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SEVENTY-SIX | CODEX
I could hear Aradia’s words ringing in my head: “They cause chaos, destruction, but they are – for the most part – mindless. They attain pleasure from the pain of others…”
I’d remembered part of my early education in the supernatural, but not all of it. The pocket-sized book Skye had shown me had filled in the gaps in my knowledge, and, at long last, we knew what we were hunting.
Herb’s warning had also gone right over my head. Large, crowded events, full of people, were a breeding ground for violence and torment. Skye had left me the book – though we’d been hidden from the Clan’s eyes and ears, his family, his pack, would still worry if he’d been gone too long, which he already had been; as such, he’d had to leave soon after explaining what he and Rowan and Rosie had found in the tiny book.
It didn’t look like much, faded and crinkled a
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She Runs with Wolves SEVENTY-SEVEN | UNDERWORLD
“So,” Rowan said, sitting back on her heels, crouched in front of our little circle on the porch, “the book says that marks, or signs, like the one we’ve been seeing are Marks of the Underworld. Sort of like a supernatural clue for anyone smart – or lucky – enough to recognise it.”“But demons have to be summoned, don’t they?” I asked, frowning down at the book. It was splayed out in the middle of us, the pages held down with two large, unpolished crystals that Grandma Rosie had donated to the cause. “Surely whoever had summoned it would clean up after themselves?”“It could have been summoned a very long time ago,” Kathrena said, clucking her tongue against her teeth. “After the demon has done its duty, as such, it’s free to stay on this plane of existence and do whatever it wants. Which usually entails mindless violence and other horrific acts.&
She Runs with Wolves SEVENTY-EIGHT | HEATED
Skye’s face paled immediately. I doubted my complexion had changed much, but my eyes were round and glassy as I stared off into the pots of herbs. I read the label on the green sage to myself, over and over, until the words no longer looked like words to me, and the letters no longer looked like letters.“Why the silence?” Grandma Rosie seemed equal parts irritated and concerned. “That shouldn’t be a problem, should it? Wolves run in packs, and based on the fact that there are two vampires sat in front of me, both of whom are willingly attending school for what I assume is not the first time, I’d hazard a guess that there’s a clan nearby, too.”“It wouldn’t be a problem,” I began, very quietly, “if either Skye’s pack or our clan knew about the other. They don’t… they don’t know about us,” I gulped.Grandma Rosie sighed.
She Runs with Wolves SEVENTY-NINE | TWIN FLAMES
“Although rare,” I read aloud, “mate bonds between Vampyres and Werewolves do exist. These two species are believed to be polar opposites in every way, and, often, such bonds are either left undiscovered, or are terminated upon the realisation that they exist between two souls.”Skye squeezed my hand. “I’m glad that we found each other, El.”I smiled. “Me, too.” The heat of his skin against mine sent a shockwave through me, and I struggled to return my focus to the book.“However,” I continued, “for those that are brave enough to see past their preconceived notions of the other species, mate bonds between Vampyres and Werewolves are the source of immense power. Rather than soulmates, this pairing is often likened to twin flames: two souls lighting up the dark together. Two wholes, rather than two halves, combined as one in order to displace the darkness.”“I wonder what that means,” Kathrena said. “I’ve read it before – the book talks about human and vampire bonds too, which is why I d
She Runs with Wolves EIGHTY | UNFORESEEN
I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them firmly. A thrill ran through me at the feel of my own body heat, radiating through the thin fabric of my pyjama bottoms. I wriggled my toes in my fluffy socks, squeezing them together to feel the warmth pooling there.Had I been able to cry again, I would have been blinking back tears at the sensation. Even alone, without Skye’s body heat to warm me, the feeling of temperature – real temperature, not just an assessment of it – was heady and overwhelming, and entirely enjoyable.For the first time since David’s death, my shower had been an utterly pleasant experience. I’d focused on the hot water, on the oozing steam, and I’d been overcome by the feeling of the heat on my bare skin, and the fresh chill as I’d stepped out and into my towel.I didn’t want to take this lightly. It was a gift, no matter the cause of
She Runs with Wolves EIGHTY-ONE | EMBERS
I balled my hands into fists, stuffed deep inside my pockets. I’d forgotten what the cold truly felt like: the shuddering, uncomfortable chill that bit at the tip of my nose and made the ends of my fingers ache. Yet still I relished in it, thinking with excitement of how pleasant the warmth of my bed and blankets would feel later. Perhaps I could have another shower when I got in; I could let the hot water stream down my skin, heating me from the outside in.It was a luxury to feel the cold; so much so that I kept missing what Falmer was saying to me.“You took the time to dig out a scarf?” He was tutting, his hands in his pockets out of habit rather than to keep them out of the bitter cold.“You know me,” I teased, “I always want to look my best.”“For school, maybe. But for a night-long patrol?” He raised one quizzical eyebrow.
She Runs with Wolves EIGHTY-TWO | FLAWED (PART 1)
I grinned at Falmer over the sounds of Camila and Alexander’s bickering. We were walking to the edge of our territory, and it seemed that my mild-mannered suggestion had set them off. And, despite Falmer’s prior claim that he wasn’t interested in their disputes, he kept chipping in with unhelpful information that only served to wind them both up more.With the cold biting at the tip of my nose, I’d never felt more joyous, more free – more alive.“Our first date was at that underground bar, remember? It was in New York, during the prohibition. There was that glass chandelier refracting the light all around us, Alex, and it was shining in your eyes…” Camila trailed off, her own eyes gleaming at the memory.But Alexander was less than impressed. “No, Cam, I’m sorry, but you’re just wrong. We met in the nineteen-twenties, sure, but it wasn&r
She Runs with Wolves EIGHTY-THREE | FLAWED (PART 2)
The stars suddenly felt distant and cold up above. The warmth of their embers was gone, replaced by a white light that offered no heat.“Why?” I asked. “What happened?”“After I turned Nettie, I didn’t see her for a very long time. I finished my studies at Oxford, and I was accepted into the clergy.” He smirked. “I was different, back then. I was bored. I had no goals in life, no purpose. So I travelled around, searching for something – anything – and then, over a century later, I found Nettie again.”The forest was thickening around us, the path shrinking yet further as it took us beneath the arching boughs of the trees. They blocked out even the cold light of the stars, and I had to rely on my enhanced, supernatural vision to see. It was colder in the woods, too, shaded and quiet. I wriggled my numb toes desperately inside my boots. Though I’d not
She Runs with Wolves EIGHTY-FOUR | CURRENTS
I wanted to hunt after the patrol, so I asked Falmer to stay with me. I didn’t plan on staying out for long – I felt frostbitten, from the tip of my nose to the tips of my toes. My hands had suffered the worst, though; they felt hard, like unmoving icicles beneath the cotton of my gloves. As the dawn broke across the sky I hoped that the first rays of sun would bring heat with their light, but I remained cold even as they burned in streaks of pink and gold, blazing through the darkness.“You know,” Falmer said, watching me idly as I crept after a white-tailed deer, “I did encounter a legend that told of a vampire who became human again.”“Oh?” I faltered, and at the crunch of leaves beneath my boot, the deer stuck its tail into the air and ran. I sighed. I didn’t want to go for anything smaller – I was hungry, and I didn’t want to hurt anything I drank from.
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