Page 52 of Eternal Light

Jay hasn’t received any physical affection from his beta yet, but Jay understands it’s Leo’s way of getting over his anger first.

“At least they’re together, but we have to get them back now. Before Rowan or Luca does something crazy.”

The silence in the room is deafening.

Finn kisses Jay’s cheek and slips off the bed, making room for pale, shaken Grayson to take his spot again. His BBS must be terrible if Nix is far away, and probably has been for what is going on for several hours.

“That’s the thing…Rowan isn’t with them. We don’t know why, but he’s on his way here. It’s taking him forever. He’s not hurt—which was my first thought…” Finn holds up the phone; he can see Rowan’s magenta-colored dot, and it’s only a few blocks away.

“Just to add insult to injury, I’m concerned for Gray’s and Luc’s BBS.”

“How long until it’s life-threatening for either of them?” Jay asks. It’s another way Jay hasn’t anticipated his family to be in danger.

Finn checks the phone again, toggling between what must be Grayson’s and Luca’s biometrics. He’s hesitating, and Grayson whimpers.

Not long, then. Shit.

“Well, historically, Luca has more time under his–”

“Give it to us straight, Finn,” Leo sighs. “We can’t deal with what we don’t know.”

“You’re right. Sorry. I just don’t want to add–”

“To an already tough time. We get it. It’s not on you to filter this stuff, okay?” Leo responds with a pat to his mate’s leg.

“Yes. Okay. I’d guess Grayson will need to be admitted in five or six hours. But the time between now and then is going to be miserable if we don’t sedate.”

“And Luca?” Gideon asks, hands clenched at his sides.

“Maybe until tomorrow morning, given experience.”

Gideon clenches his jaw, giving Finn a short nod. “That puts us even more under the gu–”

Jay stops as Leo narrows his eyes at his almost choice of words. Changing tactics, he runs a hand around the back of his neck. “What is Rowan doing?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the phone rings.

Finn scrambles to answer, “It’s Ro. Finally. What is taking you so long?”

11

A Wolf Transformed (Rowan)

Rewind

Rowan presses the elevator button for their floor with his elbow—yeah, he’s talented—and reshuffles the three bags of stuff from the market across the street in his arms, along with the two bundles of flowers.

He’d chosen purple irises and the sunniest yellow daisies he could find. He also managed to remember the items on the list that Luca gave him before he left.

His biggest prizes, though, are two T-shirts that say I {heart} Clearwater, big enough to cover an extra-large NBA superstar, and two tiny bears with Velcro on their hands. He’d turned them head to tail in the classic 69 position, in hopes he could get a smile out of his mates—and maybe a real-life demonstration.

When the elevator door slides open, his senses explode, instantly putting his wolf on high alert.

The front door of the apartment is ajar, which is certainly odd, but what’s worse is the scent of pure patchouli, popcorn, and the foulest decay wafting through the air. Rowan’s favorite mocha-vanilla-baked-bread is frighteningly absent.

Slamming open the door, he lets the bags of groceries and gifts hit the floor.

He finds the burner phone on the floor where Luca and Nix had been sitting, and there’s a barstool pulled out halfway, like someone had perched on it. The scent of decay is strongest there. His nose burns with the scent, stimulating his wolf’s desire to re-mark his territory.