we’ll finish it.”
“Do you know how to defeat him?”
He means Cutter.
“Yes.”
When I look away, he reaches over and draws my face to his. “You can do this,” he says resolutely. “We can do this.”
I offer a trembling smile, but there’s no trace of fear. Only impatience. Now that I know who I am, I’m anxious to rescue my mates—and to face Cutter. To make him pay.
“What about you?” I ask. “Do you know you’re not a monster?”
He smiles softly. “Yes. And I have you to thank for that.” His thumb brushes the tender spot on my throat where he bit me.
Renewed desire surges inside me. When our eyes meet, I see the same need reflected in his gaze.
I kiss Logan hard on the mouth and then get up, offering my hand to him. “Let’s go. I have a plan.”
Logan drives and it’s every bit as smooth and fast as all his movements now. Like he’s given up pretending to be what he’s not. Like he’s accepted every part of himself.
We both have.
While Logan drives, I close my eyes and begin to weave a picture of the life I desire. It’s a daydream, nothing more. Not yet, anyway. But before we can create, we must imagine.
My mother once told me, “the power of word begins with a thought.” I never really knew what it meant, had actually forgotten it until the moment the Knowing had rushed in.
Everything is bigger now.
Faster.
My blood pumps hotter than before—and Cutter’s minutes are fewer with every mile we drive.
Before this night ends, he will regret every tragedy he’s ever caused. But more than any of that, he will regret me.
The woods are a silent haven for the host of spirits I’ve called to meet us. They blur in and out of focus as we wind our way through the hills and closer to our destination. Logan doesn’t comment as we park at the gate and get out, so I assume he can’t see them. When I take his hand, he gasps and his eyes widen as he looks around at the small army waiting for us.
“Did you bring them here?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say, smiling softly as a familiar face emerges from the crowd. She passes easily through the metal fencing and stops before me.
“Hello, Maria.”
“Celeste. You’re glowing.”
She hugs me and I can feel it, a wispy hint of a touch. A kiss of the air. But it’s more than I’ve ever managed before.
Maria lets me go, her ethereal eyes sparkling as she smiles. “You are ready,” she says.
“It’s time then,” I tell her. I tell them all.
The gate opens with barely a flick of Logan’s fingers. I squeeze his hand and lead him and the others into the facility.
My wolves are inside; already I can feel their closeness.
“This way,” I say and Logan smashes the glass on a side door, unlocking it from the inside and pulling it wide for me to enter.
Maria and the others fan out, walking through walls as if they’re not even there. One by one, they disappear into the building ahead of us. I can sense them all, searching for my wolves.
I’m halfway down the hall when Maria reappears.
“Someone’s coming.” She barely gets the words out when a woman appears. She wears the uniform of an employee and I recognize her from my previous visit.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? How’d you get in here?” she demands, hurrying forward.
She carries a radio in her hand and I don’t doubt she’s already called for backup.
My hand erupts in a flash of light that blinds me. With my eyes squeezed shut, I hear a gasp. Then a cry that cuts sharply through the silence.
When I open my eyes again, the flash has stopped. Schmidt lies on the floor in a motionless heap. Her eyes are closed, her mouth open.
The radio has fallen from her limp hand.
Logan rushes over and snatches it before I can process what has happened. What I’ve just done.
But then I remember who she really is. Everything she did in Le Rêve. To me. To all of us.
An alarm sounds, lights flash along the hall, and I blink, pulled from my memories.
“Come on. We have to go.” Logan takes my hand, pulling me down the hall and I leave behind the witch-woman I first knew as Schmidt. She’d been a master of illusions once but now, I’m the one manipulating her reality.
I hurry along beside Logan, using my magic to send Schmidt into the best version of