Chapter 11 #2
“I’ll deal with Altair and Cyrus tomorrow.
They’ve been itching to go to war with Fervis since before either of you were born, so this isn’t exactly a new problem.
” What I didn’t say was that they were definitely getting pushier about it, and Fervis was definitely becoming more aggressive, but the Alpha pack had always kept things from exploding and we’d figure out how to cool the current high tensions.
“It’ll probably be easier without either of you there.
I don’t feel like performing with Rynn again tomorrow. ”
Rynn grunted. “Good, because I want to do some research while I’m here.”
“What research?” A hint of suspicion entered Sorin’s eyes as he looked at his sister.
“The type that isn’t your business.”
Sorin looked like he was seconds away from strangling her. Sibling relationships were always the most confusing for me to understand. I was fairly certain that if Rynn and Sorin started brawling and I were to step in to restrain one of them, they’d get mad at me for laying a hand on the other.
“I should keep you company since Ivan is around,” Sorin finally said through gritted teeth.
“I’ve been handling Ivan and his bullshit since I was fifteen.” Rynn waved him off. “You can’t hang out with me all day; word will get back to Dad. Somebody has probably already snitched on you coming here tonight.”
“I was careful.”
“You’ve said that before.”
A heaviness fell in the room, and the guilt I’d seen in Sorin’s eyes earlier made another appearance. “Alright,” he finally said, “but you be careful tomorrow, okay?”
“Always.”
The look Sorin gave her said he didn’t believe that for a second, and I didn’t blame him. Rynn might worship at the altar of logic and practicality most of the time, but when that fiery temper of hers snapped, she was prone to making rash decisions.
Rynn opened the door. “Good night, Sorin.”
With a heavy sigh, Sorin started to leave, only to pause next to Rynn. “Say goodbye this time?” He held up his pinky finger.
After a few beats, Rynn looped her pinky finger around his. “I’ll try.”
She closed the door after him and leaned against it while staring at me and then the bed.
“I’m not sleeping on the floor, so don’t even ask,” I drawled.
“Actually, I was going to suggest you pay Trina a visit,” Rynn replied smoothly.
I frowned. “Who?”
“The gorgeous blonde who caught your eye earlier.”
“Ah.” I shrugged off my shirt, and my pants followed. Rynn adorably averted her gaze. “I told your brother I’d keep you safe, so sadly, Trina will have to go without the pleasure of my company tonight.”
“How tragic for her,” Rynn said dryly before pushing off the door, keeping her eyes fixed on a spot on the bed. “Don’t hog the covers again.”
“Don’t snore again,” I countered and slipped under the blankets.
“I’m going to snore louder just to annoy you.” She took off her shoes and started to climb into bed fully clothed.
“I wouldn’t put it past you. Are you really sleeping in all your clothes? At least take your pants off.”
“Wow. Is that what you say to all the women who climb into bed with you?” She settled into her side of the bed, pants still on. “Such a charmer.”
“Rynn, dear, would you like me to use my charm on you?” I gave her a sly smile.
“No, I’m tired and full from dinner. A laughing fit would upset my stomach.”
I grabbed my pillow and smacked her with it.
Rynn cackled and snatched it from me. “Mine now. Night, Prince Charming.”
“Night, Princess.” I fluffed up my remaining pillow and closed my eyes. We’d have several days of travel to return home. I could get more answers out of her then, away from Sorin.
I was still smiling when I fell asleep.
Pain raced up my side and I stumbled. The young boy in my arms let out a startled cry, and I clutched him tighter to me. “Please be quiet,” I begged.
Silent, warm tears fell against me, only to be washed away by the pouring rain.
He couldn’t be past five years old, and he’d just seen his entire family get slaughtered, so I couldn’t exactly hold his fragile mental state against him.
But the monsters who had butchered his parents and siblings, they were closing in. If I shifted, I could outrun them, but I couldn’t carry the boy in my feline form, and even if he shifted, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with me.
I bit my tongue as I tried to run faster. Blood poured down my right ribs over my hip. I’d panicked when I’d come across the boy’s burning house, and in the chaos, I’d just grabbed him and ran. Straight over a freaking cliff.
Luckily, the drop had only been thirty feet and I’d managed to turn midair to take the brunt of the fall, but something had pierced my side.
Between that and several bone fractures, my body was struggling to heal, and I wasn’t giving it much of a chance with the five-mile dead sprint I’d been doing while carrying the boy.
Leaving him wasn’t an option. Everyone he’d known was dead because of me, and the monsters chasing us would absolutely kill him.
My family did not leave witnesses.
Lightning cracked overhead, followed by the roar of thunder.
The late summer storm was both helping and hindering us.
My family were all ailurans like me, and we couldn’t track scents as well as lycans, as we largely relied on what was in the air.
The rain washed away our scents, but it also turned the ground into a squishy mess that held on to our footprints.
I’d already fallen several times when the earth seemed to grip at my feet and pull me down. This was my fault. I should have stood up to my family more or warned the boy’s family.
They were dead because I was a coward.
“We’re going to get out of this, Reed,” I promised in a raspy voice as I ducked under a low-hanging branch, choking back the scream that wanted to escape as the movement aggravated the wound on my side. “Only a little farther. Then we’ll reach my friend Cade and his family. They’ll help us.”
The young boy flinched as another bolt of lightning filled the night sky. To my left, I caught the luminescent eyes of a Velesian for half a second.
My family has found us. We won’t make it.
Those were the last thoughts I had before a dark blur darted forward and slammed into my side. Claws sank into my flesh, and I screamed even as I rolled, trying to protect Reed for at least a few more seconds. Bone crunched as ailuran jaws closed over my shoulder and yanked me back.
Something else grabbed me and pulled me away from Reed. I needed to fight back. I needed to—
“Bastian! Stop!”
Reality slowly bled back in. The rain-soaked forest faded, replaced by a furnished bedroom, lit with the pale blue of Fae lanterns. My heart was still racing, my thoughts panicked and jumbled while I tried to remove myself from that dream. That fucking memory.
It took me a moment to realize I wasn’t lying on my back in the soft bed anymore. I was fucking straddling Rynn. One of my hands had both of hers pinned over her head and the other was wrapped around her throat. Blood soaked her pillow where my claws had dug in.
“Fuck.” The word came out mangled, and I scrambled off her until I was kneeling at the end of the bed. My hands immediately went to my face, and the blood in my veins went cold at what I felt.
All Velesians could partially shift while in their human form.
Usually small changes like turning our nails into claws or sprouting fangs.
It was rare for us to do more than that because it didn’t come naturally.
If we needed to shift into our beast forms, we would just do it all the way.
I knew if I looked in a mirror, my face would be a thing of nightmares.
And Rynn had seen it.
“Fuck,” I repeated, my voice still deeper than normal, but the word came out clearer this time. “I’m so sorry, Rynn.”
I waited for her to tell me to get the fuck out, to demand answers, but Rynn tenderly touched her neck and winced slightly.
“Was my snoring really that bad?” she asked wryly.
I just looked at her.
Slowly, Rynn got up and scooted across the bed till she knelt in front of me, her knees touching mine.
I looked away from her to stare at the bloody pillow.
I could’ve fucking killed her. My reason for never falling asleep with someone after fucking was partly because I didn’t want them to form attachments, but it was also because of this.
It had been years since I’d had a nightmare this bad, so I hadn’t thought much of it with Rynn, but her fucked-up family situation must’ve gotten to me more than I’d realized.
I was such a fucking idiot. What if I had killed her in Narchis territory?
It would’ve been a fucking disaster. Not to mention, some part of me recoiled at the idea of Rynn dying.
She may not have been a part of my pack, but she was just so .
. . Rynn. I’d never forgive myself if she died at my hand.
Rynn reached out to touch my face, but I flinched.
“Don’t,” I growled.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Rynn snapped back, and then her hands were on my face. She cupped my jaw while her thumb ran over my cheekbones. “You make a beautiful monster, Bastian,” she said, and there wasn’t a hint of mockery in it.
As if of their own volition, my eyes turned away from the blood-soaked pillow to look at her. I thought for sure I would see the lie in her eyes, but she was tracing the new lines of my face without a hint of fear or disgust.
“You’re something else, Princess,” I rasped and leaned a little more into her touch.
“Need I remind you that my best friend is Calypso Rayne?” A small grin played across her lips. “Also known as the most terrifying Furie in existence? Samara and I have been there when Cali’s lost her temper. A Furie in their true form is something else.”