She looked up at him with swollen eyes. She refused to believe a single word he had spoken, yet the tears gathered stubbornly, threatening to betray her. She forced them back down, she couldn’t cry, not here, not in front of him.Shaking her head, Stephanie pushed herself to her feet. Her voice cracked with determination. “I’m not playing games with you. I need that medicine, and I won’t mind tearing it from your cold hands if I have to.”Blackwood smiled faintly, as though her anger amused him rather than threatened him. “I love the woman you’ve grown into,” he said softly. “You’re just like your mother, strong, determined, fearless.”Stephanie said nothing, her jaw locked, and her fists clenched at her sides.“But sadly,” Blackwood added with a tilt of his head, “those same qualities were what took her life, a shame if they take yours as well.”The words cut into her, but she didn’t flinch. Instead, she slid her foot back, dropping into a stance that carried every ounce of defiance
She stepped back on instinct, trying her best to put as much distance as possible between herself and the man before her.Blackwood raised his hand, the small bundle of tea bags still dangling tauntingly from his fingers. His eyes never left her face all the while, not even for a second.“And by the way," he started and paced shortly. "You have no right to insult me,” he said in a low but sharp voice. “If not for me, you wouldn’t even be standing here today.”Stephanie scoffed bitterly, her arms now folded tightly across her chest as though they might shield her from his word. “You? You played no role in my life, not one.”“I did,” Blackwood pressed, his tone rose slightly. “More than you’ll ever admit.”Her lips curled into a cold smile, and her eyes narrowed at him. “Really? Was it by killing my mother? Or was it by beating me mercilessly every time I slipped up? Or maybe it was when you ran off into the shadows when I needed you the most?”The words cut through the room, sharp and
It was the same voice she had heard not too long ago, the same voice she dreaded, the same person she prayed not to meet.Stephanie froze mid-step. Her breath caught in her throat as her head turned towards the direction of the voice, from the couch not too far away from where she stood. The walls around where he sat could not be seen, darkness swallowed everything in sight.She didn’t need to see his face to know who it was, though, the bitter taste of recognition crawled over her skin, making her stomach turn.She didn’t say a word, nor did he, at least not immediately. The silence stretched on between them, thick and suffocating, the only sound was the faint ticking of the clock somewhere on the wall.Then, at last, his voice broke the silence through the darkness. “Welcome home, my dear.”Stephanie’s jaw clenched. He spoke with the confidence of a man who owns a place, no fear or nerve behind his voice.She drew in a sharp breath before forcing herself to reply. She tried to match
Her mind didn’t stop racing, not when she stepped out of Jace’s mansion, not when she hurried down the steps, not even when she lifted her hand to hail a cab. Every second that passed felt heavier, her heartbeat pounded heavily as fear pressed against her ribs.A cab rolled up in front of her. Stephanie opened the back door and slid in. “Step on it,” she commanded.The driver, a middle-aged man, obeyed instantly, turning back onto the road without any further question. Then, after a while, almost timidly, the man glanced at her through the rearview mirror.“Sorry, but where exactly are we going?”Stephanie blinked, realizing that she hadn’t said anything from the start, she had been so caught up in her thoughts, her fear, that the words never left her lips even though she thought of it a lot. For a moment, she hesitated, staring out the window, debating if she should even say it aloud.The place she had in mind was dreaded among the Pack, barely even whispered about. Going there now,
Meanwhile, as chaos unfolded at one end, a different want grew at another, a completely different kind altogether.An hour earlier, what was meant to be a peaceful night had turned into something ugly. Peter lay in bed, his arm hanging tiredly over Eliana. He had not drifted far into sleep when a loud crack tore through the night, the familiar sound of a gunshot. His entire body tensed, and for a brief moment, he froze, waiting to hear if there would be another. Then the sound echoed again, distant yet sharp enough to spark his instincts to life.Fear stabbed him as the uninvited and unwelcome feeling returned forcefully. He knew that sound too well, and he knew what his former companions were capable of. Slowly, but carefully, he lifted his arm off Eliana so as not to startle her, then slipped out of bed quietly.He scanned the room, as his eyes darted from corner to corner, checking for any sign of threat. His pulse hammered in his ears, and every second that passed seemed longer th
Stephanie and Gabriel both tensed up. They didn’t like the look on Bernard’s face as he spoke. The old man had always been a pillar of calmness, the kind of presence that relaxed even the most chaotic of rooms, but now, there was no steadying force in his expression. His jaw was tight, and his brows were drawn closer than before. His eyes carried a heaviness that neither of them had seen before.Stephanie was the first to react, she took a step forward, as her voice came out measured. “Bernard… tell us how to get the cure.”Bernard’s gaze dropped to the floor as his fingers curled slightly against the edge of the bed beside him. The silence stretched just a second too long, a second that made the room feel smaller, and much more suffocating.His hesitation only made Gabriel more tense. He stepped forward, as his tone carried a different weight to that shown on his face, he nearly commanded him as he spoke. “Bernard, tell me," he said, then calmed a bit when he noticed his tone. "Whate