CHAPTER 11: A monster

MAKENA

Slumping back in my seat, I let out a low groan while clutching my stomach. "Try him again!" the man next to me said to the driver, who shook his head and replied that he had been told Akira would call back.

What did Akira do to them, exactly? Why were they all so afraid of him?

The landing strip finally came into view, and I asked the driver to stop the car again. If I got on that plane, there would be no turning back. I considered pretending to pass out, but I was scared that might not work; they might still take me. So I opted to stall instead. He opened the door for me, and I sank to my knees, retching.

I caught the other man pacing out of the corner of my eye. He tried to persuade me to hold on until we reached the plane, reminding me that we were almost there, but I refused. The sky had begun to darken, and it was clear that the storm was approaching quickly, and the growing threat appeared to make them panic even more.

After what seemed like an eternity, I heard the phone ring. The driver answered it on the first ring, his voice filled with desperation. He approached me and asked if I could speak, but I shook my head.

I heard him explain my situation to the person on the other end, and I knew it was Akira. But when he responded, "Yes, ma'am." I realized it wasn't, and I quickly figured it was Akira's mother.

"We must return Miss Blackwell," he told the other man, and relief nearly knocked the breath out of me as I almost jumped up in joy. He picked me up and carried me back into the car, and they wasted no time returning the way we came.

"It worked," Snow whispered in my head, her voice weak, and I wanted to cry for my wolf, knowing she bore the brunt of what we had just gone through. My voice was trembling as I thanked her, but she said there was no need. She said she would do anything for our mate, just as I would.

We arrived a few minutes later, and my mother rushed out as soon as we walked in, her face filled with panic. The men quickly explained what had occurred, and she immediately directed one of the helpers to contact the doctor.

My father appeared and scooped me up in his arms, carrying me up to my room. I asked my mother to call Erika, and she did so immediately. I needed Erika's help to carry out the final part of our plan.

My parents waited with me until the doctor arrived a few minutes later. He examined me and began running tests, the most important of which was a blood test. Even if he detected physical signs of wolfsbane, the blood results would be the final word.

Erika and I had already talked about what would happen next.

Though the amount of wolfsbane I had taken was small, it would still take time to clear, which meant it would show up in the bloodwork, which we needed to avoid because it would reveal what we had done.

Erika offered to help the doctor, giving her the perfect opportunity to switch the samples. When he was finished, he informed my parents that he would return with the results and gave me some sedatives in the interim.

The medication made my limbs heavy and eyelids droop. But before I dozed off, I checked the clock to make sure I would be awake by nightfall. It was 2:05 PM, which gave me some confidence that I would be awake.

Before falling asleep, I mind-linked with Erika and instructed her to retrieve the key to one of our unused apartments. I told her to go there in the evening, and I would explain everything to her then.

"Oh, and Erika, do not let anyone see you take the key!"

----

VAL

I looked toward the building's entrance just as lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a low rumble of thunder. Rain poured down relentlessly, covering the forest in a sheet of silver, and despite not being bothered by it, I could feel the cold.

I stood and climbed up the wall, settling on one of the thick tree branches that served as a roof, and staring up at the pitch-black sky, which mirrored my soul.

Makena had promised to return, but she hadn’t shown up, and I didn't blame her, especially with this storm raging outside. Despite this, though, a part of me felt hollow. I had been looking forward to seeing her again.

I didn’t know how to process everything she had told me. But I knew how I felt about her. That was why, even after I decided to stay away, I kept sneaking into her room to watch her sleep.

She awoke something within me. She made my still-empty chest ache with something close to life. Her eyes ignited a strange warmth in me that spread across my cold skin like fire. Her voice was like a melody explicitly written for the echo of my soul, and all I knew was that I wanted to hear it for the rest of my life.

A slow smile tugged at my lips at the thought. But it quickly faltered as I began to think about what a mess I was.

She was a Mafia princess, and I was nobody, just a shadow, living in a decaying building in the middle of the forest. I didn’t even know who I was. A crushing wave of fear washed over me.

What if she bailed? What if she came to her senses and decided she wanted nothing to do with this... with me? I wouldn’t blame her.

The thoughts hit me hard, and I collapsed back onto the damp sand, burying my head in my hands. The first few nights after escaping the morgue, I racked my brain, trying to remember anything other than my name.

I searched for memories of family, parents, and anyone who might have cared, someone who would have noticed that I was gone.

Why didn’t they look for me? What had I done so bad that they would just move on without me? Before I could spiral any further, the now-familiar bolt of lightning struck inside my head, unleashing agony.

I collapsed to my side, clutching my head as the pain ripped through me, and it didn't take long for darkness to claw at the edges before it consumed me completely.