Scorch

by Nikki Rae

  I recognized Odette almost as immediately as I had Marius. She gripped the armrests with pale knuckles as her blue eyes scanned me. Even from a foot away, I could see the terror behind them. Her normally deep, rich skin had taken on a pallid color, and her cheeks looked sharper as if she hadn’t been eating—whether those meals were withheld or refused.

  She wore the same slate grey color I associated with women of the Forgotten, but it was made of lace and cinched at the middle, causing it to bunch in her lap as it pooled to the floor. Around her neck was an elaborate golden collar.

  On the glass table in front of her was another collar identical to hers, the locking mechanism open as if awaiting me. Gregor rose from the second throne to retrieve this collar, and I kept my gaze trained foward until it was lifted from its place.

  Though he looked clean-cut in his black suit, buzzed hair, and the golden ring bearing his House’s symbol, his piercing blue eyes and five-o-clock shadow said otherwise. Perhaps he’d been unable to sleep, knowing I was out there ready to end him. Now that he had me, something in his face had lightened, but it wasn’t meant for me. Satisfaction emanated from his smile, which I imagined dazzled many unsuspecting victims.

  I didn’t dare glancing in Marius’ direction as the Wolf stalked towards him, handing off the contraption before barking in a low voice, “Finish it.”

  From the corner of my eye, I watched Marius flinch as if in physical pain and I wondered if I’d missed Gregor hitting him in some way. When he opened the book again, I heard the pages rustling as if they shook between his fingers. It wasn’t until Marius came slightly forward that I saw he was holding a folded piece of paper, which he read from as Agent Eicher and Gregor rested their palms upon the leather cover. Gregor stood before me, my would-be deliverer behind me, and Marius gently pressed the book against the top of my head.

  With a deep breath, he asked the very question Gregor had posed when I was transferred to his dead elder: “Do you place your hand on this sacred copy of The Grim Order’s Children's and Household Tales and renounce your guardianship of girl number 257 of Compound B31 of the California, USA Compound?”

  “I renounce my guardianship,” Oleg said his lines as we devised. Everything was going well, but something in my stomach knotted each time he spoke. “I vow to uphold and protect the values of House Wolf.”

  That wasn’t the way the response usually went, but once again Gregor had changed it to better suit him.

  “Master Gregor Fabian, Head of House Wolf,” Marius went on, straining to keep any inflection out of his voice, “do you accept the gift your birthright has granted you?”

  It was nearly impossible to keep my eyes open, teeth grinding into the gag as I drooled all over myself and attempted to sit straight.

  “I accept,” he answered above me like some all-powerful god. “And I vow to protect and uphold the values of my House.”

  There was a pause, and then the book was lifted from my head. Taking a step back, Gregor regarded me as he tucked it under his arm. “Go on,” he urged Marius.

  Though we didn’t touch, I could feel Marius tense beside me. My tongue pressed against the rubber in my mouth with the need to communicate that everything would be fine now that I was here.

  My vision blurred but Agent Eicher provided support so I didn’t wobble. My movements were sluggish as Marius guided my head upwards to stare into the Wolf’s eyes and it was difficult to control my breathing when I could see again.

  Gregor didn’t appear to have any lasting injuries from Wolf Manor collapsing upon him, save a jagged scar on the back of his hand I noticed as he reached into the breast pocket of his black suit. His blond hair shone almost as much as his statues, slicked back like he was at a formal dinner party. His eyes weren’t as blue as Odette’s; greyer, with a sharpness I hadn’t seen since Jäger.

  Around my neck, the weight of the collar made me off balance, but I didn’t hear it click. The contraption simply rested against my collarbone, and for whatever reason, my muddled brain connected this to some sort of rejection, bringing tears to the surface and spilling over my eyelashes. This only made the light more intense, and I had to shut my eyes before Marius had fully stood.

  Then Marius stepped away, and I watched him take the book from Gregor, which he placed on the glass table before standing beside Odette. I couldn’t have backed away if I wanted to when Gregor bent down to wipe my face and neck with a silk cloth he’d taken from his jacket. His eyes remained cold as he performed this action, but the softness of it caught me off guard like he’d struck me.

  He smiled again as a whimper escaped my chest, and then he latched the collar into its proper place, the click of the lock resounding in my ears so loud it made me tremble.

  “Welcome home, kleine maus.”

  I swallowed against the tension, and then he stood to address Oleg once more. “Thank you for your loyalty, Master Eicher.” Replacing his handkerchief in his pants, Gregor held out his palm so the agent would transfer the end of my bonds to him.

  “It is an honor,” he responded, true to the plan. “I am loyal to House Wolf above all else.”

  A new wave of Cerberus crashed into me and everything doubled and burst into vivid colors. I did my best to blink it away, but sparks of light and shadow danced whether my eyes were open or shut.

  I stared ahead as Gregor’s lip twitched. “Yes,” he said, snapping in Marius’ direction so he could hand off the rope. As soon as it was exchanged, I felt safer, but the Wolf’s careful attention directed at Agent Eicher prevented me from relaxing. “You most certainly will be rewarded in kind.”

  At his side, Marius’ fist wound around the end of the rope attached to my wrists, but he didn’t urge me to stand. When I glimpsed Odette’s expression behind Gregor, she cowered in her seat as if someone were about to wrap their hands around her throat.

  The silence pricked at my skin, but I could do nothing, a slave to my bound body and mind. Distantly, the plan we’d discussed rang through my head like someone shouting down a deep well. By the time it got to me at the bottom, I was drowning in the static current the drugs created.

  “Master Fabian,” Oleg ventured, and an alarm in the back of my mind was silenced. “I truly admire all you’ve done here. A triumph.”

  The Wolf bared his straight white teeth. “I am flattered you’ve come all this way, Master Eicher.” He shook his head, acting like he was disappointed. “You would be an invaluable member of my House, but I only have room for one more. However, I think you can be useful in other ways.”

  Oleg tried to inch back but stopped himself when Gregor raised a hand above his head. The grin that spread across his face as he brought down his arm should have hinted at his intention, but I was too slow to connect what the Wolf was doing until it was too late.

  It all happened in rapid succession, yet everything moved as if we were under water. A loud pop and I was plunging beneath the waves. The sound was familiar. Gunshots. Bullet holes in the side of our plane.

  My chin hit something hard as Agent Eicher fell, and as my temple connected with the concrete, Marius followed, covering me with his body. My hands were covered in blood and I didn’t know if it belonged to me.

  When Marius moved away, it didn’t quite register, the bright red soaking into the white like a hunted down bird on a winter’s day.

  Oleg twitched beside me, crimson drenching his shirt. He’d been shot in the shoulder, the wound a gaping hole. His eyes were glassy and distant.

  Gregor’s face was speckled with blood as he turned, ordering something I couldn’t hear over the thunder in my head. Marius cradled my body, trying to keep me awake when it was impossible.

  He’d killed us. The Wolf had killed us both, and we hadn’t seen it coming.

  When my eyes closed this time, I was powerless to open them.

  To be continued…

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  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thank you for reading this series. It’s been a true labor of love, and like any labor, there has been pain, tears, and unbridled joy. I’m glad to go on this rollercoaster with you. For my editor, Amanda, thank you for being an amazing friend and second set of eyes for all these years. Boo, I love you. Thanks for letting me stay up late in my office and blow off plans to get this thing done. You’ve enabled my dreams to come true in more ways than one, and I won’t ever be able to properly tell you how much I appreciate you and our relationship.

  Special gratitude goes out to my Patrons, for their support with writing that would be stuffed in a file rotting away. You’ve given my writing renewed purpose, and I’m more excited than ever to show our secrets to the world. I love each of you:

  Finally, I’d like to dedicate a little portion of this section to those who have mental health issues. We aren’t alone, and we’re stronger when we voice who we really are and what we need. Thank you for being strong, for being here. I know firsthand how difficult it can be, and I’m so grateful for the outpouring of support this community has shown me when it comes to this topic. Our stories are important.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Nikki Rae is the head editor of Metamorphosis Editing Services and a writer who lives in New Jersey. She is an independent author and has appeared numerously on Amazon Best Seller lists. She is the author of The Sunshine Series and concentrates on making her imaginary characters as real as possible. She writes mainly dark, scary, romantic tales, but she'll try anything once. When she is not writing, reading, or thinking, you can find her spending time with animals, drawing in a quiet corner, or studying people. Closely.

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  Find Nikki at Nikki Rae or @nikkiraeauthor on all platforms.