Bound by Spells (Bound Series Book 2) by Stormy Smith Page B

Aidan,” I whispered into his fur. I was thankful this was a dream and I would wake up soon, because it felt like my heart was breaking all over again.
     
     

Chapter 7

     
     
    I pulled up to Bethany’s apartment—Amelia’s apartment—and just sat in the car. The idea of walking into the space that had been Amelia’s was daunting. I took a deep breath and mentally berated myself yet again. If I were going to get her back, I was going to have to do a lot worse than walk into her old living room. Everything Bethany and I had talked about was shuffling around my brain. The facts, the magic, the evil she was up against…it all banged against the confines of my mind in rapid succession. There were pieces of the puzzle I was missing and it pissed me off. I shouldn’t have needed help to get to her, but I couldn’t put it all together and just get to the bottom of it.
    I slammed my palms against the steering wheel. It felt good to hit something. Last night, I had shifted again without being able to stop it. I had been out all night, but even running hadn’t burnt off the energy the way I needed to. I hadn’t been to the gym in weeks and nothing sounded better than a heavy bag right now. I needed to beat the hell out of something—anything. My hyper-hearing picked up Charlie’s thunderous woofs and I looked up to find him in the window of the apartment, barking nonstop, his eyes on me. I couldn’t break my gaze from his as he carried on. It was then that I realized he was talking to me. I couldn’t understand him, but that dog had something to say. I shook my head a little, trying to understand where those random thoughts came from.
    You’re losing it, Montgomery. Get in there and deal with this.
    I slammed the car door as I got out, feeling good about the rattle of the steel as it connected with the rest of the frame. I pushed my way into the building, up the stairs, and to Bethany’s door. The door I whispered my love for Amelia into. I rapped on it with my knuckles and moved inside, not waiting for Bethany to answer. I walked in to find her yanking on Charlie’s collar, trying to contain him, while he pulled toward me, simply dragging her along for the ride. His barks were deep and vibrated with his obvious need to communicate something. She was swearing at him as she stumbled over her feet and then finally let him go with a, “God damn dog. I don’t know why I thought you were so great.” She only acknowledged me with a gruff, “coffee,” as she walked into the kitchen. It wasn’t a question. She wasn’t offering. Apparently, everyone has their vices.
    I stooped down to get eye-level with Charlie. He stood in front of me, his huge ears pointing toward the ceiling as he continued to bark, though softer now.
    “Dude, Charlie, what’s your deal? What exactly is the problem?” I asked him.
    Charlie cocked his black and white spotted head at me and something in his eyes made me snap my head back. He understood me. Some part of me realized he heard my words and knew exactly what I was saying.
    “Charlie?” I asked as I leaned back in. “You obviously need to tell me something, so tell me.”
    I could have sworn I saw a smile shine through that dog’s eyes as he lifted one massive paw and set it on my thigh, just above my knee but below where my shorts stopped.
    In a split second, I found myself watching a gruesome scene through Charlie’s eyes. At first, the flashes were hard to keep up with. As if he could sense my confusion, Charlie started the scene over, more slowly. This time, it started with Cole coming through the front door, Charlie—and me—following behind. I could hear Cole talking, apparently to Charlie, as he bemoaned how long he’d been gone and how he hadn’t been able to do anything to help Amelia. He cursed her stupidity and impetuousness, slamming cupboards doors as he continued to curse his father and Derreck, neither of which were responding to him. As he leaned against the