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I made one more circle, expecting to see the same empty grassland as before. Instead, I was moderately shocked when I saw a small girl standing a few feet in front of me.

Her back was towards me, but I could see that she had long brown hair and pale skin. She wore a simple white dress with a red bow around her waist.

Little girl appearing out of nowhere? Hell no.

Taking a step backwards, eyes still latched onto the demonic child, I tripped over a loose rock. That was why I don’t multitask. One couldn’t walk backwards and keep an eye on the creepy girl at the same time.

I tried to fall quietly, but my clumsy ass landed on the ground with a bang. I may or may not have also let out a string of unladylike curses.

Yup. Exactly the words a young girl needed to hear.

She turned towards me, head tilted to the side thoughtfully. Whatever I was about to say became caught in my throat when I caught sight of her young, elfin face.

Cupid-bow lips, small nose, large eyes framed by thick, dark lashes.

I was staring at myself. Albeit, a younger version of myself, but myself all the same.

Gaping, I ambled back to my feet.

“What the hell is going on?” I whispered to the younger me, taking in her sweet expression. Had I, once, been that innocent? Had life made my features harder, my eyes colder? I longed to go back in time, before I was abused and forgotten by my family. I wished I had remain this girl.

This better version of myself.

She continued to smile, unaware or ignoring my growing panic. Tentatively, she ventured a step closer. Her smile began to contort with each movement.

Eyes flashing a garnet red, she bared her teeth at me. Black veins, almost like worms, began to crawl beneath her pasty skin.

I held my hands up in surrender.

“Please,” I whispered, a second before she pounced.

* * *

I wokeup in a cold sweat, heart pounding.

Sometime during my slumber, I must’ve sprawled overtop of Ronan and Asher. My head was nestled on the latter’s chest, while my feet were on Ronan.

To my mortification, a small puddle of drool darkened Asher’s light shirt.

Whoops. Learned something new every day.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Asher said once he saw that I was awake. His hand tenderly brushed some of my sweat-soaked hair out of my face.

“It’s actually afternoon,” Ryder pointed out from somewhere behind me.

Yawning, I tried to recall my strange dream, but my brain turned to liquid the more I tried to concentrate. I could never remember my dreams once I woke up. Bits and pieces, maybe, but never the overall image. It was like a puzzle that was missing too many pieces to accurately figure out what it was supposed to depict.

Frowning, I stretched my sore muscles.

“How long have I been asleep?” I asked, blinking the last remains of sleep from my eyes.

“A couple hours, give or take,” Tam answered. He had released Mof from his cage and was absently stroking his silky, black fur. My heart warmed at the sight. “We haven’t moved an inch in the last fifteen minutes though.”

“And we probably won’t move any further for a while,” added Fallon gruffly. “It’s been this way since we’ve driven onto the main highway.”

I finally sat up to see what Fallon was referring to, and my jaw practically popped from its socket.

There were cars everywhere. Parked in every available crevice, the road was a collection of color. Now that I was paying attention - and no longer in my sleep-muddled daze - I could hear the beeping of horns and the chatter of people. It seemed as if the majority of drivers were outside of their cars, resting against the hoods and enjoying the last rays of sunlight before night fell.