𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍: 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐲

TEN: Summoned

The next morning I opened my eyes when a familiar shadow eclipsed the pale glow from the rising sun bleeding through the chiffon curtains. At first, the sight of my best friend seemed to be a horrific reality of consequence. Everything about her took my breath away. She looked wounded, fresh blood was gushing from her neck in spades. The girl looked dead and I couldn't scream nor cry because I knew I'd done this. And my hands were covered in crimson and betrayal was proof of my unabashed guilt.

I watched her in a half-awake fearful fascination as she leaned over my shiftless body as if to whisper her damning last words to my ear. "This is your fault coward." I could almost hear the whisper. "You're next." I could sense the condemnation in the air. The closer she got the more haunted I felt and the more I began trembling like a useless leaf.

I wasn't worried about myself, not in the least.

It was her I was worried about.

Tears pooled in my eyes and when I finally got the urge to scream, I failed. No sound came out and the sight of her vanished from my very eyes like a ghost. I was left desperately trying to scream in agony and gasping for air. Something shook me but something else was digging me under the darkness and the heaviness of my sin. I was an abomination.

My wolf tried to save me but whatever it was kept burying me in my deserved place in hell. Whatever it was, was familiar. I thrashed and fought for my life when I realized what it was. Sleep paralysis. It was sleep paralysis, my constant unwanted visitor. Something or someone shook me again and I woke with a jet start.

"Babe?"

I sat up rubbing the remnant paranoia out of my eyes and followed her voice.

"The tactical team wants us both down at the medical center." Dani. A real live and perfectly in place Dani was standing over me with wide eyes. "Officer Tyler has chosen me to be in the first batch of women for testing." She further supplied body composition, and tone even for everyone else. Yet, after two decades of being best friends with her, I knew better.

I looked around the room and met eyes with one of Brady's friends from high school.

"Sweet dreams?" he taunted, uncaringly. "Sorry to cut them short sweetheart but you heard your girl."

"The first batch is for single women," I stated remembering the contents of the document Dani had shared with me. I swept my gaze again around the room with a hard beating heart. A total of five heavily built men stood on guard at every corner. Despite not looking at her I could feel Dani's fear cascading down in waves. "She's not going anywhere without me. She's not single, she's my mate and...."

He cut me off with a no-nonsense air to him and said. "By the order of the blue-bloods, every bitch in the pack will be tested before we start considering humans."

"Doesn't explain why you'd put a mated she-wolf ahead of other single or widowed she-wolves?" Hoping to buy some more time I tried to reason with him. "She'll show up but for the last test batches. Please understand she's mine."

"She could be your Alpha's too." He countered.

I wore humility, "please?"

"Here's the thing pretty boy. Something about your twosome holds my fancy, it's why I made the executive decision to write her up on the first line of testing." He looked particularly proud of that, as his lips tugged upwards into a smug smile. He then folded the sleeves of his grey shirt to accidentally reveal an eagle tattoo on his toned arm. An arm I could easily picture volunteering to squeeze the life out of me if he learned the truth. "I must say though, I didn't expect to find you in the same bed, considering what the sacred caves don't say."