by Elle Scott
Sadie peered into the bowl. “Porridge? Our ideas of peace offerings are wildly different.”
She meant it as a joke but there was no joy in her tone.
Sebastian shrugged and placed the bowl on the ground in front of her. “Hey, if you stayed in my loft, I’d be cooking you waffles or pancakes with berries and jam. But, out here—”
If she stayed in his loft? Why would she ever stay in his loft? A flush of heat fell over her. Sadie took a sip of cocoa to hide the blood that colored her cheeks.
“Anyway,” Sebastian interrupted himself. “I’m really sorry for snapping last night. You didn’t deserve that. It just… it hurts talking about it.”
“I know you didn’t mean anything by it.” Sadie rested the mug next to her breakfast and took her sweater off. She threw it at her tent and sighed. “That’s better.”
Sebastian frowned. He looked across to Imogen and Summer, huddled by the fire with their jackets on. “You’re not cold?”
Sadie shook her head and picked up the porridge. She sniffed it and the oatmeal smell drifted through her nostrils and instantly made her tummy rumble. Maybe she was ready for breakfast. She shoved a spoonful into her mouth.
Sebastian chuckled. “Oh, the things I’m finding out about you, Shorty. You’re really something.”
As she let the taste savor on her tongue a little, she stared at him. His eyes twinkled and she felt he meant to test her. But she had no inclination to flirt back. She just wanted to learn more about him, too.
She swallowed and said, “When you’re ready to tell me, I’m here.”
Sebastian clenched his jaw and nodded. He scooped a spoonful porridge and lifted it to his mouth. He held it there for a moment before dropping it back into the bowl. “It’s my dad.”
“Oh… ah…” Sadie stuttered. She never expected him to actually tell her right then and there.
Sebastian gave a quick sad smile. He placed his bowl on the ground and kept his gaze down, pulling at the laces on his shoes. “In junior year, almost two years ago now, I found out that he was leading a double life.”
Sadie immediately spun to face him. As she turned, dots of light crossed her vision as though her brain couldn’t quite keep up with the body’s movement. She blinked slowly a few times, waiting for the feeling to pass.
When she’d regained her composure, she repeated, “A double life?”
Still tugging on his laces, Sebastian glanced up. “He was a realtor, so frequent trips weren’t rare. We were used to it, Mom never questioned him. But those business trips to Seattle were actually visits with a separate family. A whole separate family. Kids and all.”
“Wow.” Was all Sadie could manage. But she could understand then, why Imogen didn’t like his idea to see their dad.
“Apparently, he hadn’t been with the other woman since Immy was born. He swore he’d been faithful to mom since then. But the damage had kinda been done and Mom kicked him out. He lives in his cabin, permanently alone.”
There it was, the vulnerability she’d seen hints of before, now on full display. Sadie reached to comfort him but stopped short with her hand hovering above his knee. Would he even want her comfort?
Pulling her hand back to her lap, she said, “I’m so sorry. That kind of thing would change anyone.”
Sebastian shrugged. He leaned forward, resting his elbows to his knees. “It wasn’t so much the secret that broke me. It was mom. She fell apart. She couldn’t handle the thought of, well, all of it. She lost all sense of who she was.”
“That would’ve been hard for you to watch. With no other adult to help you make sense of it yourself.”
Sebastian looked up and maintained eye contact with Sadie for a good five seconds. It felt like five years. She cringed at herself for saying such platitudes, like she was reading a script direct from psychology 101. She was about to say sorry, that she couldn’t possibly understand how he felt, but then he nodded.
“It was hard. I mean, we might see Dad once or twice a year. He doesn’t even know she started drinking.” Sebastian returned his eyes to his laces, twisting them so tight around his finger the tips went white. “It was a binge session here and there at first, but it didn’t take long to become a daily habit. Now, she can’t even look at me without alcohol in her system… she says I look too much like him.”
Sadie reached for him then, she let her hand cup his knee. He didn’t even flinch. “That’s rough.”
“I try to help her. Cook. Clean. But it’s hard being near her. I renovated the barn and made it my own, somewhere to be far enough away from her but close enough to Imogen.”
Sadie’s heart fled into overdrive. The whole thing made her feel ill. How his family could have been lied to that whole time. That he had siblings out there he’d never met. The responsibility he felt for his mom and Imogen. She wanted to tell him that he was amazing, how well he’d handled everything. Especially becoming a Fallen and not letting his anger and pain control him. But she couldn’t find the words.
No, that wasn’t it. Not only couldn’t she find the words, she also couldn’t find oxygen. Her whole throat had zipped shut. She gasped as sweat dripped like rain from her temples. She was hot. So hot.
“Shorty?” Sebastian asked, pressing the back of his hand against her forehead. “You don’t look so good.”
In front of her, Sebastian’s face blurred. His frown deepened under the blobs of sky blue which should have been his eyes.
“I’m tired,” she mumbled, patting across the ground as if reaching for a pillow. Her hand brushed up against the mug, tipping it over. Hot cocoa coated the ground.
A chill swooped upon her, like a million cubes of ice tracing her bare skin from her head to her toes. Darkness clouded in around her. And, the last thing she felt was strong arms around her and the vibration of Sebastian’s voice as he yelled, “Leila!”
Leila
Leila had never heard anyone call her name like that before. Sebastian’s voice rang through the morning fog and shook the core of her being. She gasped, as though his own hands had gripped her throat.
Sebastian knelt over Sadie, hands cupping the back of her neck as she laid on the ground in front of her tent. His eyes blazed neon as he screamed, “Hurry up!”
The order pushed her into motion. She darted across to them, her lion ready to align. In Sebastian’s hold, under the shade of her tent, Sadie was unconscious. Her cheeks were red and her light hair began sticking to her forehead from all the sweat. She was breathing, that was the main thing.
Kiko and Kale rushed to join them.
“I’ve seen this before,” Kale said. “This is what you were like, Leila. When you got sick right before the mark appeared.”
“You really think so?” Leila peered down at her best friend who suddenly looked so small and fragile. The thought of Sadie being marked against her will crushed her soul.
“What’s going on?” Riley leaned over Leila’s shoulder.
“I agree,” Kiko said, sadly. “She’s definitely in incubation. And considering the timing of her fever, she was marked in the last 12 hours.”
Leila put her palm to her heart. If she’d been marked in the last 12 hours, that meant— “Someone here marked her?”
Kiko swiveled on her heels and nearly knocked Leila over as she whizzed past, marching across the camp to her tent.
Riley took no time to point the finger. He clutched Sebastian’s collar and dragged him to his feet. Kale was quick to catch Sadie’s head as she rolled out of Sebastian’s lap.
“Riley!” Leila cried, falling to her knees to check Sadie was all right.
“What’s your plan?” Riley demanded, scrunching Sebastian’s shirt in his fists.
Sebastian stepped back until Riley lost grip. He raised his hands in surrender, “Not me, bro.”
“Don’t call me bro,” Riley said through gritted teeth. A threatening blue shimmered across his brown eyes.
Before he did something he’d regret, Leil
a reached for him, clutching at his wrist. “We should move her into the tent.”
Riley darted his angry eyes to Leila, and then to Sadie. He blinked a few times, face softening. Nodding, he said, “Okay.”
The two of them carried Sadie into the tent, Sebastian was smart enough to walk away. Leila and Riley sat on either side of Sadie’s sleepy body. Fighting back tears, Leila brushed Sadie’s sticky hair away from her forehead.
“We’ll fix this,” Riley said.
Leila squeezed her eyes shut. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What do you mean?”
As she opened her eyes, a lone tear escaped. “With Sebastian. What the hell was that?”
Riley jerked his head back as though confused by the question. “He marked Sadie.”
“I don’t think he would—”
“Leila. Please. He’s a Fallen.”
Turning her attention back to Sadie, Leila gave a frustrated sigh. She didn’t have proof that Sebastian wasn’t a Fallen and there were only so many times she could talk about him saving Sadie’s life. It was just a gut feeling, something inexplicable that told her there was good inside him.
“Get your hands off me.”
“Don’t think so, buddy.”
Leila rushed out of the tent, Riley close behind her. Sebastian had half-shifted, brazen blue eyes wide with terror. Kale had him in a choke hold. He didn’t even have to shift at all to be able to keep Sebastian restrained.
“What are you doing?” Imogen screamed. “You’re killing him.”
Kale’s face dropped. He loosened his hold slightly. “I’m sorry but your brother is a Fallen.”
“Kale!” Leila cried, rushing over. She stood opposite them, and pleaded, “Let him go.”
“Can’t do that, Sis. I’m taking orders.” Kale clenched his jaw as Sebastian writhed beneath his grasp.
A tent rustled and Kiko appeared holding a duffel bag. She placed the bag on the ground and as her eyes met Leila’s, she rolled her bottom lip out in sympathy. “Sorry. He has to go. We shouldn’t have allowed a Fallen to be here in the first place.”
“No, but…” Leila recalled Sebastian’s frightened eyes from the day before, when he told her Sadie was missing. There was no way he marked Sadie. He cared too much.
“Leila,” Kiko said softly. “You need to face the truth. We can’t be hopeful about things like this. Sadie’s been marked.”
“What?” Summer broke out of her tent. “What does that mean? She’s been marked?”
“It means…” Kiko paused to let all the air out of her lungs. “That someone here is a traitor and a Fallen.”
“I think the answer is obvious,” Riley said, moving next to Leila. He stared at Sebastian.
Sebastian shook his head, looking at one person only. Imogen. He mouthed the words, “It wasn’t me.”
Riley scoffed. “He can’t even defend himself. Guilty much?”
A wry smile reached Sebastian’s mouth as he turned his attention to Riley. “What about Riley’s bad sister, who happened to miraculously save the girls? She’s a Fallen, right? She touched Sadie.”
Kiko walked right up to him, her steely gaze unwavering as she said, “Not within the last twelve hours she didn’t. Did you?”
Sebastian flared his nostrils. He thought for a moment, then his eyes fluttered as though caught out in a lie.
“That’s what I thought. You have to go.” Kiko stepped back and flicked her wrist.
Kale tightened his grasp, letting the crook of his elbow press tighter around Sebastian’s neck. He leaned toward Kiko, and whispered, “You want me to…?” He finished the sentence with a tilt of his head.
Kiko glanced over her shoulder at Leila, then to Imogen. She flipped her head back to Kale. “Maybe just a banishment today.”
Leila’s stomach churned. She knew exactly what Kale had insinuated. Banishment sounded a lot better than the alternative.
“Bye Sebastian,” Riley said with ice.
Kale released Sebastian and shoved him toward the cars. “Time to go, Fallen.”
Sebastian spun around and scoffed, “Seriously? After everything I’ve done to keep her safe? You’re just going to kick me out?” He turned to Leila. “You get me, right? I wouldn’t hurt Sadie, I promise on my own life.”
Leila didn’t know how to respond. She was done arguing with Riley about it. And now Kale and Kiko were on the hating Sebastian bandwagon, there wasn’t much she could say or do to change their minds.
When Leila didn’t answer, Sebastian threw his arm in the direction of Sadie’s tent. “Ask her. She’ll tell you that I didn’t do it.”
“Sebastian,” Kiko said, gently cupping his elbow and urging him toward his car. “Don’t make a scene. You need to go.”
A high-pitched cry billowed into the air. “Stop it. He’s not a criminal. Stop treating him like a criminal!”
Imogen ran to her brother, clutching at his wrist, trying with all her might to hold him back. With his other hand, Sebastian cupped her jaw. He pulled her into him, one arm wrapping around her shoulders.
From the edge of the camp, hiding behind a low flicker of flame, Gabby chortled. “Seriously girl, wake up. Your brother is a monster.”
Imogen peered up into the eyes of her big brother, all color gone from her face. Leila could feel the confusion and heartbreak from where she stood. She thought that was cruel, even for Gabby.
“Like you?” Sebastian hissed in return. As Gabby’s cocky grin faded, he continued, “Yeah, I heard Sadie say you were a Fallen. I already knew, though. I could see it in your eyes when you half-shifted in the library. It hurts doesn’t it? Shifting is like a thousand needles piercing your soul with poison.”
Gabby swallowed and nervously eyed those around the camp.
“Well, she’s different,” Riley said beside Leila.
“How?” Sebastian re-gripped Imogen, making sure she was tucked well under his arm. “Tell me golden boy, how are her and I different?”
“For starters. She’d never kill her Alpha.” Riley’s jaw twitched, as though he wasn’t quite sure he believed his own words.
Leila knew though. She knew Gabby wouldn’t kill anyone. And she knew… well, at least hoped, that Sebastian wouldn’t mark anyone without their permission.
She stepped between Riley and Sebastian, hands splayed in surrender. “I just… I think maybe the more we argue the more they win. You know, those who actually want to hurt Sadie. Everyone here wants to keep her safe. Right?”
“Right,” Sebastian agreed immediately.
Riley nodded. He gave a hesitant glance at Sebastian. “But—”
“No buts,” Leila interrupted. “We’re all in this together.”
“All right,” Kiko huffed. “I’ve said it before, you’re very sweet Leila. But sugar doesn’t kill the Fallen.” She pointed at Sebastian’s car. “You can leave, or we can tie you up.”
“We’ll go,” Sebastian mumbled, leading a crying Imogen to his car. When he reached the driver door, he turned back and pointed at Leila, then to Sadie’s tent. “Keep her safe!”
“I will,” Leila replied.
As his car rolled down the gravel track, and Summer’s sobs echoed around camp, Kiko knelt in front of her duffel bag. She demanded, “I need everyone’s blood.”
Riley stepped forward. “You think one of us marked her? Shouldn’t you have gotten Sebastian’s blood first?”
For once Leila agreed with Riley. But she wasn’t ready to argue with Kiko about it. She rolled her lips together, pressing them tight and forcing herself to remain silent.
“The Fallen are great at deception, it could be anyone.” Kiko pulled out a vial of vervain cream in one hand and a pin in the other. She pricked her finger and dripped blood into the vial. She walked over to Riley and lifted the pin. He held out his hand willingly and Kiko pricked the end of his finger. She moved onto Gabby. “We will all put our blood in the ointment, if it doesn’t cure her then we will know it wasn’t anyon
e left here.”
Leila let Kiko take her blood. “Will the cure work before the mark appears?”
Kiko nodded, moving onto Kale. She held the vial up and swirled the contents at eye level. “Jay is on a perimeter check, but I turned him, so if it was him who betrayed us, my blood will still make it work. Leila, come with me.”
She snapped her fingers around the vial and headed for Sadie’s tent. Leila hurried to follow her and the two of them entered Sadie’s tent. They each sat down on either side of the sleeping beauty.
“Check for a rash,” Kiko said, lifting Sadie’s arm.
Leila began with Sadie’s wrist, looking for any sign of red or discoloration. She checked her forearm, her elbow, her bicep. Up on Sadie’s shoulder, in the groove between bone and neck, Leila noticed a slight inconsistency.
“Here?” she asked, pointing to three faint bumps.
Kiko peered over Sadie and spotting them she returned to the ointment. She dipped her fingers into the vial and coated Sadie’s neck in cream. Staring at Sadie’s neck, Kiko wiped her fingers on the side of the tent. “She should wake up.”
Leila watched and waited. Remembering how the cure worked for Morgan a few months ago, Leila expected Sadie to open her eyes within seconds. But Sadie remained the same, sweaty forehead and labored breath.
Kiko slumped back. “I’m sorry. It must have been Sebastian. He’s obviously working with Tessa.”
Leila nodded to appease Kiko. Not for one second did she believe he did it. She knew she was stubborn, but there was obviously something they’d missed.
“We’ve got some more pruning to do,” Kiko said, rolling to her feet. “Come on.”
Leila watched Kiko leave the tent. Glancing back at Sadie’s neck covered in cream, she whispered, “Wake up, Sades. Tell us who did it.”
As she left the tent, Riley stared at her with questioning eyes. She shook her head, eyes falling on Kiko as she marched toward Riley. In one fluid motion, Kiko threw the vial into the dying flames and clutched Riley’s wrist.
Riley winced as Kiko tightened her grip, leaning closer to him. She hissed whispers that Leila couldn’t quite catch, and Riley’s gaze drifted to Gabby. From behind Kiko, Leila could see the look of fear in his eyes.
