MaxThe first I do when I arrive is go straight to my room. I wash all the blood off me and while I’m in the shower, I think about how I’m going to broach the subject with Veronica in a way that’ll make her confess to everything. I don’t know what to expect from this conversation with her. I don’t know if she’ll deny going to the prison or if she’ll tell me the truth. Her going to the prison is strange because I don’t see what her purpose there was. To make matters worse, the warden gave me that cryptic message. I have to find out what this is all about and it can’t wait. While my Gamma is looking for Rayne, I’ll resolve this issue with Veronica. Attacking the prison will turn out to be costly for me, but I’ll deal with the consequences. Right now, I’m not worried enough to care. They can all come for me. They can start a war, if they wish. I’ll gladly fight it. All I know is that I’m not going to let them slide for what they did to Rayne. Not a chance. I rest my forehead against
RayneWe’re running through the woods as fast as we can in hopes that we can reach AmberMane before sunrise. Despite my pain, I’m also on the run. I can’t give anyone the burden of having to carry me when we’re trying to be as quick as possible. My father keeps checking with me and asking if I’m alright to run and Victor does the same, but I guarantee them that I am. Getting away from that place was an immense relief as it was, which made me feel better instantly. I knew I wasn’t going to return, not if I could help it. The more distance we put between ourselves and the prison, the more the memories of what I endured in that place haunt me. They keep flashing before my eyes, blinding me momentarily. Rage accompanies these memories, and as I run, I make a promise to myself that I’ll never again allow myself to be weak. I’ll never be treated that way ever again. I’ll make myself stronger. Better. I feel like I’ve been given a second chance of life because the truth was that I was g
RayneMy father left first thing in the morning because he needs to be back in Iron in case the court officials come searching for me. If he’s gone, there’s a higher chance that he’s involved with my escape. I wake up feeling much better. Although my body is still sore—especially from the running—I can stand and use the bathroom, and I make it downstairs alone for breakfast. Without assistance, I mean. Darla is the only one at the table. I don’t ask her where the rest of her family is. I have a hearty breakfast and feel even better afterward. I didn’t think I’d have much appetite after what happened but I guess I was wrong. “Is there anything else you want?” she asks me gently. I gulp down the rest of my tea, which is lukewarm by now, and say, “I want to start training to be a warrior.”She nods slowly and I put my cup down. She nods again after observing me for a few beats and says, “I understand completely. It’ll do you a whole lot of good. I suggest you rest first, no? Training
RayneI had to lie to Victor and tell him that I didn’t see or hear anyone. If I had, MoonWater’s Gamma would be hunted down and frankly, I don’t see why he needs to die. I don’t think him knowing where I am poses a threat to me, for some reason. If they wanted me dead, I’d be dead already and anyway, there’s also the fact that Max won’t want me dead when my life is tied to his. I don’t think he has any intention of dying. I haven’t stopped thinking about him since the Gamma left. I can’t believe that he killed the warden and that he’s at war with GrayLeaf. I also don’t know what to make of anything else anymore, but one thing is certain: he still lied to me and he was still having an affair with Veronica this whole time. I can’t allow myself to forget that, regardless of how I feel. The bond wants me to love him, and that’s what it’s doing right now. But I can’t love him. How could anyone love someone who’s hurt them beyond repair?The Gamma told me that he always believed I was in
MaxI've lost track of time. Fighting in a battlefield seems to have that effect. I don't know how much time has passed or what the time even is. I’m covered in blood and sweat, some of it mine and some of it belonging to someone else, someone who’s most probably already dead by now. I’ve also lost track of how many soldiers I’ve killed single-handedly. I lost count when the first fifty fell. That was a long time ago. Rather, it felt like a long time ago. I’m so focused on ending this that it’s all that’s occupying my mind. We’re fighting right outside my gates. I’m protecting it with flesh and blood. If they win, they go into my pack and burn it all to the ground. GrayLeaf wants to see me crumble. They want everything I’ve ever built and everything my father has built to turn to ash. I won’t let that happen. I’m ready to make sacrifices for that to happen. We were outnumbered in the beginning but now, that number is starting to get even. I have to say that GrayLeaf isn’t a match
MaxI’m pacing my bedroom floor as I wait for her to arrive. The more I think about this, the angrier I get. I don’t want to jump to conclusions but there is no way around it. Now that this idea has occurred to me, it refuses to be forgotten or even dismissed. Veronica. She was at the prison. I don’t know what she told Rayne but it was something that suggested that I betrayed her in some way. Nobody else would have told her that. Only Veronica. I want to know why. I’m going to get to the bottom of this. I’m waiting for over ten minutes and she still doesn’t show up. I don’t know what this means. Is she hiding from me? It makes no sense for her to hide when she’s been trying to speak to me for days to no avail. I’m a minute away from leaving this room and going after her. I’m impatient enough to do it. The door to my bedroom opens. I whirl around and see her standing there, eyeing me in a seemingly innocent way. She says, “You called for me.”“Close the door,” I tell her. “And sit
MaxI start running down the corridor blindly, unsure of where I’m going or what I’m even doing for a few minutes. My head is full of this terrible information that has somehow changed my perception of reality. I wonder if this is how some people feel before they completely lose touch with reality and simply start living life differently from everyone else. I find myself wishing that I could somehow block all of this out and move on. Just forget I even heard this. Knowing that my sister is the villain of my story makes this all the more unfathomable. I stop walking and hold the wall to keep myself upright. Focus is what I need right now. I have to figure out what I’m going to do and how I’m going to get my message to Rayne. She has to know that I never betrayed her. That I would never do that. Now it’s starting to make sense why I couldn’t remember a thing when I woke up the morning after the party. Hell, I don’t even remember why I left the party to begin with. It’s all her fault
Max“Max,” Denise gasps beside me. I say nothing as I watch myself being surrounded by GrayLeaf soldiers. The soldier I sent still has a knife against his neck. His eyes are wide as he looks at me, and soon, they become lifeless as the GrayLeaf soldier stabs him in the neck multiple times. He drops to the ground in a thud. I watch him go down without being able to do a single thing about it. I’ve lost a soldier right in front of me and couldn’t do anything to stop it. “Max,” she says again, this time in a whisper. “You’re surrounded,” one of the soldiers announces. “Surrender now and you won’t have to suffer the consequences.”“Over my dead body,” I tell him. “You’re going to have to kill me if you want me to surrender. That’s the only way I’m going to.”He smiles a crooked smile. Denise inches closer to me, her hands in the air. I try to figure out what to do while simultaneously wondering how the hell they got in here. The gates are closed. My soldiers wouldn’t have let them pas