Abigail fought hard against the ropes that bound her hands and feet together, but there was no give with them. As Jess would say, she was bound up and dressed like a Christmas goose.
And in total darkness. If only she knew where she was.
Then she heard a deep voice from the other side of whatever she was in.
"I'll deal with him later," a man growled in a voice that was familiar, yet she couldn't identify it.
A second later, the door opened and relief poured through her at the sight of a friendly face. And here she'd thought she was in danger.
Thank God.
She smiled at him. "Ren. It's so good to see you. You won't believe what happened."
He curled his lip at her, silencing her happy greeting. "Do I look like that piece of shit?"
Okay ... Obviously he equated Ren with something bad. Which was strange, since they were virtually identical. Same black hair, dark eyes. Refined features. But now that he mentioned it, there was a difference.
Ren wasn't crazy. This man was.
Did he have multiple personality disorder?
"Are you a shape-shifter?" she tried again.
"Are you stupid? Of course I am."
He acted like she should know him and yet claimed he wasn't Ren. What was she dealing with? "Are we playing a game?"
He snatched her closer to him. "I don't play games. Ever."
Psycho it was. She would take that category and run with it.
And he got even weirder a few heartbeats later when he leaned over her and brushed his hand through her hair. He picked a handful of it up and held it to his nose so that he could sniff it. "So beautiful."
Ew ... where's my Perv Be Gone? Had she known she'd be facing him, she'd have brought extra.
He brushed his lips against her forehead. The moment he touched her, a bright image appeared in her mind.
She saw the Butterfly again, and this time she was talking to ...
Ren?
"I can't marry you, Coyote."
That name slammed into her like a truck. For a full minute, she couldn't breathe.
Coyote was an identical match for Ren? WTF? Why hadn't Ren mentioned that fact? Wouldn't something like that be a little important?
Especially since they were at war.
That thought made her blood run cold as another one followed right behind it. Was Ren a spy for Coyote?
It made total sense. No wonder Coyote kept finding them and Ren kept vanishing. He was probably heading straight to his brother every time he took flight.
She was the only one who knew. I can't die until I let the others know, too.
And still the images of the past played in her mind....
Coyote's handsome face was a mixture of equal parts horror and hurt over Butterfly breaking up with him. His breathing ragged, he shook his head in denial. "I don't understand. More than anything, I love you. Why would you want to leave me?"