Page 28

Saved us all?

It felt extreme at the time. Shit, it still does now, but is this what he meant? Erikel?

Scrubbing a hand down my face, I shift beneath Brax’s arm so I can lie on my back, letting his hand rest against my stomach as I stare up at the ceiling.

No matter how much I try to rid it from my existence, helplessness clings to me like a second skin.

The first shadow that shimmies across the far wall catches me by surprise, but by the fourth, my eyes aren’t as wide. I’m used to waking up and being surrounded by them. This is the first time I’m catching them as they begin to appear. It’s captivating.

Four grows to ten, and I stop counting by the time I reach twenty. There are too many for me to keep on top of, and it doesn’t seem to be as though they’re done coming. I lie silently, watching, following, trailing their every move, until one pauses on the far wall, the silhouette turning as though it faces me, and my heart lurches in my chest.

Just like the other time, it begins to grow, consuming more and more of the wall as its shadow takes hold of the entire room. It inches closer, dominating my attention as everything else around me fades into the background.

My spine stiffens when I sense a rasp echo around the room. I glance at Brax, but he’s as still as he was before, fast asleep. I know it’s not him, though. It’s the shadow peering down at me. The sound comes again, making me frown as I try to decipher what the hell it’s trying to say.

“Sleep. Sleep, Raven.”

I gape as the words register. I want to tell them I’ve fucking tried. That it’s impossible. My eyes refuse to give and my brain point-blank declines the order to shut off and sleep. But I don’t have a choice because the room goes dark around me.

Free falling in the darkness, nausea churns in my gut as the weightless feeling leaves me breathless. Everything stops with a thump and I glance around, disoriented, to find misty white and pale gray surrounding me.

I scramble to my feet, gaping down at the oversized tee that falls mid-thigh on me. A creak squeaks behind me, making me whirl around in panic to find a familiar wrap-around porch just a few steps away.

“Raven?” My eyes widen and my heart feels close to exploding when my eyes lock with Zane’s. “Raven,” he repeats, the disbelief in his voice real as my face falls into my hands.

Is this what sleep has become? Hauntings of what I desire most?

Maybe I should have stayed awake. Maybe I shouldn’t have let the silhouette get so close to do… whatever the hell it did to me.

Fuck.

“Dove?” The nickname on his lips makes my throat bob and my fingers tremble. A moment later, hands run down my arms in the softest touch, evoking a gasp from my lips that mirrors the noise coming from Zane. “You’re here. You’re really here.”

My hands slowly fall away from my face as I look up into his hazel eyes in awe.

“Zane?”

“Oh, thank fuck, Dove,” he rasps, lifting me in the air as he pins me to his chest, twirling us in a circle.

I can’t truly process what’s happening as he places me back on the ground, but all too quickly, I’m launched into the air again, only this time, it’s at the hands of Eldon.

“Fuck, Little Bird. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He clings to me like his life depends on it, and I squeeze back just as tight. His fingers tangle in my hair and his other arm is banded so firmly around my waist that I’m sure I’m going to pass out.

When my bare feet make it back to the ground again, my forehead is pressed against his chest, my mind still delirious with disbelief as soft kisses pepper all over my head.

Just as I lean back to peer up at him, he’s ripped from me, my eyes widening as I remain startled, only to have Creed replace the very spot Eldon was in moments earlier. Tired and pained onyx eyes find mine as he simply stands and stares at me for what feels like an eternity.

He’s not like Eldon and Zane, tossing me in the air all carefree and excited; he’s calculated, restrained, and controlled. He’s my Creed.

I eliminate the distance remaining between us. Gripping his black top in my hands, I press myself against him. Chest to chest, his arms descend around me, engulfing me in his warmth, and I sag in his embrace.

“It worked. It actually fucking worked.”

I frown at Zane’s words, acutely aware that he still lingers close by. Tilting my head, I turn to face him, but Creed grips my chin, pausing me as his eyes pierce into mine. His lips descend, cutting off my next breath.

His tongue pries my lips open before dancing along mine. My hands lift to cling to his shoulders, completely distracting me until he rips his lips away, our short, sharp breaths mingling between us.

“What worked?” I ask hoarsely, still confused about my surroundings and how real they are.