Hope(less)

by Melissa Haag

  * * * *

  My stomach growled so loudly it woke me. I listened for a minute before opening my eyes. Clay had left the lamp on so I could see. I turned my head. He lay next to me, on top the covers. Given the steady cadence of his breathing, he still slept. I let my mind drift, content to think and let him get the rest he needed.

  Whatever I had in me, I could temporarily pass to people via a shock, but the effect only lasted until I recovered. I could also zap more than one person at a time, and I felt certain now that my emotions, in addition to my touch, triggered the transfer. The drain I experienced afterward varied. It felt like the flu the first time, but when I passed it to the two women, the symptoms intensified.

  Shocking Luke had been different. I couldn’t say if the drain had been worse since I’d started out drained. However, focusing on a specific person’s spark was new.

  Based on the yellow-violet coloring, I guessed it belonged to another compatible, like me. Could it mean my ability was to find Mates for the people I touched? But then, why hadn’t I zoomed in on a single person when touching the others? Maybe a werewolf amplified my ability, and the view appeared whether I wanted it or not. Or maybe one spark had stood out when I’d touched the rest, but I hadn’t focused on my spark-sight to check.

  But what about my pull? Where did that play into this? There were still too many possibilities. I needed a test group. Immediately, I thought of Rachel and Peter. When I sensed them without touching Rachel, I knew they were a perfect match. If I tried to pass my pull to Rachel and saw Peter’s spark, I’d have my answer. If it didn’t work on them, I wouldn’t rule out my theory completely. The difference between human and werewolf might be the key to the results. I could experiment on Clay. He knew I was his match.

  In addition to figuring out why I had the ability to pass on my gift, I needed to understand why I saw different werewolf colors. The one who’d left the line and the others waiting for him worried me.

  Regardless of my anger at Sam, if trouble stalked the pack, he needed to know. But I needed to talk to Clay about it before I could talk to anyone else. He would help me figure out how it all tied together. However, I couldn’t talk to Clay here. There were too many ears, and I was still uncertain if I could trust Sam with everything.

  I needed to leave before the Elders started pushing me for answers I didn’t have. What reason could I give Sam for my sudden faint during the Introduction? He’d know any lie before I told it. And if I gave him the truth, would he then share it with all the Elders? After seeing those werewolves leave the Introduction, I couldn’t blindly trust Elder Joshua. Too many werewolves of that same color acted unusually.

  Feeling a light caress on my hair, I turned to look at Clay, who watched me again.

  “Do I say good morning or is it close to goodnight again?”

  He smiled at me, reached down to twine his fingers through mine, and brought my hand to his mouth. Instead of kissing it, he whipped his head toward the door. A silent snarl pulled back his lips. The bedroom door opened, and Luke poked his head in.

  “Better hurry. You carry her, and I’ll grab her things,” he said, speaking directly to Clay.

  I let out a relieved breath. Luke had understood and come through. I opened my mouth to thank him, but Clay leapt off the bed and quickly scooped me into his arms, covers and all. With the blankets twisted around me and partially covering my face, I felt a moment of disoriented panic as he lifted me.

  I shook my head to dislodge the blanket and sent Clay a quick scowl. His lips twitched.

  Over his shoulder, I saw Luke cramming my things into my ragged messenger bag. My bag wouldn’t last through another werewolf packing.

  Clay left the room. Just in case anyone else roamed the halls, I laid my head on Clay’s shoulder. He held me closely and walked quickly. We quietly made it out the main entrance with Luke following us.

  The black sky twinkled with stars, and crickets conversed with their night song as the two werewolves stealthily moved over the graveled parking area. It had to be Monday night. I regretted missing a day’s worth of classes, but there’d been no way to help it.

  The car faced the gate. Luke must have moved it. The door’s loud creaking groan made us all cringe. Clay quickly settled me inside, reached across me to secure the seat belt, then silently jogged around the hood to get in behind the wheel.

  Luke handed me my bag then moved to close the door. I motioned for him to wait and dug in a side pocket of my bag for a pencil stub and paper. In those few moments after I shocked him and before I passed out, I’d gleaned some information about the person I saw. Whoever she was, Luke needed to find her and help me understand if some of my suspicions were right. Was she like me? Was she his Mate?

  I jotted him a hasty note and handed it to him with a wave. He quickly closed the door. I hoped giving him the information was the right thing to do. I barely knew him. Would he even try to find her or just hand the information over to an Elder? Worried, I looked at him through the window. He didn’t see me. His eyes scanned my note. He crumpled it in his hand and spun toward a waiting motorcycle.

  Clay pulled away from the Compound, spitting gravel with the tires. The motorcycle roared to life and quickly zipped past us. Luke saluted me with a wicked grin then disappeared from sight. I peeked in the side mirror and caught the reason for their loud exit. Sam stood on the porch, his gaze locked on us. He grew smaller as we sped away. I wished I knew whom to trust.

  I laid my head back and closed my eyes. What a crappy Introduction weekend. The worst yet. I hoped there were no more in my future.

  The drone of the engine and the soothing vibrations of the tires put me right to sleep. I dozed the whole way home, waking when Clay lifted me from the car. With blankets still twisted around me, he carried me to my room and gently set me on the bed.

  A few minutes later, he settled next to me. It didn’t matter anymore if he wore his fur or stayed as a man. He remained with me. It was enough.