The words slammed into my skull like ice water poured straight into my brain.
Come out and play, little silver. Your mother’s bargain just expired.
I stumbled back against the SUV, hand flying to my temple. The voice wasn’t outside. It was inside—deep, mocking, slithering behind my eyes.
Damien’s head snapped toward me. “Everly?”
The lead wolf lunged.
Not at him. At me.
Damien moved faster than anything human. One second he was beside me. The next he was in front, ripping his suit jacket off as black fur rippled across his arms. Bones cracked. A snarl tore out of him that shook the garden fence.
“Stay behind me,” he growled, voice already half-wolf.
I couldn’t move.
My mother was on her knees in the dirt, face gray, dahlias crushed under her palms. Lyra’s hands glowed soft silver
