CHAPTER 10

I didn't remember walking out of the office. The only thing I'd remembered was that I was staring at the report for one second, the next I was storming through the penthouse with the file clenched in my hand.

My pulse thundered in my ears. Every single page I'd read replayed through my head.

Jarrett had been watching me these entire eight years I thought he disappeared.

He had not only watched, but he had tracked and documented my life.

I felt sick to my stomach and humiliated.

The elevator-sized living room came into view.

Jarrett was near the windows with his phone pressed against his ear.

I didn't slow down or hesitate. The file left my hand before he could even turn around.

It slammed into his chest, the papers exploding everywhere, white sheets scattering across the floor like snow.

Jarrett's head snapped up. The phone lowered slowly from his ear and our eyes locked.

"What the hell is this?"

My voice cracked through the room.

Jarrett's gaze flickered downward toward the documents.

I laughed bitterly. "Surprised?"

He didn't speak.

I marched forward. "Talk."

His jaw clenched. "Helena, this isn't what it looks like....I...."

"No." I cut him off instantly. "Do not stand there and tell me this isn't exactly what it looks like."

"Was I some kind of experiment?" The question echoed through the penthouse.

Jarrett froze. The silence that followed was answer enough.

My stomach twisted. "Oh my God." I took a step backward. "Oh my God."

His face darkened. "Helena."

"Was I?" My voice rose. "Were you studying me?"

"No." The answer came immediately.

Something in his expression cracked, the composure he'd worn since returning finally began to fracture.

"I was protecting you."

I stared at him then laughed but the sound came out harsh and broken.

"Protecting me?"

The irony was almost unbearable. "You disappeared." My throat tightened. "You abandoned me." The words hurt, even now, after everything. "You left me alone."

Pain flashed through his eyes.

Jarrett dragged a hand through his hair. Frustration bled into every movement.

"I never stopped watching." He confessed.

My chest tightened. "What?"

His steady gaze held mine. "I never stopped watching." He repeated.

A chill crawled down my spine. The room suddenly felt colder.

"I only tracked threats." His words sounded insane yet somehow I knew he was telling the truth.

"I monitored anyone who got too close." His voice lowered. "I made sure nobody touched you."

The confession terrified me because it meant the file was real. All of it.

My mouth felt dry. "Why?" The question emerged as a whisper.

Jarrett's jaw tightened. His eyes drifted briefly toward the scar on my wrist then back to me.

"I was waiting." His answer made no sense.

"For what?" I asked.

"For your wolf."

I blinked twice then laughed, "You're serious?"

Jarrett didn't smile or react. The laughter died instantly.

He actually meant it! Of course he did. Everything was wolves now.

I stared at him, trying to understand, trying to keep up. "My wolf." The words felt absurd. "I don't have a wolf."

His gaze darkened. "Not yet."

The answer sent unease crawling through my stomach. "What does that even mean?"

Jarrett exhaled slowly, like he was finally running out of secrets. "It means you were supposed to awaken years ago."

I thought about the report. The title... 'Delayed Awakening Signs.' Suddenly my heart began pounding.

No. No. I didn't like where this was going at all.

"What happened to me?"

His eyes dropped to my wrist. The scar immediately began throbbing almost as if it knew we were talking about it.

My skin prickled then Jarrett's expression hardened.

"That scar wasn't an attack."

The room tilted. "What?" My voice barely worked.

"It wasn't." His eyes remained fixed on the mark. "It was a claim."

Every muscle in my body is locked. "What are you talking about?"

Jarrett stepped forward slowly as though approaching a frightened animal, "When you were a child, someone found you."

A knot formed in my stomach. "Who?"

His jaw tightened. "I don't know."

I knew that was a lie instantly.

"It could have been someone who should never have found you."

The scar suddenly burned hard. I gasped, my fingers flying to my wrist.

"What is happening?" Fear finally seeped into my voice.

Jarrett noticed immediately and somehow that scared me more.

"The mark is waking up."

The words chilled me. "What does that mean?"

He opened his mouth then froze. Every muscle in his body went rigid. The change happened instantly like a switch had been flipped.

My pulse spiked. "What is it?" I asked.

Jarrett's eyes shifted toward the hallway, listening for something.

The air suddenly felt strange then every light in the penthouse died.

As soon as darkness swallowed everything, I gasped.

A thick and unnatural silence crashed down. Then a terrifying howl ripped through the building causing my blood to turn to ice instantly.

The howl echoed through the walls, the floors and my bones.

I stumbled backward. "What was that?"

Jarrett didn't answer. His entire body had gone tense, the darkness seemed to pulse around him.

Then red emergency lights flickered to life.

The penthouse was suddenly bathed in crimson. Everything looked distorted and nightmarish.

A low sound filled the room. My stomach dropped.

It took me a second to realize where it was coming from.

Jarrett!

A growl rumbled deep inside his chest. The sound raised every hair on my body.

He moved instantly, stepping in front of me. Shielding and protecting me just like that.

The hallway beyond the living room remained dark and silent, then footsteps echoed towards us.

My pulse thundered. As it took one step, then another. Whoever was walking toward us wasn't hiding.

They wanted us to hear them and make us afraid.

The footsteps stopped, then a shadow appeared at the far end of the corridor.

The red lights flickered again. And a cold voice drifted through the darkness.

"We've finally found her."