“Come on, Lawson, get on with it,” Ahramin said, a trace of annoyance in her voice.
“I’m trying,” Lawson said. “Something’s wrong. I can’t open the portal.”
“Are you doing something different?” Malcolm asked. “Can we help?”
Of course he’d offer to help, Bliss thought. Malcolm was the youngest in the pack, and by far the sweetest. Bliss had come to adore him in the time they’d spent together. Edon and Rafe had been tougher nuts to crack, though she felt close to them as well. As for Ahramin, the former Hellhound was one of them now, her past transgressions forgiven when she’d proved herself worthy of the pack by fighting against Romulus’s will and breaking her collar. They were a team, a unit, and if Bliss had any lingering suspicions concerning Ahramin, she chided herself for them. For if she felt that way about Ahramin, how could she expect anyone to forgive her for her own dark past? Ahramin was merely a former Hellhound, but Bliss was Lucifer’s daughter. The Dark Prince had cursed the wolves, had turned them into slaves. In the underworld, the Silver Bloods had been the wolves’ masters.
“Tell us what you need us to do,” she urged Lawson.
“This has never happened before,” he grumbled. “But sure, why not? Guys, everyone focus. We just need to clear our minds, imagine the passage opening. Maybe if we all work together we can do it.”
The pack huddled together. Bliss pushed away her fear, pushed away her doubt, and pictured the Passages of Time opening before her. Her head ached, and she put her hands to her temples, feeling them throb and pulse, and for a moment she was convinced it was working. She could feel the passage opening behind her, felt the wind through the tunnels.
Then it stopped.
The feeling went away.
She opened her eyes and looked around. Nothing had changed.
They were still standing in the clearing.
“What’s going on?” Rafe asked, frustrated.
“Did you do something?” Ahramin asked Lawson. “Like accidentally seal the passage behind us when we went through?”
“Why do you always assume it was me who did something wrong?” Lawson protested.
“Because you’ve screwed up before,” she snapped. “Remember how I got left behind the last time?”
They sounded like an old married couple, Bliss thought. Which implied a certain kind of intimacy that she didn’t want to think about too much. Besides, it was ridiculous to even consider. Ahramin and Lawson? If they hadn’t been in the same pack, it was clear they would have despised each other. Besides, Ahramin had been pledged to Edon from the beginning. No, they weren’t like a married couple—more like bickering siblings, which made more sense.
“Don’t be so hard on him, Ahri; he’s doing his best,” Edon said.
“It wasn’t Lawson,” Malcolm said. “It’s like the passages have closed up on their own. Can’t you feel it?”
Rafe nodded. “It did feel different, like something was blocking them.”
“Or someone,” Bliss said.
Melissa de la Cruz, Wolf Pact
(Series: # )
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