Hidden Gem - Beasts of Beauty Series - Book 4

Chapter 8

"Amethyst!" I call out the second I get home. I repeat her name, running through the downstairs frantically searching for my sister. "Dammit, Amethyst, where are you!?"

I run up the stairs, calling her name again.

Is nobody home?

After checking every room upstairs, I determine that the house is in fact empty. Fuck.

I run down the stairs and towards the front door, wracking my brain for any place she could be right now. When my hand rests on the doorknob, I am stopped by the realization that my sister will get her wings when she meets her soulmate.

I remember my parents talking about an herbal patch they were keeping specifically for this moment. I remember when my wings came in - it was unbearably painful and they weren't nearly as large as Amethyst's are going to be.

I scramble to the bathroom, searching in the large cabinet where we keep the medicines for anything that could resemble the patch I need. Cursing under my breath as time drags on and I come up empty, I desperately try the last basket on the bottom shelf, finding a little plastic square sitting at the bottom.

I actually squeal with glee before shutting the cabinet and rushing to the front door.

I rush outside and immediately collide with just the person I was looking for.

"Amethyst!" I exclaim.

"Malachite, you're back?" she asks.

I grin and grab her hand as I say, "You need to come with me."

"What?" she questions, stumbling behind me. "Why? Mal, what's going on?"

"Your dream is about to come true, that's what's going on," I tell her. She finally catches up to me, actually jogging ahead of me and forcing me to stop.

"Wait, do you mean-" She cuts herself off when I nod my head and hold up the medicine patch. "How do you know?" she asks skeptically.

"Another wolf showed up after you and Opal left," I tell her. "I think he was able to smell you, still." She gives me a bewildered look so I explain. "Zakreus told me that wolves can smell their soulmates. It's a sign - like your wings." She nods, seeming to understand.

"And...he's sure?" she asks. I watch her giddiness grow at the idea of meeting her soulmate.

"Definitely sure," I reply, remembering how he reacted to her scent. I begin to compare it to how Zakreus reacts to me sometimes, like how he very clearly smelled me during our hug.

Wolves are odd.

Maybe now I'm odd.

"Oh my gods," my sister whispers in anticipation. "What's he like? What's his name?"

I groan playfully and grab her hand, pulling her along.

"Let's just go meet him."

Rather than following along behind me, Amethyst rushes ahead, practically running to where I had left the two wolves behind. I call after her in annoyance, attempting to get her to wait for me. When she doesn't, I pull my wings out and zip ahead of her.

"Hey, no fair!" my little sister calls after me. I angle my body so I am flying mostly backwards, skillfully dodging trees and branches as I stick my tongue out at her. "Just you wait until I can get up there," she grumbles, "then you won't be so arrogant."

Before I can respond to her, something in the distance catches her attention. Assuming it is a closing proximity to our soulmates, I lower myself to the ground and rush ahead of Amethyst.