26. Anna

26

Anna

With a groan, Jax raked his hand through my hair and kissed me deeply. "Say it again, Anna. I need to hear it again. I need to know that you remember me."

"I remember you. I love you. I've been an idiot for being too scared to tell you. I don't even know if this counts as telling you. What if you're just something else weird that my mind has made up?"

"I am definitely here," he chuckled. "Four witches are basically streaming my conscious through the mating bond, so my body is still there. Your wolf is here. I don't know why you can't feel her."

The absence of my wolf reminded me of how dire this situation was. I turned my head and studied the scene. My mother stood in the living room, fury on her face. I couldn't believe she was here. That I could finally remember her.

And that she seemed to be actively working against us.

So I ignored her. Instead, I wrapped Jax's hand in mine. I didn't want to lose him again. "I don't know how to get out of here, but I don't want you trapped in here with me."

"Lunessa said that your magic is keeping you trapped here. You have to harness it and find your way out."

"My what now? Jax, I don't have any magic. I'm a wolf."

"But your mother is a witch and she comes from a family of nulls. That ability has turned you into something incredibly special. Half wolf and half witch, but your magic has been locked away. They think only a witch who shares your DNA could have done it. I'm guessing your mother."

No wonder I've never felt whole. "Why?" I demanded as I whirled around. "Why would you do this?"

She wasn't there. Furiously, I ran through the house, pulling Jax with me, but even though I checked every room, bathroom, and closet, I knew she was gone. "My parents are real peaches, aren't they?"

"We'll find you a really good therapist once we get out. This is your world, Anna. I'm just magically crammed into it. You can find the escape. Maybe we could just walk out?"

We walked back to the front of the house, and I studied the door. It looked real. "If I open that door, you'll leave. You're not part of the memory, but it's not my way out. Maybe I have to finish the memory?"

We walked back into the living room, and I stared down at Dirk.

Dane.

"He looks so different," I said quietly. "Content. Calm. Not a homicidal maniac. He takes me and my wolf out running every night, and he tells me not to worry that she seems so small. He can tell that she's fierce."

Tears filled my eyes. "What happened to him? Is this a false memory? Something my mind has created to protect me from the reality? He loves me here."

"All right," Dirk said suddenly as he stood. His arms mimed lifting something and cuddling it against his chest.

Me. He's holding five-year-old me. "Story time is over!"

"Daddy," I whispered. "Just one more page. Please."

"Tomorrow night, if you're able to sleep tonight. Just remember that monsters aren't real, and even if they are, I'll always protect you."

I closed my eyes. "There is no way this is real. Okay, so he's going to put me to bed, and then I go to sleep. And then…"

"Anna," Jax said urgently. "Open your eyes, baby."

I sensed the shadows before I even opened my eyes. Darkness. "I've done this before," I whispered. "Only, I can't remember. I know you're not usually here for it, so I guess that means you are real. We have to find a way out before the house falls to the darkness. I can't go through the door. Let's try a window."

"What happens if we can't get out?"

"The nightmare begins." I ran to the living room window and unlatched it from the top. My attempts to open it didn't do anything, so Jax joined me and pushed.

"What's out there?"

"A pack. My pack." I thought back. "There's an alpha, although I don't know anything about them. I can't remember. This is so frustrating. Come on, there are windows in the bedrooms."

We walked into my bedroom first. Jax looked around and smiled faintly. "If I was going to imagine you in a childhood bedroom, this is not it. There's so much purple."

I blushed. "I still like purple."

"Really?"

"Oh, shut up. Windows. Escaping. Remember?"

Like the living room windows, they didn't budge, but when I turned around, I found myself right in front of my mirror. I glanced down at my jeans and sweatshirt. "This is not what I was wearing when story-time started."

"No. That's what you're wearing now. In the real world. I change your clothes every day." His voice broke. "Saul has been monitoring your vitals. Janelle and Ava have been trying different rituals. Finn and Amelia stop by every day to talk to you. Kenzi stops by to insult you."

"How long have I been trapped here?"

"Weeks, Anna. Lunessa, Irene, Ava, and Janelle are combining their magic to get me here, but it's not the most stable link, obviously. The faster you can find a way out, the better off we are."

"Will you be trapped here?" He turned, and I immediately stepped in front of him and blocked him from leaving. "Tell me the truth, damn it!"

"Lunessa doesn't know. She says a number of things could happen, but they aren't important. Getting you out of here is important."

Damn it, I didn't care what any of the theories were. I was not going to trap him in here with me. Turning, I raced to the front door. "Oh, no, you don't." He wrapped his arms around my waist and carried me to my parents' bedroom. "You're not kicking me out. If you do, I'll just have to come back, and we'll have to start all over again."

"You're so stubborn!"

"You and me, both, darling."

He shut the door to my parents' room. My father was pacing at the foot of the bed. "I don't like this, Katherine. You're too trusting. The witch, she looks at Andrea like she's a fucking diamond or something."

There was a pause as he appeared to be listening to something.

Someone.

My mother.

"Where are you?" I screamed. "I know you can hear me!"

"I don't care if she's special. They want to use her," my father shouted. "I know they do. When are you going open your damn eyes and see what's happening?"

"Anna," Jax whispered in my ear. "The shadows are here. Try the window."

Glancing back, I grimaced. They were seeping in from under the door. We were out of time. Hurried, I ran to one of the windows and tried to open it. It didn't budge. Next to me, Jax grunted as he pushed at his. "Safe to say that the windows aren't the way out."

"See any red heels?" I muttered as I pulled open the closet door. "There's no place like home."

Damn it, it was just a closet. Everything looked so normal except for the smoke rolling in faster and faster. "I am your daughter," I shouted as I began pulling clothes from the hanging rod. Maybe there was a trap door somewhere. "How can you do this to me?!"

Still no answer.

And also no Jax.

Shouting his name, I bolted from the closet. Thankfully, he was still in the room, only he was looking out the window. The rest of the bedroom was empty. Still no mother but also no father. "It's daylight," he said in a strange voice. "You must be waking up in your bedroom. Another memory starting?"

The smoke rolled closer, and I backed up to the window and took his hand. "If it is, we're not going to be able to leave to see it. I'm sorry, Jax."

"Do you see that tree?" he said in a strange voice. "I think it's bleeding."

Suddenly, my chest was wet and sticky. I glanced down. "So am I. Again. It's not real. Right?"

"What happens in your nightmares, Anna?"

We had only seconds. What I would give for him not to come with me. That he'd never have to see them.

"Monsters."