She loved Caleb. Loved him with her entire self, and she wanted to show him tonight in case there wasn’t a future for them.
“We should go to the meeting in a few,” Caleb said.
She yanked him on top of her. “Let them wait. You’re not going anywhere. I need you more than ever.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.
Caleb placed a kiss on her forehead. “Let’s not waste any more time.” His fingers traced the curve of her cheek, and his lips met hers.
She pressed herself into Caleb. Heat built between her body and his, and soon, it flared and became an inextinguishable wildfire.
Both she and Caleb wore smiles on their faces when they entered the meeting late. With little to do thanks to the stormy weather and the late hour, the group put off investigating until morning, but extra patrols were set up inside. Caleb took one of the first watches.
Jenna, exhausted, made it back to her room and quickly fell into a deep slumber.
When she woke, a remnant of a dream filtered through her mind but faded when she sat and stretched. She grabbed a T-shirt, threw it on, and watched the dust dancing through the air.
Was the room dirty? Had the dust in the air always been so visible and had such a strong smell?
She needed fresh air and opened the window, inhaling the scent of plants from the garden. She sneezed.
What was going on with her?
Needing an escape from both her thoughts and the confinement of the room, she decided to check on the horses. The animals calmed her, and she needed that now. Jerking on jeans and boots, she headed to the front door, ignoring whoever she encountered.
Outside, the breeze churned the loose leaves, littering the driveway while a drizzle splattered the walkway.
Jenna had not brought a coat, but her skin still burned. She sloshed through the mud the earlier storm had caused, not caring about the filth seeping into her boots and jeans. The outline of the barn was dim in the early light, but Jenna could see it clearly and arrived to find the barn door open and the horses taking refuge in the stalls. While they were free to spend the night either inside or out, they usually preferred the safety of the barn at night.
She checked on Moon and Star. Both horses were at ease, water buckets filled. Jenna laid a cheek against Moon’s mane. Chills ran through her, and her head began to throb.
Dizzy, she left the stall shivering.
“Caleb.” The words spilled from her lips, and she sank to the ground, weightless.
The world faded in and out of view, then went dark and when Jenna awoke, everything had changed.
Sneak Peek of Book 2
Placeholder for book blurb.
1
Sometime in October . . .
Jenna’s eyes flared open. She wheezed, sucking in large gulps of air. The dream receded, scratching and clawing as she forced it deep into her subconscious. Struggling to sit, the room flailed in a dizzying spiral around her. She fell back against the sheets and stared at the dull-streaked ceiling.
She scratched at aching eyes. More pain surfaced, making rolling into a fetal position the only option.
The squeak of a chair had her squinting at the moving figure. A guy dropped to the corner of the bed. Black hair escaped the edges of a hoodie.
How are the horses? She wondered, the last memories of leaving the High Point Inn to go check on the Clydesdales in the barn rushed back.
“Caleb?” she croaked like a frog.
“You were having another nightmare.” He brushed dark brown, damp bangs off her forehead in a gentle caress.
“What happened? Where am I?” Trying to sit, nausea erupted. Sinking back down, questions instantly forgotten, Jenna dry heaved over the side of the bed.
His hand caressed her back. “You had me so scared. Everyone here is worried about you. Are you okay?”
Her rumpled t-shirt was soaked with sweat. When her stomach stopped rebelling, she sputtered, “What happened?”
This feels anything but all right.
“Don’t you remember?”
She curled in a ball and tried to think. Memories were slow to emerge. “Wait. I couldn’t sleep and went to visit the horses in the barn.
The animals provide comfort in this awful world like nothing else, except maybe Caleb.
“Here.” He handed her some water.
Sipping it, she waited for an explanation, but he said nothing. She bit her lower lip and continued to wait.
He wore his favorite hoodie and snug jeans. Although the hoodie was large, it did not hide the muscular physique and muscles underneath.
“Are you not telling me something?” she waved a hand in front of him. “I remember feeling sick and sleepless and going outside to check the horses. What else do I need to know?”
“Billy found you there in the morning, unresponsive. We don’t fully understand what happened, but you’ve been out of consciousness for close to three days.”
“Three days? Can’t be.” She shivered, tried to sit again, but fell back, muscles aching. “All I remember are my dreams.”
“What dreams?” His eyes were a vibrant dark red—a trademark of the New Race. At this moment, those beautiful eyes regarded her with both love and concern.
“The one where Eric is alive and calling for help.”
“You can’t feel guilty about his death. He chose to fight.”
“He was only a child.”
“Childhood is a thing of the past. He was strong and able and willing to help fight Streakers.” Caleb moved closer and placed a cold cloth from the nightstand to her forehead, then grabbed her warm hand in his cool one.
She rested for a moment, disheveled bangs over her eyes, gulping a few deep breathes.
“Enough coddling me.” She pushed his hand with the cloth away.
Normally self-confident to the point of being
