7

JUSTIN

“Asta…” I groaned, guilt washing over me.

“I'd hoped it was a lie, hoped they hadn't gotten to you too –”

“Asta, Asta please, it's not –”

“It's not what I think? So I'm dreaming and you aren't really married to her?”

“Asta I had to.” I began walking toward my room, sure I didn't want to have this conversation here, the walls had ears and eyes. “You have to believe me when I say I did this for Audrey, I –”

“You married her murderer for her ?” Asta screeched. “Justin, have you lost your mind?”

“Yes. Yes Asta I have lost my mind. I miss my mate so much it has driven me over the edge.” I settled onto my bed in slow motion.

My words seemed to have shut her up and I decided to forge on. Asta would understand. She was one of the few people who actually understood my pain. She'd lost her sister too.

“It's keep your friends close but your enemies closer, Asta.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “The closer she is to me, the harder I know I can hurt her. And I want to hurt her Asta.” I said with a passion. “I can't ever love another. You know that. Audrey was the only one for me and I agreed to all this to be able to avenge her.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

“Asta?” I called gently.

I heard her sniff over the phone.

“I–”

“Look,” I stopped her, as gently as possible. “I know it's a bit much to take in right now. Let's meet up soon? We could just hang out for a little while and I'd explain things better.” I offered, heart in my throat.

She sighed, the sound breathy and raggedy. Only goddess knew how long she'd been crying. I felt a sharp prick in my chest, hurt that I'd been the one to make her feel betrayed.

“F– fine.” She uttered from the other end. “Where should we meet?”

I suddenly recalled the dead girls and a layer of goose flesh covered my arms as I realised Asta fit roughly into their description.

“N– no, I'll pick you up. You have to be caref–”

I suddenly heard my mother's voice right outside my room. That tone… – it was like alpha tone, but for the mate of the Alpha. I hadn't heard my mother use that tone in a while. I was suddenly on my feet.

“Asta, I'm sorry I'd have to call you back.” I muttered absent-mindedly and chucked my phone in my pocket, yanking my door open.

I stopped short as I came face to face with my mum and– my blood chilled and my lips curled in a snarl – Astrid.

They were standing too close to the door for comfort. I immediately began to connect the dots. Had Astrid been eavesdropping and my mother had caught her?

“What's going on here?” I demanded, unable to stop my voice from descending into an angry growl.

My mother gave me a level look.

“It is nothing.” She said flatly in that tone. Indicating no further questions should be asked.

I clenched my jaw as I looked down at Astrid who was standing between my mum and I, looking for all the world like a piece of property caught between two warring countries. Her eyes were big and round as usual and they were darting between my mother and I.

I remembered who I'd just been having a conversation with, and why. My hand twitched and I felt my jaw tick with suppressed anger. No. I wasn't going to let her get off easy.

I reached for her the same moment my mother did and yanked her backward immediately out of my mum's grip.

My mother blinked. “Jus–”

“You'll forgive me mother,” I said with the worst rendition of a plastic smile ever, “I must have a word with my… wife”

Astrid immediately flinched at the venom packed way in which I uttered the word. I didn't wait for my mother to respond and immediately dragged her into my room, my claws slowly extending and digging sharply into her skin.

She sucked in a breath and yelped as I dug the claws in harder in a haze of anger. I slammed the door shut and threw her against it, seeing red. In an instant my hands were wrapped around her delicate looking throat and squeezing.

My entire body vibrated with the anger I felt. With the pain and betrayal I'd felt every day since that fateful evening I'd found her standing over my sister and lover's dead body.

I'd done my best to control myself around her all this time. But in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to wrangle life out of her. I growled against her face, revelling in the sight of her bulging eyes and purpling face. She sputtered and squirmed, wriggling against me and trying to claw my hands away from her throat. I only squeezed harder.

Because it would have been easier to hate a stranger… Astrid was no stranger. Astrid had betrayed me worse than a kin. As she gurgled under my hands, every memory we'd shared growing up, played before my eyes, constantly tainted with the blood of my sister on her hands as she'd stood over her that day.

How? How could she have done it? How could she have become so evil and twisted that she'd so brutally murdered someone everyone considered her sister?

I felt a roar bubbling up in my throat and I forced it back down, reducing ever so slightly my grip on her throat so I could demand answers. A tremor ran through my body as I was basically forcing my wolf to get in line. He was thrashing around inside me, clouding my vision. I was sure he was aching to be unleashed upon the hateful bitch.

“What, did I say, about letting people know about us?” I demanded, enunciating every break in the sentence as I struggled to centre myself and not give in to my desire to just snap off her neck.

Despite how much her eyes were bulging, they still had the audacity to look confused. I let out a thick, humourless and dark sound that sounded like laughter. Oh she was good. She had to be the one who told Asta. Who else could it be? How could she be so devilish?

“You disgusting, hateful dog!” I yelled into her face, using her neck as an anchor to slam her repeatedly into the door. “Answer me, or you will not like how I'll get the answer out of you!”

Her body shook and spasmed and tears filled her eyes. Her mouth hung open, her lips moving, with no sound coming out and she continued to claw at my hands around her throat.

I realised she couldn't talk.

With a roar I let go of her, flinging her at the first thing my eyes landed on which was a table. She made a squeaky sound as she flew into and the minute she crashed into it, she yelled like a wounded cat. The table broke beneath the force of the crash but I didn't care. I stalked over to where she was, lying in the rubble and basically coughing up her lungs.

She could die for all I cared. The only thing I cared about was to ensure her death was dragged out and tortuous and as painful as it could possibly be. I bent over her and grabbed her chin, forcing her to face me and look into my eyes which I was sure were blazing with venomous anger.

Her face was completely red and she was struggling to breath but I couldn't care less, I gripped her chin hard, causing her to grab my hand and try to pull it away. Which only made me tighten my grip even more.

I was enjoying this. So much. It gave me great joy destroying her dignity and torturing her like this. She deserved every horrible thing that could ever come to her.

“Get your filthy hands off me and answer my question!” I spat.

Her hands immediately sprang away from my hand, even though I could see clearly that she wanted to continue to pry it off from her chin. She was crying and heaving and shaking her head as she tried to speak, but all she could do was cough and cough. My face wrinkled in disgust and I tightened my grip even more, aching to wrap my hand around her throat again and squeeze life out of her.

I waited for her to speak, staring her down. I could do this all day.

“I– I–” sound finally came out of her mouth.

“Yes?” I demanded, my eyes widening in anger.

She shook her head vigorously.

“No– no– no one!” She begged, “I d– d– didn't t–talk to a– a– anyone!”

I wanted to call her a liar, I wanted to continue to torture her. But it was obvious from the pain in her eyes that she really didn't tell anyone. Unfortunately this didn't abate my anger. It made me even more angry and I had to physically restrain myself from slapping her hard across the face. She was a bitch and a failure. A failure on all fronts! I let go of her chin, pushing her backward, and she landed back in the rubble of broken furniture, trying to support herself with her elbows but I rose to my feet and kicked one of them, causing her to fall completely and cry out in pain.

I seethed as I stared down at her, my breath coming in short bursts and my chest heaving. I wanted to kill her.

Suddenly the bodies of those two girls flashed before my eyes. And on the heels of that, I remembered that she hadn't been with her course mates earlier.

Goddess… she couldn't possibly–

Struggling to control myself from any more acts of violence so I could get coherent answers, I swallowed and demanded,

“Where were you all day? I know that you didn't attend classes.”

She was still lying on the floor whimpering and I couldn't see her face but at the sound of my question, her trembling body tensed.

Wow…

She didn't say anything though. I took a step closer.

“Astrid. Would you rather I got the answer out of you myself?”

She immediately began whimpering and crawling away from me at that. I grabbed her by her calf and yanked her backward, obviously causing some of the rubble to dig into her skin. She screamed.

“I– I was in an empty class all day!” She yelled, crying out and trying to get her leg out of my grip. I let her go. I could easily confirm her words from CCTV footage.

“What were you doing there?”

“N– nothing.” She cried, “I – I just couldn't attend class.” Her eyes were trained on me now as she sniffled and whimpered and basically begged. “Th– they were after me s– so I had to hi– hide.” She shut her eyes and wept bitterly, her body racking with sobs.

I didn't care. It was good that she was hurt.

“Who?” I demanded.

“A– Audrey's friends.”

I couldn't help but smile. I wasn't the only one who wanted to hurt her, others shared my views.

But she couldn't possibly have been in that class all day. And there had been no murders in this pack until she'd killed Kris and Audrey. And why would two girls suddenly show up dead, mere weeks after she'd returned? Whatever was going on, she was tied to it in some way.

My smile disappeared immediately and I grabbed her arm and yanked her up carelessly, dragging her to the door.

“Get out.”

I pushed her out into the hallway and slammed the door on her face.

“We've got work to do guys.” I immediately sent out a message through the link to my friends.