The Corollaria Read Online Free Page A

friend, never lost his temper, and had such a natural confidence about him without being arrogant. 
    But something had shifted tonight. Something filled the silent space between them. Alive and tangible, it knotted tightly in her gut. He’d always been an affectionate guy, but tonight...he was...Emily couldn’t find the words to describe it exactly, but the way his lips felt against her skin, his arms around her, the rawness to his voice when he spoke her name, was so intense she could barely contain the emotion inside herself.
    Luke walked slowly into the dark house, trying to flip on the lights. But the electricity was out. He swallowed nervously. He wanted to call out for his parents but something told him they weren’t here. Without even thinking about it, Luke reached behind himself for Emily’s hand, inter lacing their fingers and pulled her closer to his side.
    Immediately the cold chill retreated from her skin where Luke’s warm fingers squeezed hers.  They slowly made their way through the thick shadows in the hallway to the kitchen. A small flickering candle was the only light in the dim space. 
    Luke took a deep breath. T he sickening pungent smell that hung so heavily in the air was like a punch to his gut. Bile rose up in his throat and he had to swallow it back. Something had been here. Something wrong and unnatural. It made Luke’s mouth pool with a bitter metallic heat.
    Emily looked around, her eyes landed on the wall as she squinted against the darkness. She moved around Luke and let go of his hand to move forward and get a closer look. There was something, some wording or symbols, scrawled in a thick dark liquid on the wall. It was strange, something inside her recognized them. They looked familiar, like she’d seen them in a dream, even though she was sure she never had. She moved closer.
    Luke swallowed against the fear that lodged in his thro at. He felt uneasy and jittery. Something in the corner of the kitchen caught his eye. A fluttering piece of paper. Luke frowned, and his brows knitted together. He turned away from Emily and reached out to grab it.
    The next sound he heard in the deathly silence of the house was Emily’s muffled scream.
    Luke exploded, his gray fur bristled and he bared his fangs. Sharp claws scraped against the kitchen floor and Luke’s clothes shredded, falling like cotton leaves. A shadowy figure held Emily. Luke stalked forward sniffing the air with his long gray snout. A strange, somewhat familiar scent permeated the air around the slender figure. Luke felt a little dizzy, a little woozy as he stumbled forward.
    The sharp shrill ringing of a phone distracted the intruder for a split second, and Emily broke free. Her skin stung where the person had touched her. Luke shook his head, dispelling the dizziness and pounced on the figure still cloaked in shadows.
    She let out a sharp female shriek, more anger than surprise or pain, and shoved at the massive gray wolf. Emily backed away, frightened and unsure. 
    Luke and the woman rolled around on the tile floor, knocking over chairs and banging against the cabinets. Luke snapped his jaws and finally sank his teeth into her arm, narrowly missing her throat as she rolled away.
    Luke growled as she tugged her arm free and then bolted out the back door, a trail of dark black liquid spilled out after her.
    Emily was barely breathing, her chest heaved with the exaggerated effort. Dizzy and breathless, adrenaline still spiked in her blood and crawled along her skin. She sank to the floor, shaking.
    It took Luke a few moments to phase back, anger and fear still gripped him tightly. Emily watched as the gray wolf slowly faded, his thick fur returning to tan skin and brown hair.  Ropey defined muscles stretched and contorted to regain their shape.
    Luke’s gray eyes, dark as the water at midnight, locked on hers. She turned away, her cheeks flamed scarlet.
    Luke stare d at her a moment, unsure what to do. The intensity of his