This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,60
The hard case has a handle and wheels. I’m guessing that’s because its contents are much heavier than water.
Mercury mission accomplished.
Danika and I join her and await the men.
As the breeze washes over me, carrying the faint scent of silver flowers, I feel a pang in my heart. Damn, I’m going to miss this place. Being here among the trees and vines is like touching something bright and pure. It’s a stark contrast to the darkness I’m about to encounter outside these walls.
I sense the house about to shift moments before the staircase rearranges itself, walls and steps detaching and reassembling before my eyes, changing color and substance and forming the shape of the elevator I haven’t seen for months.
The doors slide open and Tristan and Jace step out of the elevator with Helen behind them.
Tristan pulls up short while Jace finds a spot at the side. Tristan is wary as he greets us. “Iyana. Danika. I’m glad to see you looking well.” He taps his thigh with his fingers as the women return his greeting. “What’s going on?”
“We’re all coming with you,” I say.
He doesn’t look as disgruntled as I thought he might. A surprising smile crosses his face. “Good.” He inclines his head at the elevator. “Let’s go.”
I pick up my bag, Iyana and Danika do the same, and we all squeeze into the elevator together.
After we exit into the parking garage, Helen hugs each of us in turn. Silence falls around each of the other two women as she hugs Iyana and Danika, allowing Helen to speak privately with them.
Whatever she says to them is for their ears only. I’m not the only one venturing back into the world for the first time in months.
When it’s my turn, Helen pulls me close. “Remember to guard your heart and protect yourself, Tessa. Be calm. Stay in control. If you need to come back, look for the house on the hill. The doors will always be open to you.”
“Thank you, Helen. For everything you’ve done for us.”
She hugs me a moment longer before she draws back and plants a kiss on my cheek. “Stay alive, Tessa.”
Just as we turn away, she stops Tristan and silence falls around them as she speaks with him. She seems to have a lot to say, and for once, he seems willing to listen, head bowed slightly as she speaks rapidly.
I turn away from them, following Jace to the SUV parked on the other side of the garage. He opens the trunk and we pile our duffel bags into the back. When Jace picks up Iyana’s hard case, he nearly topples over.
“What the hell have you got in here?” he asks.
Iyana arches an eyebrow at him. “Shoes,” she says before she rounds the vehicle and slides in to the back seat on the left side.
Jace climbs into the driver’s seat, I sit in the middle of the back seat with Iyana and Danika on either side, and we wait quietly for Tristan.
He’s subdued when he returns, merely giving Jace a quick nod before Jace turns the ignition.
The garage door rises. The vehicle pulls out.
I leave Hidden House behind.
Chapter Sixteen
The moment we leave the garage, my ears pop and my senses flood with sights and sound.
Iyana, Danika, and I gasp in unison.
Danika grips the edge of her seat beside me while Iyana suddenly sits up straight.
They both turn to me. “Do you feel that?”
My eyes widen at the golden glow around Danika’s body, the power I can finally sense in her. Spinning to Iyana, I can also see her power glowing around her body, an icy white that matches the hints of frosty scent I got from her while we were inside the house.
When we moan in unison, Tristan and Jace both cast startled glances back at us—Jace in the rearview mirror, Tristan by twisting in the front passenger seat.
I can’t help the laugh bubbling up inside me. “The house isn’t dulling our senses anymore.”
“Oh, that’s practically orgasmic.” Iyana laughs, only making the startled crease in Tristan’s forehead deepen.
“I’ve missed this.” She waves at the passing buildings and then the people walking along the footpath as we exit onto a busier road. “All of this.”
Danika murmurs her agreement, but I fall silent.
Now that my senses aren’t dulled, everything around me is suddenly too vibrant. Too bright. Controlling my power was so much easier inside the house. I’m struggling against my wolf’s energy right now, a dangerous need to explore the world around me. At the