I briefly closed my eyes and inhaled. Suddenly my legs went heavy, refusing to work, just as the Prime’s scent hit me full on.
No! Fire flared to life inside my soul.
I stumbled again, and fell to my knees, which forced grey eyes to stop and turn around.
“Shit.” He squatted down next to me and looked into my eyes. “It is you. Dammit it, the shit’s about to hit the fan. Well, come on, it’s too late to back out now.” He pulled me to my feet, but my mind wasn’t working right. That was Connor’s scent! I could recognise Connor’s scent anywhere, I had always been able to, but how could this be him—he was dead...?
My stomach clenched, and I wobbled as grey eyes pulled me forward. I imagined Connor’s face, and the pain I’d lived with for the last four years tried to surface. I wouldn’t let it. Instead, I squeezed my burning eyes shut and forced them not to water. This wasn’t Connor...it couldn’t be.
Grey eyes halted our progress. “Hey.” He shook my wrist to get my attention. “You might want to open your eyes now.”
I did, and didn’t bother holding back my cry. Connor’s scent overwhelmed me. I was staring right at his defined chest. Sweat trickled down between his impressive pecs. My throat closed up as I slowly raised my eyes, trailing my gaze up his thick, corded neck and past his square jaw, over his nose and to the eyes that haunted me night and day. The past hit me like a freight train, my breath left me in a rush, a half-sob escaping my throat. All I could do was stare, my mouth open, gasping for air though my lungs refused to work as my legs gave out beneath me and I almost went to my knees.
His beautiful cerulean eyes narrowed on me. I swallowed as his Prime power rolled over my skin; so much more potent than it had been when I had last seen him.
“Connor?” I whispered, my voice breaking, forcing myself to straighten.
For a moment he just stared, his heavy brows almost meeting above the bridge of his nose. He inhaled deeply, scenting me. Hope lifted the vice-like feeling on my chest. He’d recognise me now...
“Who the fuck are you?” A snarl curled Connor’s lips. His wolf surfaced, inky blackness swirling through the sea of blue, turning his eyes to cold chips of obsidian.
I’d never felt threatened by Connor in the past. We’d always had a connection, ever since we’d been young. I trusted him like I trusted no one else. But this version of Connor was nothing like the arrogant and playful boy I'd grown up with. But, then, why would he be? He’d been locked up for the past four and a half years. Now, he was so cold. He didn’t seem to believe it was me, and the coiled violence I sensed in him had my survival instincts roaring. I twisted free of grey eyes and staggered back, putting space between Connor and me. It gave me the illusion of safety. One I’d take right now. I couldn’t speak, not when his gaze ensnared me, reducing me to the eighteen year old he’d kissed and left standing alone on a deserted driveway…
His predatory gaze narrowed on me, and he inhaled deeply again. A low growl rumbled up from his chest, and pressing his lips into a flat line, he shook his head, his eyes utterly black now. Connor’s wolf had always been dominant. As a teenager, he’d fought to tame it, but it looked like he’d lost that contest and wolfie was running the show now. Cursing, I realised why Connor and his wolf didn’t recognise me. They were conflicted. I might be the same, but my wolf was not the one who had been his potential mate. I needed to get through to Connor, I needed to talk to him. I had to at least try.
“Connor? It’s me, Ember.” Fighting a wave of dizziness, and curling my fingers into fists to hide their shaking, I looked him right in the eye. Shit! A bad, bad idea. Don’t look a Prime in the eye...
He cracked his neck and curled and uncurled his fingers, he jutted his jaw forward, growling louder, as if he might end my existence right then and there. I immediately dropped my gaze to the floor, my heart banging in my chest. I knew I was on shaky ground. I might have defied Connor when