LOGINHe doesn’t deny it. All this time I thought Penwood was an open grave, or a meeting place for the dead, but it’s never been that. It’s where all my people are. I stick the knife out, urging him not to take one more fucking step closer. Nester regards it with curious eyes, “You would still kill me, after knowing I saved our people?” “My people,” I snap. “And you didn’t save anyone. You turned them into mindless animals in your bitterness. They serve you blindly.” “That may be true, Olivia. But they serve me well.” I want to scream and never stop. How could he do this to humans? The bed feels too intimate to back myself up against, yet there is nowhere else for me to go. Nester stays standing at the edge; hands folded behind his back, neck a little crooked as he waits for my next words. “So what caused you to kill my mother then?” I snarl. “She came to you, didn’t she? After you started enslaving humans?” His face goes grave again, and violent heat floods me. What right does
I should kill him now. I have the chance, so I should take it. But my fingers are trapped around the picture frame. No matter how hard I try to release it, my hands don’t comply. “What is this?” I ask again, unable to hide the warble in my voice. Nester edges closer, the smell of death on him suddenly unbearable. “Maybe you should sit down-” I jerk away from him, toppling onto the bed. “Don’t tell me what to do.” Nester shakes his head. “That is the last thing I will ever do. You are the goddess herself to the people of Penbrook. If anything, you will soon tell them what to do.” His hand clasps my shoulder, “but first you have to listen to me.” The air thins. I struggle to gulp in the right amount of breaths to keep me standing and listening to this asshole. Me? A Goddess? How? And why to them? He gently pries the frame out of my shaky hands, his gaze hazy as he stares at the photo with a thin, reminiscing smile. “We were all so close then,” he starts wistfully, “all so young
It’s like I can feel the mark tattooed into my skin. Something that I haven't noticed in however long suddenly feels hot and heavy on my body. I run my hand over it painfully, as if doing that enough times will eventually rub it off my skin. Maybe by the time the door opens I'll look down at my ankle and see there was nothing there after all. “Ryker,” Hunter says soothingly, “Calm down.” How can I calm down? I'm in the dark. I'm chained to my brothers, and apparently I've been marked by Nester. “No no no no no.” I panic, rubbing harder, faster, trying to get this evil thing off my skin.Fingers snap around my moving hand, and from the slenderness of their touch, I know it's Talon. “Rye, it's okay,” he says gently, but he must think I'm stupid not to hear the tension in his voice. “It's okay for you.” I don't keep the panic out of my tone. “You're not the one with Nester Rist’s mark on your skin.” “Rubbing it isn't going to change anything,” he tries to keep his voice steady. F
The sack over my head comes off, and I stare up at Nester’s hulking frame.Every blood cell in my body freezes. “Miss Blackwood,” he says, “it’s such an honour to have you here.” He’s here. He’s actually in front of me. My brain falters as it tries to think of words to say, but Axel’s low growl beats me to it. Nester doesn't even acknowledge him. “You’ll have to forgive my… methods of getting you here.” Nester raises the sack. “I didn’t know how else to have a formal meeting with you. I’d insisted Everest try to convince you to come, but I guess that was an error on my end. He isn’t always… amicable.” A million responses come to mind, but I can’t get any of them past my lips. This is the man who murdered my mother. This is the reason all the humans other than me are dead. This is my greatest enemy. My biggest threat. And he’s so… polite? “Um,” I start, finally managing to put words together. “Hello.” Nester smiles at me, a full set of white teeth gleaming in the darkness.
As Alex drives down the barren road, one thought loops in my mind: I can’t get warm. It doesn’t matter how many times she turns off the air conditioner, or how thick my jacket is, I’ve been shivering for hours. No, scratch that. I’ve been shivering for days. Since John attacked me. I try hard not to think about that fact, because if those two are connected, then it’s clear that something is very wrong, too wrong for me to handle. “Here,” Alex announces, parking the car by that damn Penwood barrier. The intimidating rock juts out of the stones, practically warning us against entry. For a second, none of us moves. I look to my pack brothers and Liana, each sporting gleaming handcuffs that match mine. They bite. Hard. Digging into my skin in a way that’s sure to leave a mark. Liana lets out a shaky breath. “No turning back now, is there?” “Nope,” the boys and I chorus. Even if there were, I’m not leaving here without Axel and my girl. “Well,” Liana starts, puffing out her ches
“Where are they now?” Axel questions, the first thing he’s asked me in the single hour we’ve been locked up here. I turn to him, as if a sack isn’t covering my head and stopping me from seeing him, “Alex went to get them 45 minutes ago. They should be here any minute from now. Once they arrive, it’ll be easier for all of us to break out with Alex’s help.” At least, I hope that’s what’s going to happen. The longer I stay locked in here, the more I’m convinced Alex may not truly be on our side. What joined her to us? Was it really Axel, or could that just be a convenient excuse to kidnap us? I set my hands aflame just to make myself feel better. If her knife doesn’t work, I’ll light someone up and send them to hell. “These cuffs hurt like a bitch,” I bemoan, trying to take my mind off what Alex may or may not be up to. Axel just huffs in response. His chains rattle against whatever we’re tied to as he strains to set himself free. I know this isn’t the time to antagonize him, but
I have to pretend everything is fine. Not like I made a deal with a devil. Not like I can feel myself breaking apart piece-by-piece. Not like everything since Olivia entered my life has turned upside down. But like I’m fine. The break passes too fast, almost like rest is running away from me.
“I hope you grabbed everything, dear?” Theresa tells me outside her door the next day. I decided it’d be best if Talon spent the day in his house, calming down from everything that happened. Now it’s the next morning, and we’re both stable enough to return to our unstable lives. “I think so.” I sm
I’m at Clarissa’s apartment so fast that someone would assume I come here every day. I rush up the stairs two at a time, not stopping until I reach her specific apartment. I shoulder in, yelling for Ryker at the top of my lungs the second I’m inside. The place is a mess; a strewn open box, clothe
Shock freezes me to the spot. Alpha Rick and Marjorie say more things, things I should probably be listening to, but I can't. My brain buzzes with static. There’s too much to process, from fated mates to the boy from the fire—when there’s only one boy I've ever known who survived a fire—to this N







