LITMIR.BIZ

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      “I was walking in the woods,” she said, fidgeting with her hair. “There were two tuhrned hiding, following me. They told me –” She swiped a stray tear from her face.

       “It’s OK,” Dax whispered, “take your time.”

      It broke his heart to see her like this.

       “They told me the new High Lord wanted to meet me. They said that because they’d bound my soul –” She cleared her throat, visibly trying to pull herself together. “They said that they could find me anywhere. Because it was their magic that bound me.”

      “What happened next?” Dax asked, a sense of urgency washing through him.

       “They tied my arms and legs together and put a bag over my head,” she squeaked. “They put me in a car and drove for a while. I don’t know where to, but it wasn’t far. I could hear the sea when they took me out of the car. They carried me somewhere. It felt like they were struggling to walk. It was cold and smelled like the beach. I could hear the waves crashing as though they were next to me. I don’t know what the Circle put me in, but it was wet and horrible. It felt like we were floating. As soon as they’d dragged me inside…” She faltered. “I don’t know what or where. The sound of the waves stopped. It was so abrupt… it confused me.”

      “It’s OK, baby girl, I’ve got you.” Dax hissed, struggling to make his voice sound even and tightening his grip around her.

       “I was inside a room of some description that didn’t feel like it was moving. It was really quiet,” she told him. “Eventually they moved me to somewhere that smelled like a sewer. It was horrible. I could hear water lapping slowly against the walls but I didn’t know where or why. Finally, they took the bindings off and removed the hood. They locked me in a cell that smells horrible; it’s damp and cold. I have a bed and a blanket but little else.”

      “It’s OK, Alison. I’ll find you.” Dax soothed her, stroking her hair, trying to chase away the tears that were freely falling now.

      “DAX.” A voice reverberated through his mind. It was a male voice.

      “Did you hear that?” he hissed at Alison.

      “Hear what?” She looked at him confused. “What’s happening to you?” she squeaked, eyes wide. He glanced down at his own arm, which was rapidly fading; his formally thick and human looking skin began to grow transparent. He could see the rock beneath him through his own damn flesh.

      “DAX. WAKE UP.” The voice bounced though his mind, making him wince. Crap, someone was trying to wake him up. He was going to leave this weird dream.

       “Alison,” he said, urgency wrapping its way around him. “I’m going to have to go.”

      “Please don’t leave me!” She choked, gripping his arm for dear life.

       “I’m sorry, baby girl, I don’t have a choice.”

      “Please!” she whispered frantically.

       “Alison, listen to me.” He gripped her hands in his. He didn’t have much time left. “You need to break out of that cell.”

      “I can’t,” she moaned.

       “You can,” he said, maybe more harshly than was necessary. “You need to get out of there and get above ground. We can’t find your GPS chip all the time you’re underground. You have to get somewhere where the satellite can pick it up.”

      “But how –”she whispered, but he barely heard it. He was fading away. The image of her was little more than a shadowed blur.

       “You can do it, Alison. You have to,” he shouted at her. “Be strong.”

      With that the world around him faded, the grey cave shuddering and giving way to blackness. He closed his eyes against the shadows and held on to the image of Alison’s beautiful face. He was going to find that female.

      If it was the last damned thing he did.

      “Dax. Wake the hell up.” Jake’s voice pierced his eardrums like knives.

      “You goddamn idiot,” Dax spat, sitting bolt upright, making his head spin and his stomach roll. Though he tried to speak it sounded more like a growl.

      Crap. He realised he was still in wolf form. Sat on the edge of the cave looking out over the sea. His limbs were stiff, and his whole body was cold right to the core.

      He’d obviously been asleep for a long old time.

      “Sorry, mate, can’t understand you when you look like a dog.” The Djinn chuckled, his blond hair blowing absently in the breeze. Jake was probably one of the most beautiful looking people on the planet, but it was completely fake.

      Djinn of course had no body features; they were completely devoid of form, with slits for eyes, and an undefined opening for a mouth. Their bodies were creepy as hell too; they had no shape to them whatsoever, no breasts, and no genitals. Thankfully they could shift their bodies at will, taking on characteristics of humans, making them look more normal. And they could walk through walls.

      Djinn had the ability to make their bodies go completely spectral and become ghostlike. And because of their ability to skin shift, they were some of the most insecure, bitchy beings on this side of the kingdom.

      Dax growled at him, low and hard. He was an idiot for waking him up.

      “Look, buddy. You obviously need to sleep. Do it at home,” he snapped, standing up in the small space of the cave and pointing out towards the road.

      The Djinn was right; Dax did need to get home, but not to sleep.

      He needed to do some research.

       Chapter Two

      Alison woke with a start, the image of Dax’s strikingly well-defined face still in her mind. He looked so tired; his dark grey eyes looked almost black and were ringed with dark shadows. His black hair was long and straggly, like he hadn’t washed or brushed it for a while, and he had more stubble on his chin than she’d ever seen him with. His chest was still broad and muscled but she could see his ribs, he looked like he hadn’t eaten in a while. Worry snaked its way into her gut but she pushed it away. It was only a dream, right?

      Even so, for the first time in weeks she woke with a smile.

      The coldness sank in, her body groaning in response as she moved.

      She ached from head to toe, her bones frozen, her body battered. She could barely feel her fingers any more. This cold was unbearable, especially without the warmth of her wolf. The oh so familiar heat at her core that represented the other half of her soul had disappeared leaving her empty and alone.

      Alison cursed her luck, cursed it to the fiery depths of the Under Realm. She’d been captured by the Circle months ago, tortured and bound. Tamriel had rescued her but Maker only knew that she hadn’t felt safe since she’d been at home with her pack. She knew they would come for her and she had been right.

      They had come for her. They’d taken her away and rebound her with the new High Lord’s magic. She shuddered at the memory.

      The stench of the cell they kept her in wafted through her senses, making her gag. Thankfully her stomach had stopped growling; maybe it had finally realised they were only going to feed her the bare minimum.

      You need to get above ground.

      Dax’s voice reverberated through her. She was fairly certain that it was just a strange dream, yet she was grateful for it.

      She’d been here for weeks, hoping, wishing that

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