Soul Stones

Chapter 3

When I finally peeled my eyes open the clock on my desk read 9:15, and it took a few seconds of clearing my head to determine if that meant morning or night.

AM. There was daylight outside.

I snuggled deeper into my mattress and pulled the faded pink comforter around my shoulders. Some memory teased the edges of my awareness, but I couldn't quite recall what it was. A dream – that much was obvious. A most curious dream. There was water. I was in pain. Someone held me like they'd never let go. I could almost feel the phantom touch of muscular arms wrapped around me waist; gentle fingers threading through my hair.

A frown creased my forehead as a breeze brushed against my face. I must have left the window open. Not unusual of me to forget to close, but...it had been a cold night. My mind was slow to register why a strand of hair had molded to my back.

Until it hit me.

My hair was wet.

The realization had my eyelids flashing open in alarm.

"About time you woke up."

The voice was one I knew, but I had a difficult time believing who it belonged to. Why was Celest in my house? My room, of all places!

We weren't friends. She had barely said more than a few words to me in my entire life, and none of them were overly friendly.

I sat up in bed, letting out a yelp when a flash of pain pierced my neck. My hand instantly flew up to cover it, but was hindered by a thick bandage that was wrapped firmly around my neck in overlapping layers. I prodded anyway, grappling to find an edge so I could peel it off.

"Leave it!" Celest barked, pushing herself up from the vanity chair in one fluid motion to stand beside my bed. I let my hand fall and frowned up at her. I held no delusions of her severe dislike of me, but the amount of hate she radiated now was on a whole new level.

"Celest?" My throat was scratchy and the single word came out sort of garbled. I took a deep breath as I crawled out of bed, trying to piece together what had happened. "What are you doing here?"

I took a step to walk toward my dresser, ignoring the way my injured knee protested. The tank top and panties were slightly damp, and I really wanted to change into something dry.

Apparently Celest wasn't overly worried about my well-being. Before I made it halfway across the room she was standing in front of me, blocking the path.

"How could you do this!?" She yelled at me, so angry her body shook with rage.

I frowned, completely lost. Only now, with her face inches from mine, did I notice the vibrant emerald ring surrounding her iris. Someone was giving the wolf free rein. "What are you talking about?" I just wanted a change of clothes.

She pushed me backward with a shove to my chest and followed closely along the toes of my retreating steps. Turns out I wasn't overly happy about her invading my space, so we continued backing up until I ran out of room and hit the wall. She stalked me like a predator; I felt like prey.

It wasn't a good feeling.

"How dare you do this to me!" She screamed. A tear ran down her cheek that she hastily wiped away. "I waited so many years for you. I loved you!"

This was news to me. Heat flamed my face despite the cold draft on my chilled flesh. I lifted my hand and let it hover awkwardly, not sure if I should risk hugging her or not. In the end I decided to play it safe.

"Celest. I had no idea." I patted her shoulder very awkwardly. I always assumed she didn't like me. Maybe she just didn't like Micah? This was beyond awkward. "I'm flattered, but I don't swing that way."