Hyacinth - By Abigail Owen Page 0,23

to let me in. Also, I’ve never had my own dreams before. What if…” Selene couldn’t finish the thought.

“What if you’re responsible for the murders?” Ellie completed.

Selene bit her lip and nodded. “I can show you last night’s dream.”

She closed her eyes again and replayed the night’s events… of waking up in a terrified panic, yet with no blood on her or any evidence whatsoever that she’d been anywhere but her bed. And then later of learning about the wolf attack from Ellie.

Selene opened her eyes. “I know I have no right to ask, but I don’t know what to do. Can you help me?” she pleaded.

Griffin abruptly stood and let go of her hand, his expression unreadable. Then he turned on his heel and left the room.

“Let him go,” Ellie told Alex as he made a move to follow. “He just needs time to think through everything.” She turned to Selene with a wry smile. “You’ve given him a lot to deal with.”

“I have an idea,” Charlotte piped up, drawing everyone’s attention. “What if Selene stayed here, and we each took turns keeping an eye on her at all times? Then if there’s another wolf attack, we’ll know whether it’s her or not.”

Everyone nodded, agreeing with her idea.

“But what if it is me?” Selene fretted. “What if I attack one of you?”

“We’ll do this in pairs.” Dexter stood and offered his hand to Charlotte. “There’s safety in numbers.” He nodded to Selene. “You taught us that.”

Selene shook her head. “But to put yourselves in danger for me… I can’t ask you to do that.”

“I can make sure that I’m with you,” Ellie offered. “If I touch you, I can control your powers.”

Selene continued to shake her head. “I can still turn you off…. I could do it permanently, if I concentrated hard enough. It’s that powerful. You saw.”

Nate pulled his tall, lanky form off the floor and stood beside Ramsey. “Are you sure? You didn’t turn them off when we were fighting your pack.”

“Gideon rarely had me do it. It took all of my concentration in one place for too long to be strategically worth it.”

“Well, after what you just showed us and the risks you took to save my future wife, there’s no way we would let you deal with this alone.” Alex smiled at Selene and glanced around the room. Everyone else nodded their agreement.

Selene was touched by this show of support, but frowned. “If it’s not me,” she began, “then it’s likely someone from my pack. Either way, I can’t go back to them with this yet. Not until I know more. So I guess we do what we can together. Thank you.”

She stole a quick glance over her shoulder, hoping to catch sight of Griffin. No such luck. Selene briefly closed her eyes and said a silent wish, praying with all her heart that the decision would prove to be a good one… and that maybe, just maybe, Griffin would learn to trust her someday.

Or at least not hate her as much as he did now.

Chapter 15

Selene sat on her usual bench and studied for finals, while Alex and Ellie kept watch beside her. It was mid-December now, and there was snow on the ground. But Svatura and Vyusher weren’t quite as affected by the elements, and Selene liked being outdoors.

Someone had been with Ellie twenty-four hours a day for the last several weeks. Everyone except Griffin. No one had seen him since the night he’d walked out of Hugh and Lucy’s house.

Ellie had tried to reassure her that it was okay… that Griffin was just figuring a few things out and needed some space. But Selene caught the worried look on her face. Even Alex seemed concerned.

During the time she’d been under surveillance, there hadn’t been any more attacks and she hadn’t had the nightmares. But she wasn’t sure if this was good or bad. There were just too many questions about this entire situation. And while Selene was happy that no one else had been hurt, she almost hoped something would happen just to give them a chance to figure it all out.

Ellie straightened in her seat, drawing Alex’s and Selene’s watchful gazes. “Something wrong, baby?” Alex asked, placing a hand on Ellie’s shoulder.

Ellie paused then shook her head. “No, nothing’s wrong. I—…I think I need a Coke. Come with me?”

Alex frowned. “What about Selene?”

“We’ll only be gone a minute or two, and we’re not going very far.” Ellie took Alex’s hand and