Broken Dove (Institute Thirteen #2)

Chapter 1

ONE

ELODIE

Ichoke on my next breath as my heart thunders in my chest. The warmth that blossoms against my back from the close proximity of my oldest friend burns instead of radiating me with fortitude like it always has.

Disbelief, terror, and shame ripple through my limbs, threatening to bring me to my knees, but I somehow find the strength and willpower to keep my balance.

Walker. He’s here, but despite what I hoped would come with his presence, I know I’m not safe. Not when I stare across at the men I was running from.

Questions storm my thoughts, tangling among themselves, leaving my mind foggy as I fix my gaze on the three men before me.

Kael. Rion. Thorne.

Each one as wicked as the last, and yet here I stand, broken and alone.

Kael has been the root of my pain since I arrived, but he’s been my one constant from the very beginning.

My mind wanders back to our time in The Sanctum, sending a shiver down my spine as I sway.

The look in his eyes was just as icy then as it is now.

The cut of his jaw is more stern, though.

A fact I didn’t think was possible. My fingers flex at my sides, instinctively wanting to reach out to him, but I refrain, unable to face any more rejection tonight.

Rejection.

That’s what’s burning through me. Despite the cluster of thoughts overwhelming me, that feeling remains certain.

I blink slowly, dragging my attention to Rion.

His hands are tucked into the pockets of his denim jeans as he rocks back on his heels, eyeing me like I’m a foreign object.

His gaze ghosts over me from head to toe as if he doesn’t know me at all, but it’s the way his eyebrows are drawn tight that confirms his disapproval.

Rejection. Disapproval. I feel it all.

My vision blurs as my eyes latch onto the shadow prince.

Thorne is as prickly as ever, I can feel his jagged edges from here, yet there’s something almost inviting about them.

His gaze is shielded mainly by his dark hair falling across his face, but his eyes burn into mine with a sense of familiarity, peering into the depths of my soul.

His judgment is masked behind his lashes.

Rejection. Disapproval. Judgment.

Three for three.

I drop my gaze, letting my eyelids shutter as I block him out. My tongue is heavy in my mouth and the ability to form a single word, never mind a sentence, fails me until the sound of someone clearing their throat from behind me shakes me to my core.

“I believe this one belongs to you.”

My eyes snap to his immediately, but as I peer over my shoulder at him, I feel like I’m looking at a stranger.

He looks the same.

He sounds the same.

He smells the same.

But he’s not the same. Far from it.

“Excuse me?” My voice is raspy, betraying me. I’d hate how fractured it makes me appear if I wasn’t already so disheveled.

He raises an eyebrow at me, completely detached and unfazed, and it sends a shiver down my spine. But instead of whimpering and letting it break the final thread holding me together, it pushes me to stand taller.

Folding my arms over my chest, the ache wracking my bones grows, but I squash it down. I muster all of the courage I can find within me as a single tear tracks down my face, belying my facade of composure.

“Who even are you?” I croak, blinking at him in disbelief.

Walker knows of this place… how? I don’t understand anything right now, but the fact that he’s here, in the place I thought I was lost to, that’s what’s making my brain short-circuit.

He runs a hand through his cropped hair as he sighs, peering into my eyes before looking over my head. “Try not to lose her again. We wouldn’t want anyone having to pay with their lives next time,” he grunts, rolling his shoulders as he turns back to the truck still sitting idle behind him.

“Don’t you dare leave without an explanation, Walker,” I bite out, my voice like ice cutting through the night air as my nostrils flare and my hands ball into fists at my sides.

“You know him?” Kael snaps, the first to interject, and I scoff, refusing to turn to the vampire in question as I glare at the back of Walker’s head.

“I thought I did.” I don’t miss the slight falter in his steps as he comes to an abrupt stop a few yards away.

Knowing I have his attention, I take a deep breath as I try and fail to get my muscles to relax.

I’m stiff with stress and there’s no undoing the knots that bind me together. “I deserve something.”

Even with the headlights aimed my way, I still spot the tick to his jaw as he tilts his face slightly in my direction. The moment his stare draws to the corner of his eye, catching mine, I know he’s relenting.

“Two minutes. Alone,” he orders, turning to face me head on.

“Fuck that!” The protest comes from Rion, but neither of us turn to acknowledge his outburst as I nod in agreement.

I’m ready to get back in the truck and tell him all the reasons why this is fucked up before I convince him to take me home, but before I can take a single step toward him, he snaps his fingers and an iridescent dome falls over the two of us.

Gaping in disbelief, my protest dies on my tongue as I finally put two and two together to get four instead of sixteen thousand like I have been doing. “You have magic.”

My subconscious screams at me. Of course he does. Why else would he know this place exists? Why else would he know to bring me back here?

“You wasted ten seconds on that?” he retorts, tilting his head at me, and my eyes narrow in frustration as my nostrils flare with anger again.

Shaking my head, I try to think calmly so I can utilize the little time he’s offering. I need to understand, and this may be my last chance.

“Did you know?” He cocks a brow at me, and I sigh, refolding my arms over my chest defensively. “About me,” I add, my pulse thrumming in my ears as he exhales slowly.

“Yes.”

My heart aches at his admission. “How?”

He shrugs. “I was sent to protect you.”

“I don’t feel protected right now,” I retort, eyes wide in disbelief as he shrugs again.

“It was my job to make sure you didn’t wind up dead. I’d say I succeeded,” he clarifies, raking his gaze over me to cement the fact that I am, indeed, not dead.

Yet.

Trying to squeeze another question out of my self-combusting brain is torture, but I manage to part my lips again. “Was anything real?” It’s nothing more than a whisper, but it cuts deep enough when he shrugs for the third time.

Anger sparks through me and I hurry to eliminate the distance between us.

It’s not lost on me that a little while ago I fell into his arms with relief, basking in his warmth like the lifeline he was, but now, only rage fuels me.

I shove against his chest and he stumbles back a step.

Not from my magic. No. That fails me again.

“I hate you. I fucking hate you,” I scream, my lungs burning as the harsh words lick across my tongue.

I mean it with every breath that I am.

Pushing at him again, he doesn’t move an inch this time as he grabs my wrists and holds me in place.

He bares his teeth as he leans in close, his gaze burning into mine as he snarls back at me.

“Good. You should let that fire burn you from the inside out. Then you might stand a chance at surviving.” He punctuates each word as he slips my hands from his chest, releasing his hold on me as he does.

“What does that even mean?” I breathe, hating the pleading tone that clings to the stilted air.

He ignores me, glancing down at his watch with a sigh before he returns his attention to me. “Time’s up.”

Just like that, the pearlescent bubble around us pops, letting the outside world in again. I can hear Rion snarling from behind me but I can’t focus on anything he’s saying as I gape at who I once thought was my only friend.

I thought he was my world. I thought I meant at least something. I thought wrong.

“We’re not done until I say we’re done,” I hiss, watching as he purses his lips for a second before he shakes his head.

“Power is forged in ruin, Elodie. Let this be your demise.”

I shove at him again, refusing to let him go, despite how much pain his presence and actions are causing me.

“I hurt someone to save you. I ran from here to find you. I kept breathing and forced my head above water for you, and you betrayed me.” A salty drop spreads from the corner of my mouth and I realize I’m crying.

I hate it.

More than I hate him.

Walker takes a backward step as he shakes his head. “I betrayed you long before this moment.”

It’s a truth, a confession, further acknowledgment that I know so little. It’s the final stab through my chest and I can’t stand the sight of him any longer.

“Rot in Hell,” I growl, and he nods, accepting my hatred effortlessly without care.

“I’m sure I’ll see you there real soon.”

Another promise, another testament to the fact that I know nothing, and then he’s gone, taking the full beams of his truck with him. I don’t turn until he’s completely out of sight, making sure his last vision of me is exactly like this; how he left me.

Broken.

When only the moon lights the night air, I fall to my knees, letting my tears fall freely as I ball my hands into fists, feeling the bite of the dry earth beneath me keeping me grounded.

My breaths turn shaky, my heart hammering wildly in my chest as I shift, flopping onto my butt with my head between my knees and my arms banded tightly around my legs.

I don’t know how much time passes, my attention is solely on leveling out my breathing, but when I lift my head, I find Thorne, Rion, and Kael still standing in a line, watching me.

Tilting my head back down, I run my fingers over the blood staining my arms. “You can leave now. The show’s over.”

The hairs on the back of my neck rise as a shiver rattles my bones.

“It’s only just begun,” Kael grunts, forcing my eyes back to him as he folds his arms over his chest. “Do you have any idea how reckless that was? Are you forgetting that my life is reliant upon your actions too?”

I scoff at his lecture, a humorless grin spreading across my face. “Please, Kael, continue to show us how selfish and self-centered you are,” I sing, shaking my head in disbelief. But I shouldn’t be shocked. It is Kael Forrester after all.

He’s in front of me before I have the chance to inhale a soothing breath, his fingers latching onto my collar lightning fast before he drags me to my feet. Dread floods my veins as I gape at him, only to watch a devilish sneer curl his lips as his gaze narrows.

“Mark my words. There will be consequences for this, Elodie.”

Nose to nose, I blink at him as a scoff rips from my lips. “You think you can hurt me more than I already am? You think too highly of yourself,” I assure him as I slam my hands into his chest, but to my utter dismay, nothing happens.

Again.

I’m well aware I’m being erratic, but I need someone else to hurt just as much as I am right now.

Anger morphs into frustration as I turn away from him, only to find Rion and Thorne watching from a distance. Thorne’s eyebrows are gathered while Rion’s are touching his hairline. I can’t deal with either of them right now.

I need a moment to breathe, to gather myself, to find my inner strength.

But where?

Do I succumb to Institute Thirteen once again, or do I make a run for it? I take a subconscious step forward, answering my predicament.

The Institute.

I only wanted to go home because of Walker. Now, there’s nothing left for me there. There’s no looking back, there’s no point, all I can do is look ahead, and that’s to here. To now. It may not be where I wanted to be, but it’s where I am, and it’s safer than anywhere else I can think of.

Running my tongue over my parched lips, I take a step toward the open doorway, pretending I can’t see the wolf and shadow fae in my way.

The hallway light is on, drawing me closer like a beacon.

When a shadow appears in the doorway, my heart stutters, but a familiar flash of blonde hair settles my panic as Ocean comes into view.

“Elodie,” she breathes, my name a question with a hint of sadness as she shakes her head in disbelief before darting toward me. “Are you okay?” she whispers, throwing her arm around my shoulders, and I lean into her touch.

“No,” I admit, unable to summon the strength needed to lie.

“Let’s get you inside,” she says with a smile, unfazed by my disarray.

“We’re not done here,” Kael calls from a few steps away, and my shoulders slump, unable to handle anything else tonight, but before I can say a word, Ocean beats me to it.

“Oh, fuck you, Kael. She’s covered in blood, snotty from crying, and literally trembling. Pull your finger out of your ass and realize what is actually going on around you. Your wrath can wait,” she snaps, aiming a warning finger in his direction while dragging me toward the building.

I siphon from her. Not her magic, not her abilities, but the strength she wordlessly offers me.

Before we reach the door, Rion steps into my path. His eyes search mine as he tilts his face to the side. “You poisoned yourself to run.”

It’s not a question, it’s a statement, one I can’t deny, but I hate seeing the hurt in his eyes. I can sense myself softening toward him, but before I reach for him, I remember why I did it, why I ran in the first place, and I quickly shake away the gentleness.

“Yes,” I answer, confirming my action, and he sighs, his lips setting in a thin line as his stare continues to pierce mine.

“Was it worth it?” he asks, making my breath stutter. But I don’t crumble. Instead, I clear my throat and hold my head high.

“Right now, no. But everything happens for a reason, and when I figure out why this all happened today, I’m sure it will have been worth everything.”