her. “You okay, Laurie?” He grabbed her hands and pulled them together.

Someone leaned over his shoulder and hovered.

Zach. “Baby?”

She attempted to shake the cobwebs from her head. Every breath from her mouth or either of her mates came out as white vapor. Her lungs burned.

“She’s freezing.” Corbin tucked his hand under her neck and her knees and lifted her into his arms.

“What happened?” Zach asked.

“Another black aura.” Corbin handed her to Zach, gently settling her in his arms. “Take her home. Warm her up. She needs to shift.”

Zach nodded.

Laurie reached out for Corbin and managed to half-heartedly snag his coat sleeve as he turned to walk away. She felt sluggish. Tired. Exhausted. Why? She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Corbin leaned over her face and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be fine. I need to work. Go with Zach. Warm up. I’ll see you soon.”

She nodded, or at least she thought she did. “So cold…” she managed to convey through their connection.

Corbin was already running away from the two of them. “I know, babe. Get warm.”

Zach trudged through the throng of people toward the road.

In confusion, she noticed they all had blankets wrapped around them.

“Get back to your cars, folks,” someone yelled.

Zach held her against him with one arm and opened the truck door with the other. He slid her inside and scooted her past the steering wheel to climb in next to her. Seconds later, he started the engine, cranked up the heat, and then tucked her against his body. “Jesus, you’re cold.”

He yanked off his glove and set his hand on her cheek. “Your face is freezing.”

She winced. It hurt actually.

Someone rapped on the passenger window, startling her.

Trace.

Zach lowered the window a few inches.

“The temperature’s dropping at an alarming rate. Get out of here before your truck won’t cooperate.”

Zach nodded as Trace stepped away. He put the truck in reverse and tossed his arm over Laurie to twist his neck and see out the back. Several other cars were also turning around.

Laurie shivered beside him as he made the five-point turn to get them facing toward Cambridge.

As he took off, his tires spun on the ice. His arm snuggled around her, and she set her head against his shoulder. That was the last thing she remembered before she fell asleep.

»»•««

Mary’s nerves ate a hole in her stomach. She hadn’t eaten for two days. Bile rose into her throat at the thought of eating.