Page 3 of Ondine: Vol. 2

“I’ll tell you when I find it, Sabbies.”

I end the call and make my way to a surprisingly nearby apartment building.

It’s one of those new builds, all steel and hard angles. He’s on the 6th floor.

“Got you, motherfucker,” I whisper.

Shadow

I’m in a tight spot. Literally. I’m wiggling my way through some sort of pipe. But rectangle shaped. It’s fine. It’s better than the eel pit. Still-water scares the fuck out of me. Sebastian is sending me directions on how to get out of this hellscape.

“Left turn. Go straight. Do you see anything?”He’s been saying over the walkie.

No, I don’t fucking see anything.

I lay on my back for a second to make sure I’m staying calm. I say into the walkie, “How is she, Sabbies? How is she?”

I’ve already asked a few times, but he’s being purposefully cagey.

“She’s doing good. We’ll talk more when you’re out.”

“Just tell me. Please.”

There’s a long pause.

“Freddie went into a rut and bit her. They’re bonded, Shadow.”

No. That’s not right. Jake would never have let that happen. That didn’t happen.

But Sabbies wouldn’t lie. He wouldn’t even tell me unless he was sure.

You can’t bite someone in bond-sickness, I think, and my fear for her life threatens to send me in a spiral until I remember Sabbies told me three times she was fine. She’s fine. She’s good. Did his bite help her? Fucking Freddie! He could have hurt her!

I’m oddly calm. No, that’s not true. Tears pool over my eyes and suddenly break down the sides of my head. My mouth opens in a silent scream. Oh my god. No. No. No. He’s wrong. That didn’t happen. My heart constricts and for this moment I feel like I’ll never be better. I knew that time was slipping away from me—I just didn’t realize it would happen this fast.

I’ve lost her.

I’ve already lost her.

I never even had her.

Why does it hurt so bad?

“Shadow? Talk to me.”

He asks once more before I click on the walkie. “She’s ok?”

“Yes. She’s doing good, my friend. Jake called your family doctor. The one that saw her the other day. She’s going to come by in the morning to check on her.”

I turn to my side and press my face into the side of this tube I’m in.

In a small voice that doesn’t feel like my own, I ask, “What’re we going to do?”

She was always going to go. That’s why I couldn’t let her close. This was always going to happen. And I knew it would always hurt. But what I didn’t expect was this resolve to take root that Iwouldn’t let this be the end. She came into my life, and I won’t let her go this easily.

I can’t and the alpha in me won’t.

“I think Jake is working on that right now. You’ve stopped moving, Shadow. Get your ass out of there. I have a team at the Crimson Lion market square who will pull the grate and then pull you out of there. But it’s very exposed, so you need to be careful. And get there now.”