CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY ONE
STERLING
My mind feels strange. Everything is foggy, like going for a run on the beach before the sun comes up and I can barely see the shapes of the trees through the mist.
Even when I can’t see, though, I never get lost. My dad taught me better than that. I always keep the sounds of the ocean on one side of me, and the smells of the redwoods on the other.
In the wilderness of my thoughts, I try to do the same. What can I hear? What can I sense?
A girl. Someone beautiful.
My mate. Her scent makes my heart pound and her touch sets my skin on fire.
I love her. I need her. I have to go to her.
I turn toward her, but her face disappears into the mists. There’s another girl, a different girl, in her place.
In the mists, their faces blur. I try to chase after her, but she keeps changing. I can’t follow two people at once.
I spin around. Memories swirl around me like the salty spray of a cold ocean wave. They sting my face.