by Raven Steele
And that. That’s what infuriated Silas the most. It made his wrath so much worse. Because Silas hated kindness.
My mind began to clear and the colors around me faded.
I remembered breaking free from Dominic’s hand. I had to leap over my mother’s body to escape. Half of her face was missing. Dominic and Silas raced after me, chasing me into the woods. My little legs couldn’t out run them.
They found me and pinned me down.
I remembered being afraid. I didn’t want a face like my mother.
But they didn’t kill me. Instead, they tossed me down the well. I remember those two faces, staring down at me with shadowed, black eyes. Their laughing and joking.
They sealed me up in that tomb.
For three days, I was stuck in there, in the cold and wet. And after three days, after I’d shed all my tears, screamed my voice hoarse, and battered my little fists into the wet and mossy stone wall until they bled, I realized I was on my own.
I would have to save myself.
And so I did.
“You’re Isabella? Isabella Moretti?”
I jerked free from my memory, and Silas came into focus. His face was a mask of shock, and he was sitting on his ass in front of me, staring up at me as if I was a fucking librarian at story time.
I nodded. “That’s me.”
I was dizzy, slow, and sluggish.
“How did you survive?”
I shook my head, but the words came anyways. “I began to climb. Up and then down. Stepping. Grabbing. Slipping. Falling. Over and over until my mind shut down. I became a machine.”
A tear slid down my face, but I shook my head again. No. I wouldn’t cry in front of the man who had forced so much evil upon my family. I bit my lip hard and the pain helped me focus. My mind began to clear as I fought back against the drug, using the ancient power that had been bestowed upon me in my darkest hour.
And then, my wolf was there, stronger than ever. And she was pissed. She hovered beneath my consciousness, growling and screaming, ready to be released.
“Then what happened?” he asked, his eyes wide.
“My body began to change,” I answered, my voice deepening. My wolf was coming.
“How so?”
“My bones shifted and cracked. They grew longer. Fangs grew in my mouth.”
“I don’t believe it! You couldn’t have shifted that young. It’s impossible!”
“Is it?” I opened my eyes and stared at him, hoping he'd feel the power within them.
“Holy shit!” He scrambled backwards, forgetting the gun near my feet. “Your eyes!”
A smile crept up my face, my fangs making it more scary than friendly. Using the power my ancient wolf gave me, I kicked my leg free of its chains, shattering the links.
His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open.
My hands came next, easily snapping the restraints.
He stuttered as I rose to my feet, towering over him. I felt no pain, no sadness. Even the sting from the silver bullet was gone. All that was left inside me was rage as powerful as a thunderous storm across the ocean, with waves so high, none could withstand the force.
“Impossible,” he hissed, but his voice faltered.
I stalked forward, grinning. “You keep using that word, and yet, here I am.” I spread out my arms. “Proving the impossible.”
The blood drained from his face, aging him twenty years.
“My face will be the last thing you ever see.” I leaned toward him, inches from his face. “I’m going to enjoy killing you.”
Chapter 46
Silas scurried to his feet, his back bumping against the wall. “Stay back! I order it!” He slid against the wall, edging toward the door. “Dominic will hear about this.”
“No. He won’t.”
He reached into his jacket pocket and yanked out a small blade, frantically waving it in front of him.
I kicked his hand, and the motion shattered his bone. The blade dropped to the ground and clanked against the hard floor. I expected him to cry out in pain, but instead he lifted his arm. His hand hung limp at the wrist.
“What did you do?” he cried, and tried to fix his hand by lifting it, but it flopped back down. He stared at it in wonder, the way one looks at an abstract painting. “You broke it.”
I kicked at him again, aiming for his thigh. This time, when the bone snapped, he screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground.
It was my turn to question him. "Does Dominic know about your obsession with body parts?"
"My obsession?" He carefully pressed his back against the wall, cradling his broken arm to his chest. “Do you really think I am the type of person who would keep dirty, smelly bottles around?”
“What?” I touched my head, thinking hard. Silas was meticulous in everything he did. I thought back to that room. How dirty it had been. How unorganized. So unlike the contents of the box I’d stolen.
My head snapped up. I’d gotten it all wrong.
"Tell me,” he said, his voice strained, “did you bother to look beyond the door at the back of that room?" He gritted his teeth. "You think a few jars of ears and eyeballs are grotesque? You don't know shit." He spat at me.
I wiped the spittle from my face. “So Dominic is the sick bastard?”
“He’s a visionary with a strange and sometimes messy hobby, but you haven’t seen nothing yet. He has a friend, someone important who’s taken a special interest in him. Once they find the ancient blood, those who stand against us will drown in their own blood.”
“His friend sounds like a real douche. I look forward to kicking his ass too.”
Coldness seeped into my veins.
He eyed me, looking me up and down, rage mottling his face. “I told Dominic we should’ve killed you that day, after questioning you, of course. It was dangerous to leave you alive, especially since you might know where your father kept the Abydos.”
“You’re right. He should’ve killed me.”
His mouth parted slightly. “You have it, don’t you?”
I said nothing.
He chuckled through a painful grimace. “You have no idea the shitstorm you’ve stepped in. Those in power know the blood is here. In Rouen. It’s only a matter of time until they trace it back to you.”
I crossed my arms, leaning down. “How do they know it’s here?”
“Because you moved it from its resting spot. Your father had it spelled so other supernaturals couldn’t sense it, but you disrupted all that. Good luck finding someone powerful enough to mask the relic’s magic again. The last warlock died protecting his spell and the blood’s location.”
“I make my own luck.” I crouched until I was at eye level with him and gripped his shirt. “You killed my whole family. Every single one of them! And you’ve been torturing and killing ever since.” I scrunched my face, feeling disgusted. “And you thought I was just like you. You thought you could train me to inflict pain and torture others? I was laughing at you behind your back. You’re nothing but a filthy disgusting dog, following Dominic’s orders like he’s the fucking sun god.”
I leaned closer, smelling his weird clean smell. “You don’t know how happy I am you brought me in here, where no one is around to hear you cry. No cameras to record your death. I’ve been waiting years for this moment.”
“You’ll never get away with it.”
“I’m not afraid of Dominic.” I punched him in the gut and air whistled through his mouth. He sucked in a breath, trying to suck oxygen back into his lungs.
“It’s not Dominic you have to worry about it.” He coughed. “He’s a saint compared to the real monster that will come for you as soon as it discovers you have the blood.”
He surged forward, startling me, as he shifted in a single beat of my heart. He knocked me back and sunk his teeth into my throat.
Blood sprayed from my neck and leaked onto the floor. I opened my mouth to cry out, but the crimson liquid bubbled in my throat, making me gag. His
teeth sunk in deeper and crushed my wind pipe.
My wolf howled, the sound vibrating my mind. This isn’t how she was going down. I could already feel my neck beginning to heal. I just had to get him off me.
Bringing up my knees, I slammed into his chest with such force, his body flew through the air. His teeth ripped from my flesh, and he slammed against the wall. He bellowed, barking like an injured asshole as he scrambled to his feet. His claws scratched at the concrete as he limped for the door to get away from me.
A single burst of power flowed from my mind and my neck immediately healed. I jumped up, my blood burning at the sight of my prey running. It spurred me on with a hunger reserved only for the most powerful of predators. This bitch was mine.
My discarded bra was near my feet. I grabbed the knife from it and ran after him. I was much faster than him and appeared in front of the door blocking his escape. He yelped and stumbled back.
“You didn’t know I could move as fast as a vampire, did you?”
Cornered, he did the only thing he could do. He lunged for me again, his jaw reaching for my throat. Before he could make contact, I slammed the knife into his hairy gut, smiling at the feel of the silver blade sliding into his flesh. His body began to shimmer and take shape back into his human form.
I kept the blade in him as he gripped my shoulder, his eyes white. He forced a smile through the pain. “That won’t kill me.”
“I hoped it wouldn’t.” I grinned wildly as I circled the knife deeper, my knuckles disappearing into his stomach. “This is for my brothers.”
His blood coated my hand and dripped to the floor. I jerked my hand upward, severing his guts.
“This is for my parents.” Fire burned in my eyes.
He gaped at me, his mouth open. Blood filled the dark space and drained onto the floor. My wrist slipped into his stomach as I cut even higher with my small knife, wiggling it in every direction to cause the most pain.
“And that is for the sister I almost had.”
I yanked out my hand. A pile of bloody intestines came with it and slopped to the already red concrete.
I didn’t look away from his face, didn’t even blink, until that final moment when that last sliver of life faded from his eyes.
It was a strange feeling. I expected to feel some satisfaction, but instead I grew angrier. My breathing quickened, then hitched painfully in my chest. I stood up and backed away from him.
His eyes remained open, staring at me accusingly.
My anger turned to rage, and I tossed the knife down. “You brought this upon yourself!”
Maybe it was a small remnant of the Scorpion’s Breath still in my system, but I swore his mouth opened and hissed, “We are the same.”
Screaming, I rushed him and kicked him in the gut, over and over until copper red painted the room, and my bare leg was bloody. The bastard deserved everything he got.
I gasped for breath and leaned over, my hands resting on my knees. All I could see was red. The color was everywhere.
I began to shake. Maybe it was the ancient power going dormant again or maybe the drugs clearing from my blood, but all the pain from before returned in full force. The silver bullet, still lodged in my leg, made every bone in my body throb. It was the only wound my wolf couldn’t heal.
I needed to get out of here. Away from the smell of blood. Away from all the red. Maybe then I could dig out the bullet.
Gasping for air, I threw open the door, nearly ripping it from its hinges. I stumbled down the darkened hallway and to the spiral staircase. My hands were numb. Flashes of me gutting Silas shocked my mind, and I nearly fell to the ground several times. Focus!
I clawed my way to the top of the staircase, partially on my knees, then threw open the iron hatch, gasping in the cool night air. I collapsed against the cold ground, feeling both amazing and terrified.
I laughed, even as tears stung my eyes. I finally killed him.
My body continued to shake. I inhaled several hitched breaths and wiped at my eyes. I needed to think. This wasn’t the time to have an epic meltdown. I pulled myself upright.
Somehow, I had to cover this up. I needed to stay in the pack so I could do the same to Dominic.
The thought of cutting someone’s belly again, even Dominic’s, had me falling against a tree. So much blood.
I needed help. I needed to find Ryder or my uncle.
I ran, tripping over roots and rocks. Pain shot up my leg with each step. I should shift, but I couldn’t feel my wolf anywhere. The silver must have driven her away.
The blood on my body was sticky and had cooled in this chilly fall weather. Only monsters wear this much red.
My body crashed into something immovable, and strong arms wrapped around me.
“Briar! What the hell happened?” a familiar, deep voice asked. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
I sucked in a shallow breath and looked up. Luke’s blue eyes searched mine frantically.
“You’re back,” I whimpered, and fell into him. All the way. And unlike any other time, I didn’t try to stop it. I had never needed him more.
“It only took me thirty minutes to realize Silas had sent me on a goose hunt. That’s when I knew something was wrong.”
I gripped him tightly. “Thank God you’re alive.”
He pulled back, looking me up and down, searching for some gaping wound that might explain the blood covering me. “Where are you hurt? Who did this to you?”
“Silas—”
His eyes darkened, and the wolf came alive in him. “I’ll kill him! Where is he?”
“—is dead. I killed him.”
He stumbled, surprised, and glanced around. “Where?”
It took a lot of effort to push through the bloody mind-fog screwing with my thoughts. “Underground. He took me to a secret room and injected me with Scorpion’s Breath. He was going to kill me.”
My legs buckled suddenly, and I fell forward.
Luke caught me. “Briar!”
His hands were warm against my cool flesh. I hoped he wouldn’t ever let go. I didn’t like being this cold. My vision began to fade.
“Something’s wrong,” I mumbled. That’s when I remembered the bullet still embedded in my leg. Silver. It was slowly killing me. I might’ve been able to fight against it, but the combination of the drug that was probably still in me, and the fact that I’d just cut through a dude’s intestines had fractured my mind.
“Briar!” He looked me over again. “Don’t close your eyes. Just stay with me.”
My lids grew heavy as darkness threatened to pull me under.
“Stop being so damn stubborn and obey me!” he growled, and shook me. “Where are you hurt?”
I forced my eyes open, but it was as if barbells had been taped to my lids. I forced them open. I couldn’t give up like this. Dominic, the sick bastard, still had to pay.
Using the last of my reserves, I managed to whisper, “Silver bullet. Leg.”
In the distance, I heard shouting. Someone was coming toward us. Any chance I had of covering up Silas’ death was gone. Everyone would know I had killed him. The moment might’ve been bitter sweet, but it was ruined when the whole world turned black.
Chapter 47
I was being carried, even though I couldn’t feel anyone touching me. It was as if I was floating.
I definitely felt dead.
My eyelids were heavy, but I managed to blink them open. A dark canopy of trees filled my vision. Faint moonlight twinkled between the empty spaces, shining like silver beneath a water’s murky surface. I couldn’t keep my eyes open, and they fluttered shut.
There were voices. Two? Three people? Their words made no sense but by their tones, they were frantic.
I sifted through my fractured memories. Mostly all I saw was red. It made me want to vomit. Something had happened. Something bad, and yet good all at the same time.
“Hold on, Briar!”
My eyes opened briefly. Luke s
tared down at me, his face pale and sweaty. He looked so worried and scared. I’d never seen him like this before. I didn’t like it.
That’s when I remembered my fist buried into Silas’ stomach. My eyes closed again, wanting to forget the brutal violence caused by my hands.
But Silas was dead.
Hadn’t I wanted that?
I did, I just didn’t realize my revenge would include such horror. Maybe I should die. I had done no worse than Silas.
But if I died, then Dominic would live.
“Fight this, babe. I need you.”
By sheer will, I pried my eyes open. I couldn’t go just yet, not while Dominic still breathed.
Luke was smoothing my hair back while talking to someone at my feet. I could feel pressure, but no pain.
With limited faculties, all I could do was think. I skipped over the horrible memories—I had too many of those—and thought of the last several months. I had found my uncle, someone I thought was dead. I had discovered I was capable of making friends and even had begun to trust others again. That alone was huge for me.
I thought of Lynx and how sweet and kind she was. Someone like her needed to be protected from the evils of the world. Ryder, too. They were so much alike. Maybe I’d set them up, if I ever got the chance.
Then there was Samira. Hard and dead but with a soft and human center. There was so much I could learn from her. I think she knew more than anyone else what it felt like to be a monster.
My mind wandered to Roma, the witch with secrets, but the good kind, I thought. She looked out for me and that was a good feeling. It’s what a mother would do.
Finally, I thought of Luke. I’d never felt such powerful feelings for anyone else in my life. He could be the real deal, if only we could both let go of the past. We could heal each other, and hopefully screw each other too.
There’s no way I could die now. Not when life was just getting good.
A sharp pain in my leg broke through my body’s numbness, and a scream tore through my mouth. Black splotches crowded my vision again. I gripped Luke’s hand hard.
