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His left hand runs up our spine, lightly tracing the path as he goes. “It is,” he says before wrapping my braid around his hand and gently pulling my head back.

“So easily you bare your pretty little neck to me. It’s almost like you want me to put my mark right there. Is that what you want?” His finger traces over the spot he would bite me, if he could.

Our chest is rising and falling rapidly. I don’t know what’s happening or why we are giving in so easily. We aren’t some hussy. Taking over, pushing past the magic trying to hold me down, I yank our head down and glare at him.

“It won’t ever be that easy for you.” I shove out of his hold.

“What are you doing,”Sora hisses into our shared mind space.

“We won’t be bellying up for the first guy to show us attention. Magic or not.”

“This is why you aren’t supposed to be around. We know what we are doing.”

She shoves me back again before taking back over.

The man stands there watching us, almost like he knows the battle going on between Sora and I.

She moves back into his arms, but this time, he knows…he knows that Sora isn’t fully in control.

“Seems someone is still part of the party? Are they being a naughty wolf and sticking around?” he whispers into our ear.

I can’t help but shiver as his words wash over us.

Sora, trying to bring the tension back to where it was before, says, “Don’t worry about her. It’s our time right now. Dance with me.” She pulls his arm back around our waist.

We sway together as his hands roam over our body. His hand moves over our ass, moving down our thigh where he hesitates. Almost like he’s waiting for permission. Sora hikes our leg up as he grasps it behind the knee, moving even closer to us.

Lost in the magic, beating drums, and the swirling of our bodies around the fire, I completely lose track of time. I’ve been fighting to stay aware, not allowing the music to lull me to sleep as it’s meant to do. The sky is lighting with the first rays of the sun when he slows to a stop. How he is able to stop is beyond me.

“I’ve got to go,” he whispers in our ear.

“What,” we say breathlessly.

“I’m glad we had this night,” he says as he steps back from us.

“Where are…”

He keeps stepping back until the crowd of moving bodies around us moves in front of him. Snapping out of the shock, I push through the crowd, trying to find him. But like the shadows in my dreams, he disappeared.

I’m standing there, bodies moving around me, but I can’t move. He was here, the man from my dreams, and like the shadow he is, I still don’t know who he is.

Chapter 10

Caelon

Friday, June 20th – Bestiare

The magic is already pulling me in…even before the beat of the drums. I’ve never felt this before, this need to let go. Calix is already pushing beneath my skin, as if our shadowy gray fur is seconds from covering my arms. Deep down, I can feel the vibrations from the earth, as if even she knows that something big is about to happen.

My bare feet crunch the leaves as we move through the woods. I’ve been keeping my distance as much as possible today, with Bestiare so close, I’m afraid I’ll lose control if I’m near her. With each passing day, it’s harder and harder to stay away from her. Even when I’m not paying attention, I always seem to findmy way to her. Is it my obsession with her or something else drawing me to her?

“You already know what it is,”Calix grumbles.

Ignoring him, I pace back and forth in front of the tree line. It’s almost time for the elders' storytelling. I can’t see her, but I know she’s here. I can feel it, and maybe he’s right. There is only one explanation for it, and it’s not obsession.

My feet move silently across the grass as I step away from the tree line behind the Ancient Ash Tree. I need to find her. My chest is tight as I scan the crowd of masked men and women. Mask or not, I’ll know the second I find her.

Like a string pulling me to her, I spot her. My heart races as I take in a shuddering breath. She’s stunning with her white wolf mask with white feathers and dream catchers. She’s locked arm-in-arm with Odessa, her best friend and soul match. I move to the right of the crowd, hoping to see more of her, and I’m not disappointed.