14
ADDIE
When nowhere was safe, I chose the place that I knew I would find the most comfort. Some would call me crazy, but I loved the peace of nature, where spirits knew better than to linger.
I didn’t expect Maddox to tag along, but I was grateful to have his company. Not just because I felt safer with him around, but because I wanted to keep a closer eye on him. And having him away from humanity would be better for everyone. We had no idea what would happen next.
“Have you ever heard of a hotel?” Maddox grumbled on his side of the tent.
I wanted to be sassy and remind him that he was the one who’d followed me, but I didn’t want him to realize he could go anywhere else. I needed him nearby for so many reasons.
“Are…are you mad at me?” I didn’t look at him. Instead, I kept my gaze fixed on the tent roof.
Maddox growled in response. That growl betrayed the mix of emotions that he must have been processing. It was too early to ask how he felt, because not even he knew what was going on in there.
He had a whole new being inside him now. I didn’t know what it was like to adjust to having a beast. Ryder or Ness would be more helpful than me, but I didn’t want Ryder to decide that Maddox was a threat to his pack’s safety.
Without thinking, I found myself reaching towards Maddox. I jerked my hand back and shoved it into my sleeping bag.
Maddox grumbled and got up. He said nothing before unzipping the tent door. I sat upright and opened my mouth to call him back. My voice left me before I could stop him. However, he didn’t go far.
I could feel him with my arcana. He was a beacon like every other dead thing nearby. I could feel him the same way I could feel the dead rabbit under the fallen log in the woods. He burned cold, like dry ice. That same kind of smoke rolled off him.
He’d slipped out of Ryder’s grasp earlier by using a power that no other shifter had. I’d never seen anything like it before. Maddox could enter the afterlife and use it to teleport. Could…could I do the same? Or was that something only he could do?
What else could he do?
Did Maddox have a time limit?
He stood in a place between living and dead. I held my breath, waiting for death to come and fully claim him. The thought struck me in the heart, a lancing pain filling my chest.
While I clutched my chest, a soft muzzle nudged me. Maddox whined with a concern that I didn’t expect. When I looked to him, a pair of pale eyes looked up at me. They were nothing like Maddox’s dark eyes, but they still somehow showed exactly who I was looking at.
I buried my hand in his white fur. It no longer sloughed off. Instead, his form seemed more stable. I breathed a sigh of relief and ran my hand along his ruff.
For him, I would get myself in order. Though I was still terrified of my own power, I had to get it under control. If I didn’t, then he could get hurt again. I couldn’t allow that to happen. My fears wouldn’t ruin anyone else’s lives.
We slept, side by side, through the whole night. It had to be the first time I’d gotten a proper sleep in years. While my camping sleep was always refreshing, there was something even more invigorating about having a shifter nearby.
I thought about offering him a steak dinner, because I figured that’s what a new shifter would want, but his phone went off before I could ask. He disappeared for a few minutes, only a few muffled grunts betraying the fact that he was shifting back.
His control was impressive. I knew very little about new shifters, but Maddox seemed to be getting ahold of this too quickly. He had a force of will that was both admirable and terrifying. I was grateful that he no longer thought I was the prime suspect for these murders, or else I might be behind bars already.
Of course, he had to have a strong sense of will for his job. There was no way that someone could get up and do what he did every day without it. He likely had to force himself out of bed in the morning. Who would want to go into work and look at pictures of dead people over and over?
I sure as hell didn’t want to look at dead people.
Maddox came back dressed and ready to go. He grabbed his phone and held it between his shoulder and his ear. I could hear the soft ringing from here, but he looked back and met my gaze.
Though it felt like there was something he wanted to say, the person on the other end of the call answered before he could speak. Maddox quickly turned away from me, so he could focus on his call.
Instead of eavesdropping, I lifted my face to the sky and savored the silence of the open wilds. This wasn’t the same camping spot as last time, but I couldn’t help but see the field that I’d destroyed in my fear. Every field looked the same. They all felt the same. Dead things sat just beneath the ground’s surface no matter where you went.
I shook myself free of my memories and went about starting a fire, so I could make some coffee. Not for the first time, I wished I had access to Vi’s arcana because starting fires was a pain in the ass.
“There’s a situation that requires my presence,” Maddox said just as the coffee began percolating.
My stomach dropped unexpectedly. I glanced out over the field like the killer hunting me would show up out of nowhere. Of course, nothing happened. Yet, I was afraid of being alone. I wasn’t going to say it, but my inability to speak might have given it away.