Kacie
The quiet scraping of the slow unlocking threatened to give send me into full panic mode when the click of the lock sounded. I gulped and braced myself for Ken’s return as the door opened. I never thought I’d say this but I’ve never been so happy to see Clara. I was so relieved I could have cried.
She stood in the doorway, her hand on the doorknob as her eyes scan the room. When they land on me I could swear I saw a hint of pity in her gaze before a cool mask of indifference slipped into place.
She strode over to the bed and leaned down toward me. She gripped my arm and pulled me up until I was sitting. Her eyes scan down my body and a small frown pull down on her lips.
“You look like shit,” Clara says.
My mouth is still full of whatever material he used to silence me. I could respond with all the vile words I want to throw at he
Kacie“Goldfish!” She yells competitively. “I win!” She says triumphantly.“That’s not how it works,” I say and pick up a card. “You say ‘Goldfish’ when I don’t have a card and then it’s my turn to ask if you have a card I need.”“Bullshit,” she sighs. I don’t miss the doubtful look she shoots me. Her shoulders slump and she sinks into her chair.“Do you have an 8?” I ask as I stare intently at the back of her cards.Without checking her cards Clara looks at me for a few seconds before answering, “No.”I try hard to keep the smile that threatens to take over my face.“Are you lying?” I ask.“No, goldfish,” she says matter-of-factually, and her eyes flic
Kacie The door opens and Ken and his beta walk in, blood coating their shirts and arms. Ken’s jacket is thrown over his shoulder and his hair is gelled back. Their faces are bruised and I love knowing someone got a good punch in. He isn’t smiling as his gaze lands on Clara and me, taking in the box of cards and the fixed room. His gaze found mine and I swallowed. He was stalking my way. He didn’t say anything. I held my ground and returned his gaze. I wasn’t about to back down and I wasn’t going to revert to who I was. His strong fingers clamped down on my forearm and he turned me around. I bit back a gasp. His grip was tight and unrelenting. Anger radiated off of his body as he leaned down until our noses touched. He didn’t say anything and that sent shivers shooting down my body to the tips of my toes. “Yield,” he demanded. I ignored
Kacie We sit in silence for I don’t know how long but we don’t move. There isn’t anything but the sound of the waves outside and my haggard breathing. “I will hurt you,” Clara warned. “Don’t try and fight me.” I nod to let her know I’m not going to fight back. I can barely breathe right now, I don’t think I could handle another fight with her so soon after this beating. With a sigh, she stood and turned to leave. I fought to swallow the lump in my throat. It felt like sawdust and wouldn’t go down. I took a deep breath gasping for breath and it felt like I was being stabbed repetitively in the side. I used my hand to grip my side tenderly hoping that if I pressed on where it hurt, the pain may subside. It didn’t. Panic sets in when the image of me lying on the floor for hours or days pass through my mind. The thought of being left here
Kacie “Do not repeat what I just said and don’t respond. The mutt is close by and may be able to pick up what we’re saying. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth and just keep quiet about it,” Clara says. I close my mouth and nod so she’ll know I heard her. When my hands are freed I grip the burnt flesh that was damaged from the wolf’s bane. I can’t believe she took them off. How long before she puts them back on? It could take hours for my body to start recovering. Will I have them off long enough for Athena to come back? Goddess, I hope so. Staring down at me she holds a slender finger to her lips before backing up. Her cautious eyes warn me as she drops her hand down to her side. “Sit there and relax. I’ve done my part,” she says and takes a deep breath. “I’ll be watching you until your Alpha relieves me of my duty.” I scowl at that.
KacieMy whole body screams no, no, no and all I want to do is shove him away. I want to bite, kick, fight him. I want to do everything I can to put space between us and get away from him but I don’t let my face show what I’m feeling.Instead, I stay still and try my best to give him a seductive look. I’ve never practiced looking seductive or even know how to try and attempt ‘fuck me’ eyes. I doubt I’m doing it right but he must find whatever I’m doing appealing because his hand grips my neck and he forces my lips to his.The door opens and for a moment it stays open. I don’t know whether I hope she stays or goes but before I can make up my mind the door closes and she’s gone.Ken doesn’t even bat an eye, he kisses along my cheek and down my chin. I take deep slow breaths to try and calm my heart and stop myself from throwing up.
KacieClara’s eyes flicker to me.“And maybe things could have been different,” she whispered before she turned back to Ken.“Tell me where she is,” she asks as she stares impassively at Ken. She takes a step forward and Ken flinches.“Now,” she says as a black cloud appears around Ken.Ken’s eyes widen as he stares at the mass of black fog that has surrounded him. He starts shaking his head and tries to take a step back when his movements stop. His eyes dart back to Clara.I can feel my strength returning as I watched the darkness almost completely surround Ken. They were both sidetracked and I had a feeling Clara wasn’t going to hold me anymore.This would be the perfect time to make a run for it but-“Have you always been this terri
KacieThe world stands still and the temperature in the room drops a few degrees. I watch as the wheels turn and Clara starts to grasp what Ken just said. The anger that was blazing in her eyes a second ago is gone as if it’s been extinguished.Ken gulps.I inhale a sharp intake of breath.“Did he just?” Athena whispers.“Yeah,” I reply. “He confirmed my suspicions. It didn’t make sense why he wouldn’t tell her where she was when she kept her side of their deal. I knew something was off. Her sister… is dead.”My eyes trail over Clara’s face and her expression tells me she is in shock. She sways side to side for a second before her brows furrow and she catches herself. She turns her head and stares dazed out the window.When she turns back to f
KacieI stare at my palms and my eyes trail the flames as they lick up my hands and end at my wrists. I haven’t known about this ability for long but during the time I was cuffed, I felt like something was extinguished inside of me. With the flames back, I felt like that missing piece was found.I refuse to look down at what remained of Ken. Instead, I lifted my eyes to Clara who stood in front of me. She’d taken revenge for her sister but now that she had no one left I wondered what she would do. Where would she go?“She is not our problem,” Athena murmured softly. “You have done enough, we have no more ties to the witch.”A loud noise alerted us of movement in the house and I knew the guards were on the move towards us. I stilled to listen to see if I could locate how far or near they were. The floorboards creaked as they slowly made their way down th
My heat aches as the thoughts flit through my mind one after the other. Tears prick the corners of my eyes before filling them. My chest pangs with the need to be wrapped up in his arms. I know without a shadow of a doubt that Jake would do all of those things. He would care for me as he had before. He would look after me as my Beta, my partner, and the father of our child.My soul wept for him, my heart broke for him, and my mind went mad for him. I curled into a ball on the bed and grasped at the sheets as the pain poured from my body. I screamed as it became unbearable and my vision went white. I cried out, my cry turning into a scream, as the door burst open. It slammed against the wall, but still my vision remained impaired.I couldn’t see anyone, but I heard voices. I felt the rush of people around me and hands checking me and prodding my belly. I froze when I felt the warmth of a hand on my shoulder and a familiar scent I didn’t think I would ever smell again. I threw my head ba
Kacie I want to bury my head into his chest but I can’t. I can’t bring myself to look away. I continue staring at him as Viktor lays down by his side. He props himself up and stares down at him. The love and sadness in his eyes blend into one. His gaze darts back and forth between the two of us. A sad smile pulling at the corners of his lips. “I love you,” I whisper. “I love you,” Viktor says quietly. We shared stories, we cried, we laughed. I told him about one of the mornings after my Luna Ceremony when I woke up and found Jake naked across from me. He flexed and tried to show off. Viktor chuckled and shared a precious memory from when they first kissed. It was sweet and I wished I could have seen the look in Jake’s eyes if he had heard Viktor tell the story. The next memory Viktor shared with me was the look on Jake’s face when I walked out that first day in Ken’s house. When he smelled me and knew I was his mate, he only trusted Jake to be alone with me. That’s why he let him
Kacie“I have one request,” I said.“Anything my love,” Viktor said.“I don’t want him in the lobby. I want him in our room. Can we do that?” I asked.“We can do whatever we want Kacie,” Viktor answered.In the olden days, it was common for our kind to spend the dead’s last night with them. It was like a ritual, we clean their bodies with a cloth, wash their hair, and clothe them in something loose. After the ritual the body is placed in the living room or the pack lobby if the dead was an alpha. The family would then bring their blankets and pillows to sleep in the front on the couch or the floor. It’s the last night you get with the dead. It’s a form of closure and was done away with one hundred years ago, or at least that’s what Viktor told me. When he told me about it I clung to the knowledge and asked him if we could do it too. He admitted that he mentioned it to gouge my reaction. We looked into each others eyes and knew without a doubt that we needed to do it.It may have been
Kacie “I’ve failed. I failed and lost him,” Viktor said. The weight on his shoulders was large enough to make anyone crumble beneath it. Still, my mate stood firm. My heart broke for the mate we’d lost, but it soared knowing that he was safe. Instead of keeping my thoughts to myself I would make sure he knew. I would make sure he knew every day how much I loved him, how much I needed him in my life. I would make sure he knew how loved he was, but first, he needed to face Jake. He needed to come to grips with it as I have. He needs to make peace with it, so he can move forward. We both needed this. “Come here,” I said. I watched as he mentally drew back, away from me as if he would hurt me. As if he thought he’d lose me too if he touched me. I reached for him, my outstretched hand open in offering for him to take it. He had to take it. Viktor stared at my hand for a moment before his eyes darted to Jake on the ground between us. Desperation clear in his eyes when he looked back at m
Kacie In an attempt to feel whatever warmth Jake had left I pushed my body as close as I could to his. I ignored the unevenness of his body, the difference between it now and what I remembered. Everything in me came flowing out as my hair flowed out all around me. My hands grasped at his muddy shirt and my heart broke for the second time today. Jake’s body was hard and the finality of it pulled the sheet from beneath my feet. I was no longer able to deny the crushing reality. The warmth was seeping out of him as quickly as the clouds had formed above us. Footsteps squelched behind me announcing Viktor’s presence. My pain vibrated in his chest as he stopped behind me. It was enough to pull him away from mourning his sister. The curiosity outweighing the fear led him to me. I could feel his pain as he felt mine. I knew when he saw who lay beneath me because he made an unintelligible sound behind me. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to lift my head. I couldn’t look back at him. I couldn’
KacieI’ll hurt you.I don’t want to hurt you.I don’t want to hurt him. I wouldn’t hurt him. The urge, no, the need to make sure I don’t hurt him runs through my veins as the idea of burning him strikes me hard in the chest. It’s like an ice cold bucket of water and I feel like I’ve jolted awake from a dream. The flames protest against my will as my mind refuses to hurt the man in front of me. For the first time since becoming aware I look at him. My eyes wander over black hair, a sharp jaw, and full lips. Dark tired eyes filled with worry stared down at me. My mate reaches for me a second time and this time I extinguish the flames with the flick of my wrist as realization dawned on me.My mate.He’s okay.He’s alive.If my mate is here than why am I so hurt?My does my heart bleed?I lean in toward him and his hand gently grazes over my cheek, his shoulders relaxed, and relief stared back at me. I was safe. I was in one piece. I had survived. If he hadn’t gotten my attention things
Kacie My father’s breathing is haggard and strained beneath me. At my words he roars angrily. He’s weak, useless below me, unable to get away. When I straighten my back, lift myself up, and stare down at him. I take a moment to look over the expression of fear and regret in his eyes. I don’t bother with emotion because right now, I feel nothing. There’s only a high, a haze of bliss from his acceptance. It’s settled over me as I hover over him. The power of taking what I want, getting the revenge I sent out for. I’m hurting him, torturing him, killing him. I focus on this as he stares up at me. “All of this will do nothing. You may have killed my friends and you may have won the fight between you and I, but there’s one you haven’t and can’t win. You can’t win against death,” Charles chokes. I don’t want to hear anymore. I don’t want to hear the truth drip from his lips like poisoned honey. I won’t let him win and I won’t let his words get to me. I won’t change my mind and I won’t hea
Charles yanked his arm back but I didn’t let go. I did the opposite, I dug my nails in as he pulled, my claws dug into his skin and ripped. Blood pooled and burned, he yanked again this time, ignoring the bite of my nails as they pierced deeper. He wrenched his arm free, or what was left of it. I could feel his skin under my claws, chunks of meat between my fingers, as he cried out in pain. I take a moment to enjoy my work. His once scorched pink skin had turned black, blood ran down his arm and dripped to the floor. Charles turned to glare at me, and for the first time since meeting him, fear stares back at me. He clutched his injured arm and I watch as his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows nervously. Sweat pools on his temple and slides down his brow. I chuckle at this small victory. He must have thought that I would be an easy kill. The young girl he once knew died a long time ago. Did he think that his words would have weakened me? Did he think that his words would have an affect
KacieNow that I knew Viktor would be okay, I could give in to what I’ve wanted since seeing the devastation the Elders caused. Now that I knew that Clara would have Viktor, I felt the opposite of what I’ve before at the thought of them together alone. I felt relief. She would make sure he was safe. I turned from Clara and focused on that man I once called father.Answering to the call of my growing flames I dashed forward. I promised to give them what they wished soon. The need for blood, for sliced skin, and the smell of burning flesh drove me forward. I would have what I desired, I would have my vengeance, my revenge. My anger fanned the flames and they grew hotter than they ever have before. I screamed out in anguish as I rushed toward the man who should have been the father I deserved. He was nothing but a disappointment.Tears run down my cheeks before they dry up and evaporate. I don’t cry for him or what I’m going to do, no, I’ll revel in my father’s death. The tears continue