I crossed my arms and sneered at Donovan. “What do you want?”
He might not have had his mories from the other realities, but I knew the kind of man he was. Deep down, I doubted he was that different from one reality to the next.
“I just wanted to say hi.” Donovan held up his hands in surrender.
I scoffed and shook my head. “No need. I’m just going to take a cab and get back to Lucas, my mate.”
I turned away from him. Donovan grabbed my arm.
“Wait, please, Sasha, I want to apologize.”
“Apologize?” I arched an eyebrow.
“Yeah. About everything that happened between us.” He bowed his head.
It actually looked like he was remorseful, but for what? Other than telling Lucas he was playing the “long ga” with , he hadn’t done anything bad in this reality. At least, not to directly.
Slowly, he released my arm.
“I’m sorry, Sasha. I never should have ssed around with that orb. I know where the future orb is and I can make it up to you.”
I swallowed hard, a pit forming in my stomach. How did Donovan know about the orbs?
“O-orb?” I stuttered.
“Yeah. It was . I pulled you into the reality where we were going to get married.”
He smiled sheepishly and slowly lifted his eyes to mine.
I scoffed and set my hands on my hips. “You did what?!”
“I didn’t an to.”
“How could you not an to?!”
“Look, this crazy old lady approached and told about the orb. She said I could make you mine and told how. I thought she was joking.”
“But you still decided to try it?”
“Yeah... that wasn’t the best thing for to do. But I didn’t think it was real. I just thought this old lady was yanking my chain.”
“Who was this old lady?” I felt like I didn’t need to ask,but I wanted to hear it from him.
“Her na’s Morianne. I an, I know she was right, but she’s still completely crazy.”
“Morianne,” I ground her na against my teeth.
“You know her?” Donovan asked.
“It’s complicated. Donovan, do you know where she is or how to find her?”
Donovan rocked back on his heels and moved his eyes from side to side. “You don’t want to see her.”
“I do. If you want to apologize and really make this up to , you’ll tell where to find her.”
“Okay, okay. I can do better than that. I can show you.” Donovan held his hand out to .
I crossed my arms again. “I’m not going anywhere with you! I’ll get Lucas, and then you can tell us where to find her.”
Donovan sighed and nodded. “Alright, I understand.”
“You can co with to Lucas’s if you want, but he’ll probably kick the crap out of you.”
Donovan grinned. “Well, that’s part of redemption, isn’t it?”
I narrowed my eyes. It was hard to trust this apologetic Donovan, but he seed so sincere. Anyone willing to let Lucas beat up on them had to be sincere, right?
We headed down the sidewalk. I kept moving my eyes to Donovan, watching him. I wasn’t ready to let my guard down around him.
The shadows around a building moved, and I froze.
Several large shifters with tattered clothing and bulging muscles erged from the shadows. They leered at . One was missing his front teeth. Another had a bruise on his eye.
These guys were serious....
“Get her!”
All of them pounced on at once.
“Ack! Leave alone!” I jumped back.
The shifters kept coming at , leap-frogging over each other. I kept jumping back. There was no ti to shift.
“Don’t let her get away. She’s a slippery one.”
One of the shifters grabbed my arm. I spun around and punched him in the face. He groaned and reeled back.
“Don’t touch !” I shouted.
Another ca up behind and grabbed my waist. I shrieked and slamd my heel into his foot. He released , clutched his foot, and hopped up and down.
I turned to run, but sothing thick pressed over my mouth and nostrils. His other arm ca around my waist, groping . The inside of my nose burned, and the world around faded quickly.
***
“Wake up, Sasha.”
I groaned and shook my head. Whose voice was that? What was going on?
“She’s coming to.”
“That’s a girl. Co on, darling. Open your eyes.”
Soone patted my cheek. My whole body felt numb and tingly, the person’s fingers felt strange.
I snapped my eyes open and glared at Donovan. He smirked and patted the top of my head. I jerked away. My arms and legs chafed against sothing. I looked down and realized I was tied to a chair.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding ,” I groaned. My mouth felt like it was full of sand.
Donovan held out a water bottle. “You must be thirsty.”
I sniffed and turned my nose up.
“Co one, Sasha. I know you’re thirsty. Dry mouth is a side effect of the chloroform.”
“You knocked out with chloroform?!”
Donovan shrugged. He took a sip off the top of the water bottle. “See, it isn’t poisoned. But you should drink it. I need you in good health.”
I ignored the water and tried to put the pieces together. My mories were a bit fuzzy. Donovan ca to apologize. He knew about Morianne and the orbs. He wanted a reality where I’d be with him....
I wasn’t going to let that happen.
“You know, you can’t trust Morianne,” I said.
Donovan chuckled. “Of course. Morianne is just playing , but she did promise that I’d have you all to myself in the new reality.”
“You’re disgusting. You can’t win yourself, so you try to force and trick ?”
“It was working, right up until Lucas ca along and decided to ss everything up.”
“I won’t pretend to be upset over that.”
Donovan chuckled. “Too bad. I would have made you happy.”
“No, you would have made your dutiful wife that never stepped out of line. I’d never be happy like that!”
“Without Lucas, you wouldn’t have known any better.”
“You’re nothing but a freak, Donovan–a misogynistic, controlling freak!”
Donovan shrugged. “You’ll be seeing things differently soon. I promise.”
“And I promise that I will never want you, touch you, or be with you.”
Donovan rolled his eyes. “Well, I planned on getting you back in that reality. But as soon as you and Lucas moved on, I was thrust back into this reality.”
“Why didn’t you just try again?”
“Morianne was disappointed that I failed. She went on to a plan B. I found out that you were in a coma here, which ant you were utterly useless to .”
“I’m so glad you were concerned for my health,” I shot back.
Donovan laughed a harsh, cruel laugh. “Don’t worry. Now that you’re awake, I’m not going to make the sa mistakes I did last ti.”
“You’re not going to have a chance to make any mistakes.”
“What are you going to do? Use your powers on ?”
I bit my tongue and held back my reflexive response. Donovan didn’t know that I didn’t have my powers. I figured I might be able to use that to bargain my way out at so point.
“See, this ti, I’m not leaving anything up to chance. Morianne is going to help build the perfect reality where we’ll be together.”
“Donovan, she is crazy.”
Donovan chuckled and walked around the chair. He ran his finger along my shoulders and I cringed.
“No, but I have sothing she so desperately wants. You see, once I promise her your powers, she will send us to a reality of my choosing, one without Lucas Black... where Lucas Black is already dead.”
“You’re an idiot,” I scoffed, and I shook my head.
“Excuse ?!”
“You’re so small minded. You really think that death could keep Lucas and apart?”
“Well, yeah. You’d be alive and he’d be dead. You’d be all mine.” He smirked and ran his tongue over his top teeth.
My stomach churned and I looked away from him.
“You don’t get it, do you? I almost pity you for not understanding.”
Donovan growled and crossed his arms. “What the hell are you talking about?!”
“Lucas and I are mates. We will always find each other in any reality.”
“Unless he’s dead....”
“You think that the orbs could send to a reality where Lucas and I can’t be together? It doesn’t matter if Morianne has my power. She’ll never have control over the orbs like I do. Wherever she sends us, Lucas and I will find a way to be together.”
“I’m not that stupid, Sasha. I know that your powers control the orbs. Whoever controls your powers controls the orbs and reality. Morianne will do what I ask. I have her prize.”
He pointed at and bounced his eyebrows.
I laughed dryly and shook my head. “You really are an idiot, Donovan. If you knew anything about realities, you would know that I’m no help to you at all.”
“Oh, really? And why is that?”
I looked up at him and held his beady eyes with mine.
“I lost my powers in the last reality I was in. When we ca out of the coma, I realized I left my powers behind. There’s nothing I have that you can trade to Morianne.”
I laughed darkly.
“You’re lying!”
I saw the blood drain from Donovan’s face. A bead of sweat ford on his brow.
“You wish I was lying, don’t you? I’m sorry to say, it’s the truth. Do you really think Morianne will be forgiving–or helpful–when she finds out you brought her a dud?”
Donovan shook his head. “You don’t understand, Sasha!” He sneered my na and pointed his finger in my face.
I realized his fear wasn’t because he wasn’t going to get what he wanted. There was sothing else he was afraid of.
“If you really don’t have your powers in this reality... we’re both as good as dead.”
My heart hamred heavily and silence filled the small, dark room. Donovan was scared pale, and I didn’t think it was an act, not in the least.
“Okay, what are you talking about? Why are we as good as dead?”
“Uh....” Donovan sputtered and choked on his own voice.
“I’m afraid, Sasha, that it is you who are too narrow-minded,” An eerie, familiar voice spilled from the shadows.
My breath caught and I gasped. I turned my head as far as I could.
Stone ca from the shadows and grinned at . “Hello, Sasha.”
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