Page 5 of Woven Souls

“I have a question.”

I look down to meet her unfocused gaze.

“When Jonah took me to get help, the nurse who helped me said that I had been lucky that my attacker struck just the right place—”

I flinch at the word ‘attacker.’

“—but it wasn’t luck. It was skill, wasn’t it?”

My throat constricts. It takes me a moment to gain control so I can say, “All I could do was hit you where it wouldn’t be immediately fatal.”

Willow frowns before lying down and turning her back to me. With a sigh, I lean back against the headboard. I risk reaching over and taking her hand, knowing it will bring her comfort.

“Theo?”

“Yes, Willow?”

“Starting tomorrow, things are going to change.”

Chapter2

KWIL

Waking up is like trying to swim through a vat of molasses.

It takes forever, but I finally manage to open my eyes and sit up. Memories of the last few moments before everything went dark come barreling through my head. Willow and Jonah, their faces full of fear. Me chasing them. No, not just me. Theo and Viktor were there, too. The three of us cornering, tranquilizing, and then shoving them into the van. The overwhelming, all-consuming need to get her away from the others. Gathering Willow into my arms and…

That’s where they end.

Fuck, I let the monster take hold of me, and Theo must have intervened.

Groaning, I swing my feet over the edge of my bed. My eyes flicker to the little alarm clock on the nightstand. Seven-thirty… I’ve only been out for a few hours. Good, I haven’t wasted too much time. My bare feet hit the thick carpet as I rise to stand. I’m off kilter for a moment before I gain my bearings. Just as I’m about to head towards the door, it opens, and Theo walks in. He looks like shit. Face gray, eyebrows pinched together, and circles under his eyes, Theo looks like he’s been through the wringer.

Because he has.

He hardly had time to recover from my attack before we were on the move to find Willow and Jonah. He stops in the middle of the room and turns to face me.

“How are you feeling?”

My face warms with shame, but it heats even further as it mixes with my irritation with him. “I’m under control.”

Theo lets out a heavy sigh of relief.

“Good, because Willow needs you.”

Willow… My heart leaps in my chest at the sound of her name.

“Where is she?”

“She’s in the other room,” Theo assures me. “She slept for an hour, but she’s awake now. Viktor brought Jonah up and placed him with her—”

“Up? Up from where?” My brows slam together.

Theo winces as he says, “The basement. I thought keeping them down there until I knew they’d calmed down was the best—”

“You kept them in the basement?!” I move towards the door, my body shaking with fury. The control I have wavers. “Theo, you are continuously fucking up!”

Theo beats me to the door, bracing his hand on it to keep it closed.