“I’m not going to a restaurant. I can hardly keep my eyes open. I’m liable to fall asleep in my salad,” she joked.
“I’m serious, Samantha. There’s only one person I want to go on a date with.”
Sam looked into his sad eyes. “Chase, I shouldn’t be dating anyone right now. I don’t remember a large chunk of my college life.”
“I know this is going to seem selfish, but I’m glad you don’t remember Evrik. That gives me a chance.”
She inhaled deeply. “Look, Chase, right now is not the time for me to be making decisions that I may regret later.”
“So, you regret liking me?”
“What are you talking about? Of course I like you. You’re supposed to be my best friend.”
“Samantha, don’t lie to me. You felt it, too. Last night in my arms, and this morning at breakfast.”
“For a fraction of a second,” she said.
“You felt it,” he demanded.
“Okay. I’ll admit, I have feelings for you. I’m jealous that Vicky gets to have dinner with you, but I’m too messed up to take any of my feelings seriously right now. Chase, I don’t want to hurt you.”
He grabbed her arms and pulled her close to him. His lips found hers. She let herself go and moved in rhythm with his mouth. Their tongues touched softly and she became lost in his arms. His hands moved up her back, to her neck.
Chase moved her toward the bed and fell down on top of her. His lips left hers and traveled to her neck. Sam arched her back into his kiss. Finding the bottom of her shirt, Chase lifted Sam upright, pulling it over her head in one swift motion. He raised his muscular arms. Sam yanked his T-shirt off, not quite as easily. Sam’s hands moved up his hard chest, over his shoulders, and down his back. From their seated position he guided her back down so he lay directly on top of her again.
Suddenly, Chase pulled back from her and pushed himself away, hovering over her in a push-up position. “Shit, my roommate’s back.”
“He’s what?” Sam gasped. She pushed Chase off of her, immediately realizing what she was doing. She grabbed her shirt and tugged it over her head. “I’ve got to go.” She rolled out of bed, planted both feet on the ground and tripped through the obstacle course of laundry in swift pursuit to the door.
“Samantha, you don’t have to leave.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Samantha.”
“What?” She turned around at the door.
“I love you. This wasn’t a mistake.”
“I’ll talk to you later.” Sam tugged on the metal door with one arm. The door bounced back, throwing her into the door jamb. Shit! Forgetting about the door, she grabbed her arm, which was now hurting, and ran away, passing Chase’s roommate in the hallway.
CHAPTER 9
Sam reluctantly went through the events of the day, tossing from side to side and fighting to get comfortable in bed—the first night she met Evrik (his strength, mind control and lavender skin tone), Malachi’s ability to track scents, and Alea’s ability to create magical elixirs. And Chase. Good-ness. She wasn’t about to go there again.
Sam also couldn’t forget about Cale, the mysterious dark stranger—she had kissed him that morning, almost kissed Evrik that afternoon, and heavily made out with Chase that evening. She was beginning to think she had serious guy issues, but without her memories, she had no control over her feelings. All three guys were hot. What else was a nineteen-year-old girl supposed to do? Luckily, it didn’t take her long to fall asleep...
Without hesitation, Sam darted out the back door of Evrik’s house. She held the elixir firmly in her hand, ready to remove the top. Dried leaves and crispy branches crunched beneath her feet. Deep breaths ricochet loudly between her ears, and her blood pounded deafeningly in her head. As she ran her legs felt heavy. Each time her feet hit the ground, her body jolted and her teeth chattered.
Distance running had never been easy for her. She was always one of the last students in gym class to finish the mile run. Sam felt as if sand bags were tied to her ankles, only this time she was literally running for her life. The cold air froze her lungs, making it hard to breathe. She focused on every step as she ran, trying desperately not to trip. She could feel her predator closing in. Her turtle-like speed was no match for the cheetah pursuing her.
Remembering the elixir, Sam lifted the bottle in the air to remove the top, stopping her concentration for just a second. The toe of her sneaker lodged under a tree root, sending the bottle and Sam flying to the ground. She landed brutally onto the forest floor, catching a large tree branch on the way down. Her arm folded backward and she heard an awful snap. She cried out in agony. The pain was sickening. Nausea filled her stomach and forced its way into her mouth as she vomited on a pile of crisp leaves.
Sam thought about the danger closing in on her. Even though she couldn’t see him, she knew he was behind her. She could feel it; her skin quivered. Only one thing would keep her alive—the elixir Alea had created to make her invisible. She had to focus on finding the elixir. If she didn’t find it, she wouldn’t survive.
Sam searched frantically for the cobalt blue bottle. It was so dark, and the dry leaves covered the ground like a thick blanket. A creepy, blood-tingling feeling made her realize the elixir was useless. She wasn’t alone. She looked up to see the enormous creature towering above her, glaring at her with his fierce red eyes. He’d caught up to her.
The creature spoke, his eyes scorching into her. His voice was raspy and harsh. “What do we have here?” His head cocked to the side. “So your hero has left you all alone to fend for yourself. Did you really think you could outrun me?” His head moved back and forth, assessing her injuries. “That looks painful.” His eyes darted to her broken arm. “Don’t worry, the pain is nothing compared to the torture I’m going to inflict on you.”
His gnarly fingers rubbed his pointed jaw, contemplating her fate. “I saw through your boyfriend’s illusion as soon as we approached the phony house,” he continued. “I left the other drooling idiots to die. No doubt those half-wits ran right into your boyfriend’s ambush. I could’ve gotten rid of Evrik then, but what fun would that be?”
“He will kill you. You’re no match for him,” Sam spoke angrily through her teeth. Her good arm reached out into the dead leaves. She frantically searched the forest floor. The leaves crumbled to pieces in her hand. It would be more difficult for him to kill her if he couldn’t see her, not that she could move very well with her broken arm and twisted knee.
The monster reached down to pick up something next to his bare, callous-covered foot. He flashed a wicked smile, brandishing the cobalt blue bottle. He began to laugh with the convulsive hacking of someone choking on a chicken bone. “Is this what you’re looking for?” His words were softer, but his tone was still shrill and harsh. “I don’t know what Alea created within this bottle, but you’ll never get a chance to use it.”
Any chance of survival was gone. Without the elixir to turn her invisible, Sam had no defense against the gigantic monster standing over her.
He twisted her broken forearm, causing the jagged bone to violently puncture her skin. Then, he hit her with his strong fist. The impact sucked the air from her lungs and knocked her into an unyielding tree trunk. After Sam was finally able to breathe, she felt a persistent stabbing with each shallow gasp of air. Sweat seeped from her pores, causing her skin to feel clammy against the cold December air. Shock became a comforting relief from the torturous sting of her broken body.
His gruff voice continued to slice through Sam’s ears like the high-pitched sound of nails on a chalkboard. “This is soooo boring. You’re such an easy kill. I certainly hope your Evrik is more of a challenge.” The sound of him using Evrik’s name infuriated her.
The creature slowly approached. She could see from his expression that he was about to administer the final blow. He raised his arm in satisfaction. Sam closed her eyes tightly, anticipating the last of the pain.
Through th
e pounding in her ears, she heard a deep growl emerge from the forest. She opened her eyes to witness the most incredible sight. A large black bear tackled the monster to the ground, pinning the creature’s flailing body under its enormous paws. The bear slashed its claws through his chest, causing the creature to shriek in agony.
The bear turned its head in Sam’s direction. She noticed something familiar about it. She’d seen the exact bear before, but at the moment she couldn’t remember where. Sam found herself looking into friendly eyes. She’d seen those eyes on so many occasions, stared into them in times of joy and sadness. Was she in such a state of shock that she was replacing an animal’s physical appearance with a man who had provided her with security? The animal’s eyes seemed to sympathize with her, as if it were also in pain, but a different type of pain. Pain someone would feel for a loved one if she were severely hurt, or dying.
The creature played on the bear’s moment of weakness. He moved quickly from under the bear’s paws. During his escape, he sliced the bear’s front leg with his razor-sharp nails. The bear stumbled back, whipping its front legs around wildly while trying to balance on its hind legs. The bear attempted to recapture the unbelievably fast creature, but it was unsuccessful. The creature had gotten away.
The bear stopped whipping around and returned to balance on all four legs. It slowly approached Sam, one paw in front of the other. She lay at the bottom of the tree stump, helpless and watching its approach. The bear’s facial features were close enough for her to see. She noticed its familiar eyes were a wet, grief-stricken crystal blue. The only rational answer she could form for this feeling of intimacy, such closeness with the animal, was she was dead and having an out-of-body experience. The creature had killed her and she was replacing a man, her security blanket, her best friend, with an animal. Somehow this would make dying easier.
“Chase?” Sam heard an angel’s voice speak; her angel’s voice—Evrik. Why would he be saying Chase’s name? Nothing made sense. After all of the trauma she’d been through, there was probably no logic left in her brain. Even in death she hallucinated. Go figure!
The bear began to shake vigorously. The fur rescinded into its skin. Its long snout morphed into a human nose, above a pair of human lips. The once-expansive furry animal chest became bare and muscular, with killer abs. The bear morphed in front of her eyes—taking human form—male form. The half-animal jumped behind a tree before the transformation completed. Sam glanced up at the black sky. She had gone completely nuts. Now bears were turning into people. She searched for a twinkling star, a round moon, something to focus on. It was no use, nothing but darkness. The black dome imprisoned her.
A movement caught her eye, bringing her gaze back down. Sam watched Chase emerge from behind the tree wearing only a pair of jeans. He bled from where the creature had sliced his forearm. Sam’s mouth dropped. She wasn’t crazy or dead. She was alive and Chase wasn’t entirely human.
CHAPTER 10
Like at Evrik’s, Sam gasped back to consciousness, but this time her trembling was more violent. She blinked repeatedly, pinching herself to make sure she had woken. Droplets of sweat hit her comforter. She felt her head, but her hair was just damp with sweat, not wet enough to be dripping. Her fingers traveled down to her eyes. They were wet with tears. Had what she dreamt been real? It seemed more like a horror movie, but all of the actors were the people she loved, or used to love when she remembered them fully. Sam knew there was only one thing to do and only one person she had to see.
She glanced over to Lauren’s side of the room. Lauren wasn’t there. It was one in the morning. If Lauren had gone uptown, she wouldn’t be home until after two, unless she decided to stay at Ryan’s dorm.
The walls around her curved, bowing in to meet her, then jutted back out like the illusions in a carnival fun house. She needed air. She gripped at her throat; it felt like her windpipe was collapsing.
Sam crawled out of bed, wearing her flannel PJ bottoms and a T-shirt. Not bothering to change, she threw on her UGGs and an old gray sweatshirt she had taken from her dad when she was in high school. It said “The Bear” across the front in large, bold, navy print. She twisted her hair into a messy bun and left the room.
There weren’t many students outside the dorms. Students would shortly come stumbling home from a night of drinking. The air was chilly and dry. A faint glow highlighted the large oak tree outside her dorm. Its long, jagged branches appeared to be reaching for her. Sam shakily pulled out her phone. She needed to see him. She had so many questions after what had happened today. Things had been left so open-ended. And her dream. Now more than ever, she needed answers. Suddenly, Sam dropped her phone onto the stone pavers. Her heart jumped into her throat and her blood ran cold.
“So we meet again,” Cale said. He walked out of the shadow of the domineering oak.
“You’ve got to stop doing that. You nearly gave me a heart attack.” Sam picked up her phone, first checking to see if it still worked, then inspecting it for cracks and scratches.
“Sorry. Did I interrupt a call?” He moved closer to her until he stood only inches away.
“I—I can call him later,” she said.
“You seem frightened. Is everything okay?” Cale reached up and touched her neck with the back of his fiery hand, his face hard and unreadable.
“I’m okay. You just startled me, that’s all.” Sam’s eyes darted around, too nervous to meet his stare. She forced a smile.
“You’re dressed for bed. Did you have a nightmare?” he said.
Instinctively, she stood up straighter and a something’s-not-right-feeling inched slowly up her spine. “No.” Her voice only came out as a whisper.
“Do you want me to leave?” Cale used his index finger to lift her chin. She met his icy black gaze. Somehow he pulled her back in, made her feel more comfortable with him. The hard lines on his face softened and his black irises looked more brown than black. Warmth coursed through her bloodstream. Her chin was on fire at his touch. “I’d like you to stay with me,” he said persuasively. Cale lifted her chin even higher. His head slanted down until she could feel his hot breath on her face. “Sam, you’re so beautiful.”
Sam turned her head, breaking his grasp. “Why do you always seem to know when I’m alone?”
“I guess I just get lucky. I get to have you all to myself.” He smiled, but the stubble on his cheeks didn’t rise. Even when he smiled, his face resembled stone, no longer warm and inviting like mere seconds ago. “Would you like to go for a walk with me?”
Sam blinked rapidly. “I—I’m not really dressed to go anywhere.”
“It’s dark. No one will see you.” Cale placed his hand on hers. Never leaving her eyes, he lifted her hand to his mouth very slowly and kissed the inside of her wrist. The veins under the sensitive part of her skin started to burn. “Come with me, Sam.” His words were so hypnotic she felt she had to go with him, that she belonged to him. For some reason, she had the overwhelming urge to please him.
He led her down the pathway toward campus, making a turn into the trees, and proceeded deep into the woods. He held her hand in his. Sam noticed he still wore his dark wool coat, and his jeans were almost as dark. It was hard to see him underneath the trees. The branches blocked the only light from the partially obstructed moon.
Cale placed her at the base of a large tree trunk. Sam’s body trembled. She didn’t know whether she was cold or afraid. Probably both. “Have you talked with Evrik today?” he asked. He joined her, tracing the lines on her face with his hot finger, scorching her. Sam swore she saw steam rise from her skin.
“Yes. Earlier today.” Her voice sounded robotic.
“What did you talk about?”
“Evrik said he would help me get my memory back.”
“How?” he asked firmly.
“Alea. She can create magical elixirs.” Sam no longer had control of her words. What he wanted, she gave him.
“Interesting. Are you getting your
memory back?”
“A little. I dream at night, and during the day I see parts of my life.”
“But you don’t remember Evrik?” His black eyes squinted tightly.
“N—Not really.” Sam’s voice trembled. “Just disconnected memories.” She blinked rapidly, trying to force his influence out of her mind, but her insides were on fire. He burned her from the inside out. Her blood boiled within her veins. At any moment she could burst.
“Can Evrik do anything like Alea?” Cale’s fingers found the back of Sam’s head. He gently gripped her hair, making her efforts to resist him useless. He tilted her head backward, exposing the tender skin on her neck.
“He didn’t tell me, but I think so. I know he’s very strong and he can do something with his mind.” Cale’s lips touched Sam’s neck. With each kiss her pulse sped, causing her breathing to become more rapid and shallow. His hand left her neck and traced down her sternum to her waist, leaving a trail of hot flesh under her shirt. She let him move her back so she lay in front of him on the cold ground. He appraised her with his eyes and leaned into her. His kiss was rough and intense. Cale moved his lips to her neck again. She stared blankly up through the trees. His stubble felt like razor blades slicing into her skin. Above her, she noticed the same floating light she had seen when she had been alone with Cale that morning on campus. The light bounced and flashed like a flickering ball of sunshine, illuminating the tenebrous winter’s evening. Then, in a blink of an eye, it disappeared.
He traveled back to her lips.
She became languid, giving into the heat.
Sam woke and grabbed at her body, remembering—Cale and her together, and the horrible nightmare before she went outside. She started to cry uncontrollably. What have I done? Sam grappled for her phone. Her fingers fumbled over the keys. She tried to dial, but she was too frantic; she had to take a moment to breathe. Finally she got her fingers to punch the right keys. She needed to speak to him. Now.
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