Chapter Fifty–Nine
DRAVEN
Draven Emily a voice calls to me from the bathroom doorway and I jerk upright.
“Emily,” Tamile, glancing her way: “Come in”
“Oh my God,” she cries out, stepping intide and taking a good look at my face.
Shit. I must look like hell
“I’m alright,” Lassure her, dipping my head under the water for a cool moment before strength of her muted subbing. “Hey!” I stand up, pulling the drain when I do, then and pull her into a bug theokay, really, I’m fine. I’ve had way worse.”
coming back up. When I do, she is in trans. Her body shaking i
ring for a clean towel on the rack. After wrapping myself
And that the truth. What Marcus used to do to me was a hundred times worse than slut happened today.
“I cant believe you” she whispers, pulling away. Her dark eyes are filled with wonder when the looks at me. “How are you so strong?”
I shrug: I don’t consider myself strong at all. “I’m not
“You are!” She argues as we saunter into Domonic’s room.
g” Í tarp. “You are. I didn’t get dumped into the ocean after being assaulted and to be honest if I had I probably would have chosen to sink
Sadly, I speak the truth. The first time Marcus assaulted me, that’s exactly what I tried to do, I took a gun out of his closet and pressed it to my head. I even pulled the trigger. Luckily, the damn thing wasn’t loaded. Whew. Every time I look back on that day, all I feel is weak. So I push it down, where I store most of m and I bury it beneath mountains of bulshit.
Su no, I am not strong. The first time I faced any of my past was when I spoke to Domonic about it. Before that? I was good with the avoidance technique. though? Not so much.
“I don’t believe that,” she sighs, but a hint of a smile plays over her mouth.
I walk over to Demonic’s dresser and pull out a pair of his pajama pants and a plain witte t–shirt. This is all I’ve have to wear until he gets back, I puetz. It will do. Watching Emily while I get dressed, I notice she is pacing the room. Shooting strange looks at me every time she makes a pass.
“What is it?” I ask, sensing there is more than just my bruises on her mind.
“I don’t know if I should tell you,” she says, growing more and more nervous. Her vollowers and she continues to pace. “I don’t even know if I believe it
“What?” I cue, thinking I more than likely know what she’s about to say.
She must have witnessed one of the guys change when they went after me. The way she rps glancing toward the door like it might burst open, tells me sherafild of someone in the house.
I saw your boyfriend do something. She huffs, dropping into the velvet armchair against the wall and burying her face in her hands. Something horrible. And I don’t know if I should tell you about it or not. You’ll probably think I’m nuts.”
Uh–oh. My eyes narrow, and I take a seat across from her on the bed. “Something homible?” I repeat. Are you sure it was horrible?”
She nods, lifting her head. Her eyes flare wide. “So horrible.”
Fachool my features, trying to remain calm. A deeper part of me wants to snap at her but I know she’s just ignorant, so I don’t. “Uh–huh, What makes it horrible? The fact that he can sit into a wolf, or the fact that you can’t?”
“What? What does that mean?” She gasps, her back straightening. “You already know about him?”
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Chapter Fifty–Nine
18–a wolf 1–ton?”
Her eyes grow frightened and she swallows loudly. “X–are you a
I shake my head. “No”
Oh thank God?” She hisses, her eyes flying around frantically. “We need to get out of her
“No, we do. We’re safe here.
“Wh–what?” She stammen. “How can you think that?”
“I don’t think that, I know that.” I place my hands on her shoulders and meet her eyes. “Like I said, I’m not a wolf, but I wish I was
Her eyes bulge. “Why the fuck would you wish for that?”
“Because if I was a wolf, Marcas and Leo would have been dead long ago.” I sigh, suppressing the urge to shake her. I don’t like the way she’s handling this. No one here has tried to hurt her. Not once. At least – I don’t think they did. Either way, her ignorance is getting on my nerves.
“Who is Mares?” She inquires softly
“Leo’s father. The devil,” I say smoothly, remembering that Domonic still has him on jockdown. Then, I try a different approach. “Would you hate me if you found out that I was a wolf? Would you think I was… horribir?”
She shakes her head frantically. “No! No way!
I glare “Then why would you call Domonic horrible? Because we got news for you, he’s not the only wolf
“He fucking growled at me!” She shrieks, her hands flying about her head wildly. “He was going to bite me!”
I bite my lip, trying not to smile. “What? When?”
“When they came in and found that you were gone. He attacked met
I shake my head. ‘No. He never would have done that.”
She begins so cry again, softly sobbing as she rocks herself. “Yes. He would: He definitely tried to, but Roda stopped him.”
Koda stopped him, eh? 1 roll my eyes. “Koda, the hero,” I snipe, showing some of my nation. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her that Koda is a big bad wood too, but I don’t. Not my secret to tell. Is that all you saw? Just Domonic changing into a wolf?”
“Is that not enough?” She snaps, her voice rising incredulously. “I tell you he’s a werewolf? A monster! And you want to know if thats the only thing???
“He’s not a monster!” I hiss, getting angry “And don’t you dare fucking call him on
She hiccups, retreating into herself. “1–I’m sorry I just-”
“Stop!” I growl out, standing up. “I like you Emily. I do. And we have a whale hell of lot to talk about. But do not catch yourself talking about Demonic that way again, or we’re going to have a very big problem – you and me. Understand?”
Emily begins wringing the front of her sweater with her hands like she might have a panic attack and I have to fight the urge to laugh. She nods, “O–okay.”
But I can tell that its not and I berate myself for being so callous. Shit. Not everyone has had the chance to learn the difference the way that I have. I need to have a bit more compassion for her. I mean, I reacted the same way when I first found out what Marcus was. Then again, Marcus ir a monster, and the things he did to me were criminal
“Qumanic probably lashed out at her became I’d been taken.
1 sigh, reaching for her hand. Surprisingly, she takes it. “Come on. Let’s go downstairs. Have you had a chance to try that stew you made?
The shakes her head. “No. When pda went after Domonic, he told me to lock myself his room and that’s exactly what I did.”
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Chapter Fifty–Nine
I rod, good. “What did Koda tell you then we got back?” Lask
trembles, shaking her head as tears fill her eyes once more. It doesn’t matter. Lets go eat
1 mile, ratious for a moment of what might have happened between them. It’s none of my business, I know this. Still, I can’t help but wonder
DOMONIC
Istride into the Putt Orchard Sheriff Station to find Gryffin and Goose there waiting I’m only mildly surprised after what Koda told me back on the island. But the haunting look that Gryllin gives me shakes me to the core.
He looks physically ill. His normally golden skin is a muted shade, tinged with gray. Its eyes are cupped with dark shadows and the golden light that normally fires
He looks drained.
Jesus Christ,” Ihess and he no
I need to know what he took from me, Gryffin rasps, his eyes wet. And I need to get it back.”
i swallow, working my jaw. “Well, let’s go and see what we can find out.” I turn toward Hainier, who I know has been here for thirty–six straight hours. “When’s the last time you thicked on that hastard?”
put the chains on him a
after Lagan stitched him up, Rainier says. “That was the last 3 saw him.”
“Wheres Timmons?” I ask, glancing around at the empty station. Rainier has had all the human deputies on patrol since the night we brought the panthers in Not that they would have seen anything anyhow. The only people who have access to the dungeons of the basement are the members of our pack and there are absolutely no canetas down these.
I sent him home to get some rest hours ago Rainier says, rubbing his eyes.
I nod, my eyes falling over the bon shifters who are anxiously waiting next to the elevators. I’m going to have to give them Marcus. I can’t risk having him here with no one to watch over him. All of us wolves need to sleep before tomorrow night or will be too weak to fight our animal urges.
Gore, Gryffin, and I enter the elevators and I punch in the access coder that allow below.
The moment ser step out onto the dungeon floor, the sharp tang of cupper floods my ses. The rank smell of fresh blood is heavy in the air.
“What the fuck?” I hiss, my Fangs slicing out. The eerie silence of the space is deafening and a feeling of foreboding washes over me with the darkness of the hall.
Why are the lights out?”
I hold up my hand, simaling that Gryffin should stay back while Coose and I creep further in. The concrete floor appears shiny and it takes me a full minute to understand why.
Woven in blood
facing down the hall I grow as I approach Marcus‘ cell. It’s open and rage ignites iroide
me as
as I realize what I’m looking at.
Manicus is still there. Right where Rainier left him. Still chained to the wall
But he’s missing his head. And on the brick wall behind him in giant block lettering is a message written in blood.
A message that reads… NO MATES.
