Page 25 of Collar Me Crazy (Hollow Oak Mates #8)

SONYA

T he scream echoed from somewhere near the town square, sharp and terrified. Sonya dropped the sage bundle she'd been tying and ran to the apothecary's front window, her heart hammering as she watched people scatter from the direction of Moonlit Meadow Restaurant.

"What's happening?" Freya appeared beside her, wiping soil from her hands on a dish towel.

"I don't know, but it's not good." Sonya grabbed her jacket from the counter. "I need to get closer."

"Wait." Freya caught her arm. "If it's supernatural, you should let the protectors handle it."

"My visions have been building to something all week. This might be what I've been seeing." Sonya pulled free gently but firmly. "I have to know."

She jogged toward the commotion, arriving just as Ryker and the others emerged from the restaurant. His auburn hair was disheveled, and she could see the tightness in his shoulders even from a distance. When their eyes met across the small crowd, relief flooded his face.

"Everyone's okay," Callum announced to the gathered townspeople. "Minor supernatural disturbance, already contained."

But Sonya could see through the careful reassurance. Cora's hands still glowed faintly with silver light, and Emmett's jaw was set in the way that meant serious trouble. Whatever had happened inside that restaurant wasn't minor.

"We should check the other businesses," Emmett said quietly to Ryker. "Make sure this was an isolated incident."

"I'll take the north side of the square," Ryker replied, his voice rough with leftover adrenaline.

"I'll come with you," Sonya offered, approaching the group.

Ryker's expression tightened. "You should go back to the apothecary. Until we know what we're dealing with?—"

"I'm a seer, remember? My abilities might help identify what's causing this." She kept her tone reasonable despite the flash of irritation at his protective instincts. "Besides, you look like you could use backup."

"She's right," Cora said before Ryker could argue. "If there are more disturbances, Sonya's gift could give us advance warning."

Ryker nodded reluctantly. "Fine. But you stay close, and if anything feels wrong?—"

"I'll tell you immediately." Sonya fell into step beside him as they headed toward the cluster of shops on the square's northern edge. "What exactly happened in there?"

"Shadow entities. They were possessing people, using them as anchors to stay in our realm." His jaw clenched. "They knew things, Sonya. About the prophecy, about us. They mentioned you specifically."

Ice formed in her stomach. "What did they say?"

"That you see too much. That when the eighth bond breaks, you'll serve their purpose." He stopped walking, turning to face her fully. "Whatever these things are, they're targeting our connection."

"The eighth bond." Sonya repeated the phrase. "Ryker, I don't think our bond is breaking. I think it's the key to whatever's coming."

"What do you mean?"

Before she could answer, the air around them shifted. Not wind, but something deeper—like reality itself was taking a breath. The sensation made her skin prickle with warning.

"Do you feel that?" she whispered.

Ryker's nostrils flared, his wolf clearly sensing the disturbance. "Something's changed. The magical currents are..."

He didn't finish the sentence because that's when the vision hit.

Sonya had experienced powerful visions before, but this one struck with the force of a lightning bolt. The present world disappeared, replaced by something vast and terrible.

She stood in a space that wasn't space, surrounded by the hungry dark between stars. Here, in the void between realms, something ancient stirred. Not a creature in any recognizable sense, but a presence—intelligent, patient, and utterly alien.

The Void.

It wasn't a name but a description. This entity existed in the emptiness between worlds, feeding on the energy that leaked through cracks in reality. For centuries, it had subsisted on minor magical spillovers, growing slowly, waiting.

But now, something had changed.

Seven bright threads pulsed with power—the mate bonds of Hollow Oak's couples. Each connection blazed like a star, their combined energy creating a beacon that called to the Void across dimensional barriers. The entity pressed against the boundaries of reality, testing, probing, finding weaknesses.

The vision shifted, showing her the truth behind the recent disturbances.

The Void hadn't been breaking through randomly.

It had been systematically weakening the Veil, using the mate bonds' energy like a key to unlock doors between worlds.

Every intimate moment, every emotional milestone, every deepening of connection between the couples fed power into the magical infrastructure.

And the Void drank from that power, growing stronger with each passing day.

But there was more. An eighth thread, still forming, still potential rather than reality. Her connection to Ryker pulsed with different energy than the others—not just love and magic, but prophecy. Destiny. The power to reshape the very foundations of reality.

The vision pulled her deeper, showing her two possible futures.

In the first, the eighth bond completed in fear and haste, its power chaotic and uncontrolled.

The Void seized that energy, using it to tear massive holes in the Veil.

Shadow creatures poured through in endless waves, consuming everything they touched.

Hollow Oak fell first, then the surrounding counties, then entire states as the infection spread.

The human world burned while the supernatural realm collapsed into the hungry void.

In the second future, the eighth bond formed in perfect harmony—not just between her and Ryker, but synchronized with all seven existing pairs.

Their combined power didn't feed the Void but created something new.

A network of protection that sealed the cracks between worlds, banishing the entity back to the emptiness where it belonged.

But this second future required precise timing, absolute trust, and a sacrifice that made Sonya's soul ache to contemplate.

The vision shifted again, focusing on Ryker.

She saw him as the Void saw him—not a potential destroyer, but a catalyst. His bloodmoon heritage made him uniquely sensitive to the barriers between realms. In the wrong circumstances, that sensitivity would make him the perfect conduit for the Void's influence.

He could become the weapon that tore reality apart.

But in the right circumstances, that same sensitivity would let him feel every crack in the Veil, every weak point the Void was exploiting. He could guide the other bonds into perfect alignment, weaving their combined power into a barrier strong enough to hold back the dark between worlds.

The choice wasn't whether Ryker would destroy or save. The choice was whether he would trust himself—and her—enough to become what he was truly meant to be.

The vision began to fade, but not before showing her one final image. the Void, sensing her intrusion into its realm, turning its attention toward her like a vast eye opening in the dark. It knew she had seen its plans. It knew she understood the stakes.

And it was done waiting.

Sonya gasped as the present world crashed back around her. She was on her knees on the cobblestone street, Ryker's hands steady on her shoulders while his voice called her name with increasing urgency.

"Sonya! Come on, come back to me."

"I'm okay." Her voice came out hoarse, like she'd been screaming. "I'm back."

"What did you see?" His green eyes searched her face, reading the terror she couldn't quite hide.

"The truth." She let him help her to her feet, grateful for the solid warmth of his touch. "The real enemy. And what we have to do to stop it."

"Tell me."

"Not here." She glanced around the square, noting the few people who'd stopped to stare at her collapse. "Somewhere private. What I saw... it changes everything."

Ryker nodded, his protective instincts clearly on high alert. "My truck's just around the corner."

As they walked toward his vehicle, Sonya's mind raced through the implications of her vision. The Void was real, it was coming, and their time was running out faster than anyone realized. The entity had been patient for centuries, but her intrusion into its realm had accelerated its timeline.

The final assault would come soon. And when it did, everything would depend on whether she could convince Ryker that the prophecy everyone feared was actually their only hope for survival.

The truck's engine turned over with a reassuring rumble, but as they drove toward the sanctuary, Sonya couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. Not by human eyes, but by something vast and hungry, counting down the moments until it could finally feed.