his fingers through my fur. It felt oddly good, allowing me to relax a little more, content.
Each stroke seemed to chase away my nightmares, returning them to a foggy state in my mind that I firmly preferred in the past. All that needed to happen now was for me to wake up.
I closed my eyes, hoping to expedite the process.
But movement had my lids springing back open.
Silas had stepped forward to crouch near the chair. Not within touching distance, but close. Too close.
Part of me wanted to growl. You’re not real.
“Her connection to the pack psyche is unique,” the alpha said from the other side of the room, causing my hackles to rise again. “I can’t hear her as I do the others, but I can sense her denial.”
“No idea why she’d be in denial,” a familiar voice drawled. Damien. I hadn’t sensed him, his presence hidden behind the alpha. Perhaps because I was lower to the ground and unable to see much over the couch and chair. “She went to bed human and woke up a hybrid. I’d be in denial, too.”
I blinked. What?
“Your bedside manner is fantastic,” Silas said, sarcasm evident.
“I have no bedside manner,” Damien replied.
“No shit,” my best friend snapped before looking down at me with his bright blue eyes. “Willow, sweetheart, can you shift back into your human form?”
I stared at him, uncertain of what he meant. I’d prefer to wake up.
Except I was starting to fear this might not be a dream.
“She went to bed human and woke up a hybrid.”
What the heck is a hybrid? I wondered, shivering.
Ryder slid his touch to my nape, giving it a little tug. My attention immediately returned to him as though we were somehow connected. And maybe we were. I’d imbibed a lot of his blood. “It’s okay,” he whispered, coaxing me to lay my cheek against his thigh while he continued to pet me.
“Can you help her transition back?” I heard him ask.
“Yes,” the alpha replied. “But it may hurt her.”
“Then that’s a no,” Ryder corrected.
“I have a suggestion,” the icy-eyed vampire announced, pushing away from the wall. “How about we give Ryder and Willow some privacy to discuss what’s happened. Perhaps she’ll turn back on her own as a result. And in the interim, I’m going to take a nap. The daylight drive was rather draining, and Ryder’s penchant for skylights isn’t helping matters.”
“Damien knows his way around my guest wing and can provide you with appropriate accommodations.” Ryder’s palm paused on my head. “Do you want to go up to our suite, little wolf?”
Only if you agree to tell me this is all some sort of messed-up dream, I wanted to say. Instead, I just leaned into him more, feeling oddly safe beside him. Which was strange because I knew Silas better. We’d spent most of our adolescent and teenage years together.
You’re a lycan now? I asked, looking at him again. An alpha lycan? Does that mean you won the Immortal Cup?
My heart fractured a little with the thought.
Silas had gone on to win his immortality, while the Magistrate had sent me to the breeding camps to die.
Except I’d escaped. I’d fought. Just to fall into Ryder’s hands.
My attention returned to the royal vampire, his dark gaze unreadable as I stared up at him. I beseeched him to explain to me how this all had happened, to tell me what hybrid meant.
“Damien, show everyone to the guest quarters.” It wasn’t a request but a demand. Ryder released me and stood, saying, “And, you, follow me.”
I couldn’t say no even if I wanted to, which I didn’t.
He stepped around his chair, moving with his usual authority. I glanced at Silas, momentarily uncertain, but he gestured for me to go with a nod of his chin. “I trust him not to hurt you,” he said softly.
Ryder snorted. “How endearing.”
“Would you rather me say something else?” Silas countered. “Perhaps that I’m baffled as to why my two best friends ended up with ancient royal vampires as mates?”
“Who said I’m her mate?” Ryder asked, arching a brow.
“I can smell it,” Silas muttered. “And you look at her the same way Kylan looks at Rae.”
Rae’s with Kylan? I thought, my eyebrows going up. Wait, do wolves have eyebrows? Then I shook my head, going back to the important thought again. How did Rae end up with Kylan?
He was a sadistic royal known for slaughtering his harem.
Oh, Goddess. Is Rae okay? I demanded, a snorty sound coming from my muzzle