I regained my footing and picked up Aura’s pet carrier. I petted her head and told her she was a good girl. She rewarded me with a head nudge and loud purring.

Micah and Wyatt were already stripped down to their boxers and I averted my gaze from their exposed skin. I didn’t want Micah getting the wrong idea, should I enjoy the view too long. Both of their bodies were impressive. Broad shoulders that tapered to a thin muscled stomach and strong muscular legs.

“Am I done here?” I asked.

“Yeah, we’ll be awhile so you can head home. You okay to drive?” Wyatt asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, waving off his concerns.

“Okay, thank you, Gwen. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

I said my goodbyes and headed for my Jeep. Once I got in the driver’s seat, Wyatt and Micah were already transformed into wolves. Wyatt, in wolf form, was a rich brown color with red hints to his fur, while Micah’s wolf form was a caramel color with white decorating the tip of his tail. Seeing his wolf brought sad memories back to me that I quickly kicked to the curb, before starting my Jeep.

************

Once back home, I hopped in the shower to ease the tension of my vision. I had only experienced it that strongly one other time, and I wasn’t looking forward to it again.

The images of her memories occupied my mind while the hot water pounded against my back. I tried to remember more details but they happened too quickly. Whoever had killed her hadn’t wasted anytime, which wasn’t good; it meant they needed more of their supply.

Wyatt had said that brew was addictive. If that was the case, then this dealer had a strong following already. Nausea set in my stomach at the thought of their supply being the very blood that ran through my veins. I hadn’t ever been bitten by a vampire and now I was dating one. My fear made me question whether I should break all ties with Aiden, but that was my anxiety running wild with my thoughts. Supposedly brew only affected young vampires and Aiden, at 315 years old, posed no threat to my blood or me and made the thought vanish from my cluttered mind.

I sauntered out to the kitchen in my bright blue robe and almost got hit upside the head with a Pepsi can. Fiona cringed at the near miss. I blew out a breath and shook my head, opening the fridge to get my own Pepsi.

“Sorry,” she said. I waved off her apologies and sat at the table with her. She was flipping through a bride catalog and I arched my eyebrows with worry.

“Don’t tell me Liam popped the question already? Just because your father says you should be married doesn’t mean you automatically have to. At least date the guy for six months before you say yes,” I said, worried my best friend was making a monumental mistake.

“Will you relax? I’m looking for a dress for the Founder’s Gala, geez, Gwen,” she said. I silently thanked God and sent her an embarrassed smile, “Sorry. I know you’re smarter than that.”

“Damn right,” she said with a head nod, “So, you’re working with the FBD again?”

“Yeah,” I said simply.

“How are you doing with seeing Micah again?”

Fiona knew how upset I was when Micah dumped me and, like a true best friend, she helped me drown my sorrows with large amounts of alcohol. Never mind the hangover from hell the next morning, her intentions had been good.

“I’m fine. He actually apologized earlier today. I didn’t realize how much resentment I held against him, but after the apology it was like a weight had been lifted,” I said.

Fiona smiled. “So since Micah said he was sorry for breaking your heart, you opened yourself up to Aiden, literally?”

My jaw dropped and Fiona laughed harder. I had always been attracted to Aiden but stayed a safe distance from him. The closure Micah had given me had lowered my protective shields a little bit.

“The furthest I’ve gone with Aiden is what you saw tonight, thank you very much!” I said, defending myself.

“Yeah,yeah, so does he kiss as good as he looks?” she wiggled her eyebrows and I snorted at her lack of boundaries.

“Better,” I said, smiling in remembrance, “Anyway, how the heck are you going to get a dress out of a catalog by Saturday?”

Realizing that I wouldn’t elaborate any further on Aiden’s talents, she held the catalog up to show me a long pastel green gown with a deep v-neck.

“I just need a picture of the gown I want so Andy can make it. It only takes him a day and he already knows my measurements from all the clothes I buy from him. What do you think?”

Andy was a wiz when it came to creating something from nothing. Like most fairies, he had creative genius.

“It’s beautiful and you’ll look amazing in it,” I smiled at her. Aura jumped on my lap and I ran my hands through her thick, long fur. Petting her comforted me and after the day I had, I needed all the comfort I could get.

I realized Fiona was asking me something but it sounded muffled and drowned out by white noise. The scenery of the kitchen slowly began to be sucked inward with darkness following it. My heartbeat thumped against my ribcage like a captive animal fighting to escape. My fingers clenched Aura’s fur as if she were my anchor to reality but my kitchen kept disappearing until all that was left was darkness.

A gray figure sluggishly stepped forward, standing out like a spotlight against the blackness. Its head was hung and its hand outstretched, as if inviting me to touch it, but my dread had frozen me in the chair I remained seated in. Strobe-like flashes disoriented me, changing the blackened abyss into an abandoned house. Tattered curtains blew against the yellowing walls and the smell was redolent of mold. Stacks of old magazines and newspapers occupied various spots.

I caught movement out of my peripheral vision, and looked in the direction of the staircase. The gray figure was standing on the stairs, looking at me. When I didn’t move toward it, it continued up the steps, as if floating. I swallowed the lump of dread that had lodged itself in my throat and cautiously followed. The stairs groaned with each step I took, threatening to collapse under my weight. When I came to the second floor landing, the figure wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Unrelenting, I made my way down the hallway. The wallpaper was peeling in various places and a thick layer of dust blanketed everything.

There were three bedrooms and a bathroom on this floor. I pushed the doors open to make sure no one was waiting at the ready to attack me, but only eerie silence greeted me. The last bedroom I went into was decorated in feminine tones; white wallpaper with small rosettes encased the walls, and a twin-sized canopy bed that jutted out from the far wall. I moved closer to the dresser and picked up a picture of a woman. She looked to be in her teens but I didn’t recognize her.

Something passed quickly by the door, making me swing around. I caught a glimpse of shadow so I hurried to the door and just as I peeked my head out, the figure disappeared into the second bedroom. I took a deep breath and slow steps, making my way to where the apparition had gone. It was standing in the corner, facing the wall. It looked to be five-foot-four but any other distinctive features were washed out in a cloud of dark gray.

“Hello?” I said in a small voice, but only silence responded.

“Who are you?” I tried again. It slowly looked over its shoulder at me and I had to tell myself that my heart couldn’t literally bust through my ribcage, although it was trying its damnedest. Whatever the thing was, it scared the hell out of me.

Before I could blink, it was standing a couple feet in front of me, with its hand outstretched like before. Deciding I should go along with whatever this thing wanted if I wanted answers, I reached out to touch it. Ice cold prickles erupted all through my body once I made contact, causing my hair to stand on end.

“Please don’t hurt me.”

The voice was in my head but I knew it had come from the ghostly outline that was currently grasping my hand. Panic and sadness washed through me, eroding any rational thoughts I had. My mind ran amok with paranoia that I couldn’t understand. Someone has been watching me…they’re going to kill me…

Although the thoughts ran wild in my head, I didn’t understand why I was thinking them. The figure let go of my hand and stood stock still in front of me, waiting for me to understand.

“Gwen,” a familiar female voice said. It sounded like someone was speaking down at me, so I looked up at the cracked ceiling, but nothing and no one was there.

I brought my attention back to the shadow, but it was starting to waver in and out of solidity. “I don’t understand,” I told it, afraid it’d disappear again.

“Gwen,” another voice said, only this time it was a male voice. I looked around but only the shadow and I occupied the room.

The ghostly entity was almost a white gray now, fading, so that I could see the room through it. I tried to grab its hand again, but my fingers fell through it, leaving a cold breeze to caress my skin.

“Wait, who are you?” I tried asking again but it was already disappearing. I looked around for the owners of the other voices but they were nowhere to be found. When I looked back at the ghost, it was gone.

“Come back, Gwen, back to me,” a familiar male voice said. My eyes felt heavy and my body weak with exhaustion. I slid down the wall, unable to hold myself up any longer, and collapsed into oblivion.

7

“I think she’s coming around,” a male voice said. I was lying on something hard and I could tell that someone was next to me but my head was a mass of confusion and fog.

“Gwen?” a female said.

I squinted against the bright light that was in sharp contrast to the dark place I had just been. The first thing I saw was the light on the ceiling in my kitchen. I had been meaning to clean it for months now.

The back of someone’s hand caressed my cheek, so I turned my head to see Aiden. His face depicted worry, which made me worry. I sat up too quickly and was greeted with extreme dizziness.

“Whoa, take it easy, Gwen.”

I rubbed the dizziness from my head and looked up, noticing for the first time there were three other people were watching me. Micah was standing by the sink, Wyatt was next to the table, Fiona was sitting in a chair by my feet, and Aiden was standing right next to me. They all gave me looks of uncertainty, as if I were in danger of losing consciousness again.