I held the now empty vial in my hand, clutching it as Rob fell backward and shivered hard over the exam table. He started to make gurgling noises, white bubbles forming at his mouth and spilling off the side of his face. His glassy eyes started to roll back into his head.“Claire?” Avery gasped in shock as she rushed over to stand beside me.We watched as the thin wounds across Rob’s chest began to widen, a gush of blood spilling onto the white table.“Why isn’t it working?” I shrieked. I grabbed the whole container of gauze and pressed it to the man’s convulsing chest. I whirled to stare at Avery with wide eyes. “We have to do something!”Avery just shook her head. It was too late.Rob was no longer moving.Avery rushed to his side, grabbing onto his wrists and looking at his face. She put her ear against his chest. She lifted her head and her eyes were hollow and wide with shock.“He’s gone,” she said, her lips barely moving.I felt my ears ringing and the room began to spin.“But h

I obeyed, shocked that I was able to do so as if I was surrounded by the cleanest air in the world. It was a momentary instant, but enough for me to survive.My body was still weak but my mind was clear.I could sense the tiniest flow of the water, although I couldn’t do much more. So I waited.Finally, a splash rang above me. Jared was swimming toward me, holding a sharp knife in his mouth. He was shocked when he saw me quietly sitting there, waiting for him.I gave him a nod. His handsome face softened, and I could clearly see the worry in his eyes was replaced by relief.Without any delay, he cut the ties and the ropes. My wrists easily broke through the binds and the stones attached to my legs fell away. As soon as I was freed, he grabbed me by my waist and swam toward the surface.The beacon of moonlight above me was whining through the water. He gave me a forceful push, and I gulped in lungfuls of air as I burst through the surface of the water.The air flowed into my lungs so q

*Claire*One would think that I would stay away from the lake after almost drowning in it just two nights prior, but I found that I couldn’t do that. Yes, it had been a traumatizing experience, one that I was unlikely to forget for the rest of my life, but it also filled me with a fierce determination to reconnect with my wolf and fulfill whatever wishes my parents had for me before they passed away.After the fight for my life, Avery insisted that I take a couple of days off from working with her at the infirmary. I understood her reasoning. I had nearly drowned and had been soaked to the bone in the cold lake water and while I woke up without any kind of ailment, I was drained and weak from all the intense and exhausting events.I stayed in bed for most of that first day, forcing myself up during meals. I was used to being ignored or thrown dirty looks by people as I wandered through the community, so I was shocked when some people actually greeted me.Of course, there were always s

*Claire*I did my best to put up a tough facade, but I was shaking inside in reality. Reeva had an air about her that screamed ill intentions with her dark clothes and sinister grin. Worst of all, I was under the impression that she knew who I was.I didn’t want someone like her to know me.I tilted my chin up as best as I could, despite the fact that Reeva had a tight grip on my face. “You speak to me as if I’m supposed to know who you are.”The frightening grin grew and I barely had time to shudder when she suddenly tossed me back on the cold floor, shoving me so that I fell hard.“I suppose it’s not shocking that you don’t know me, little bird,” she practically cooed. She started to step around me, moving as if she was floating. Her shoes didn’t make a sound, unlike the loud clicks of Amanda’s heels. “Your family didn’t stick around long enough for you to know me.”I struggled to sit up, my side throbbing from the impact of my fall. “How the hell do you know my family?”Reeva scoff

*Claire*A part of me was marveling at how I keep finding myself in situations like this one. The amount of turmoil and danger I managed to put myself in since coming to Moonstone was starting to make my previous life as a rogue seem like a merry picnic.I dug my teeth into my lip as the pain increased in my wrists. I had been working for hours to get the Wolfsbane cuffs loose and I was finally able to wiggle my wrists enough to reveal a loose thread. My fingers stung when I grabbed the end and tug on it to slowly unravel the cuffs. I stayed on my side and tried to look meek and depressed as I worked on the cuffs.Eventually, I had it to the point where I was certain that I would be able to break free of them.I still couldn’t believe the witch actually thought I might agree to kill Jared. I thought she might kill me on the spot after my immediate refusal, but she just looked amused, as if I was a little girl that told her that I wanted to be a fairy one day. She had chuckled, patted