Chapter 30 Elodie
THIRTY
ELODIE
Sleep blankets me like a warm embrace that I sink further into, letting it cradle me so gently that the moment I open my eyes, I startle at the stark contrast. My eyebrows crinkle as I adjust the sheet over me, and it takes two whole seconds for me to recall last night and exactly where I am.
Rion.
Kael.
Fuck.
Literally.
I’m alone on the sofa bed, but the sweet scent of sex still lingers in the air. Maybe that’s why I slept so well and feel so content. Not that I’m going to admit it. That would be a travesty.
“You’re awake.”
I squeak, yanking the sheets even tighter as my gaze snaps to the foot of the makeshift bed to find Thorne, his body is tilted away, his elbows resting on his knees as he glances over his shoulder at me. The way his hair dances over his eyes makes a shiver tingle down my spine.
Clearing my throat, I try to mask my reaction to him. If he notices, he doesn’t acknowledge it as he sighs, pressing his palms into his knees as he stands, turning to me with a pointed look.
“Come with me.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets, and I take a moment to really breathe him in. He’s wearing a black polo top with the first button undone and the hem tucked into a pair of black jeans.
If he weren’t a damn shadow fae, I would swear he’s the leader of the local mafia, minus the black button-up shirt. Every inch of him screams power, but I’ve seen a glimpse beneath the mask. I’ve seen the pain and how hollow it leaves him.
He cocks a brow at me, waiting silently, and I quickly recall the order he gave. Come with me.
“Why?”
He rolls his eyes; the notion is almost comical coming from him, especially after the assessment I just put him through. “Now,” he grunts, taking any humor from the air as I blink at him.
“No.”
“No?” he repeats as though the word is foreign on his tongue, and I scoff, pinning the sheets to my chest as I shuffle backward, leaning against the cushions as I glare at him.
“You don’t get to throw out commands.” My words are weighted, but the impassive look on his face confirms they don’t penetrate the way I had hoped.
“Get dressed. I have something I think it’s time you saw.”
My eyebrows pinch with uncertainty as he drops a pile of clothes beside me on the sofa. Those are my clothes, clothes I didn’t arrive with. How the hell did he get them? I sigh. Ocean must be back. We’re going to have words about her helping this asshole.
Daring to glance at him, my gaze darts back and forth between the shadow fae before me and my sweatpants and sweater stacked neatly with fresh underwear.
Every time, I pause a second longer on him, or more specifically, the seriousness in his stare.
It makes it impossible to deny his request. Like always, my curiosity is eager to take control.
“Turn around,” I grumble, and he cocks a brow at me.
“I think I saw enough last night.”
My cheeks heat at his choice of words and I clear my throat, but it’s pointless. I wasn’t sure if he was going to pretend it never happened, just like that night outside of The Hut, but it seems we’ve taken on a new form of torture today.
I’m torn between standing my ground and insisting on privacy or proving to him that I’m not afraid of him seeing me exposed. Running my tongue over my bottom lip, I seal the decision in my mind as I throw the sheet off and stand on the cushions, eyes locked on his as I reach for the clothes.
I don’t dare look away as I step into my panties before securing a matching bra across my chest. He doesn’t look away from my eyes, refusing to peruse my body, but with every breath, the air thickens around us.
He remains silent, even as I take a seat at the foot of the sofa bed and tug my sneakers on, but the tick to his jaw says enough.
Running my fingers through my hair, I can only hope I’m composed enough as he charges for the door without a backward glance. I roll my eyes, a sucker to follow his grumpy ass, and hurry out of the room and down the stairs without a single word spoken between us.
It’s only when he steps out into the crisp morning air and turns for the rear of the property instead of The Vale that confusion takes over.
There’s a door sitting slightly ajar, and it’s almost embarrassing to acknowledge that I didn’t even know it existed, but when he swings it open, revealing a dark and dingy set of stairs heading down, I gulp.
“What is this, Thorne?”
He looks at me, deep into my soul as his eyes swirl with emotion, but he doesn’t say a word as he trudges down the stairs, disappearing into the shadows. Despite my better judgment, I follow.
I drag my hand along the grimy wall for balance, spying the slightest glimmer of light at the foot of the steps, but it’s only when I’m a handful of steps from the bottom that I realize there’s another door.
My lips part, another question on my tongue, but before I can mumble a single word, I’m distracted by the grunts coming from the other side of the door.
“Thorne?” I whisper, my chest tightening with uncertainty.
He looks back at me, his mouth set in a thin line, but the rest of his features are too complex to decipher in the darkness. Not that he gives me much time to look before he nudges the door open and steps inside, revealing the source of the sound.
My feet carry me to the doorway, the frame keeping me propped up as I blink at the carnage before me.
A wolf snarls, prowling around in a circle, its gaze fixed on the center where Kael towers over someone, pummeling them repeatedly.
Punch after punch, blood splatters, painting his knuckles along with the already crimson-stained floorboards around him.
Gulping, I take a tentative step forward at the same time Kael groans, tilting his head back as he leans away from his target.
I watch every inch of him. The way his fingers clench at his sides, the way he cracks his neck with a relishing snicker, and the way his chest heaves with every breath he takes.
Catching a glimpse of his side profile, I spot the familiar traits he displays when his vampire is at the forefront, taking control.
His eyes are bleak and dangerous, his teeth are elongated and ready to feast.
I take a deep breath, shock threatening to floor me, but before I can take another step toward the madness, Kael steps to the right, revealing his victim, and my world stills.
“Dad.”
One word, one breath from my lungs, and everything stops. Four sets of eyes look my way.
A shadow fae.
A wolf.
A vampire.
A monster.
“What is she doing here?” Kael snarls, his attention darting to Thorne, who shrugs.
“I’m done fixing him for you to break him again,” he states, but my attention keeps drawing back to the man I thought I had outrun.
My back heats under his stare. His face is puffy and swollen from the beating he’s taken, but the stains on his dirty tank top are layered with new stains on top of old.
“What the hell?” I murmur, my heart racing so fast in my chest I’m certain I’m going to be sick. “How long has he been here?”
“Too long,” Thorne grunts, wiping a hand down his face, and my heart stills as I dare to acknowledge the truth that I already know.
The day I ran, the day I felt the familiar stone beneath my palms with the trailer park in the distance, is the same day Rion admitted we could leave The Vale.
He told me exactly where they were going, but I was so caught up in my own mess that when I returned at the hands of Walker and the pair of them were already here, I chose to think nothing more of it.
How na?ve of me.
“You did this. You brought him here.” I exhale, but the tightness in my muscles only grows more tense as I glance between Kael and Thorne, neither of them showing a hint of remorse.
My mind swirls, and my lips dry, when Thorne rakes his fingers through his hair and turns for the door, leaving without a single word or a backward glance.
He was happy to lead me to the truth, but he clearly isn’t willing to handle the consequences that come with it.
Before I can consider chasing him down or not, Rion shifts from wolf to man before my very eyes, rising to his full height, naked from head to toe.
“Petal, I need you to leave,” he murmurs, hands out wide at his sides, like he’s approaching a wild animal, but one glimpse at my father and his sinister sneer, and I’m unable to move.
All of the fear, all of the pain, all of the haunted nights come flooding back, each one at the hands of this man, and just when I’m sure I’m ready to break free of his spell, he returns.
“I knew she didn’t know,” he grunts, blood coating his teeth as he speaks and Rion takes another step toward me.
“We can explain,” he murmurs softly, eyes wide as he tries to make himself look as innocent as possible, but a predator can never disguise themselves as the prey, especially not when his dick twitches with excitement.
Forcing myself to meet his hazel eyes, I clear my throat. “What is he doing here?”
Rion comes to a stop in front of me, but drops his hands to his sides as he speaks. “Paying.”
“For what?” My pulse quickens, my heart racing so fast I’m sure it’s going to burst from my chest while he raises an eyebrow at me.
“You know what.”
I gulp as my eyelids fall to half-mast. There’s the truth I wasn’t willing to acknowledge, but there’s no denying it now. I saw it in his eyes that first moment in the shower. I heard it in his voice when he growled to know who hurt me, and now here we are.
“Set me free, Elodie,” my father calls, but I force myself to ignore him as I glance between Rion and Kael. The latter remains at my father’s side, eyes dark and twisted as he watches my every move.
“So you’re torturing him,” I state, unsure of what it is I feel inside that actually makes me say it out loud.
Rion gives me a pointed look, but it’s Kael’s words that slice through me.
“He says he’s not your biological father.”
“What?” My chest tightens as the blood running through my veins turns cold. I feel like I’m floating.
“Tell her,” Kael bites, refusing to look away from me as he sends his command to my father.
“Untie me and I will,” he retorts, his lip curled with promise that when he’s released, I’ll be his target.
Refusing to give him the satisfaction of getting under my skin, I turn to Kael instead. “You tell me.”
He sighs, wiping a bloody hand down his face as he rocks back on his heels. “You were a form of financial aid left on his doorstep.”
The wind is knocked from my lungs as I sway on my feet, disbelief clawing at me as I turn my attention to the man in question, despite every bone in my body wanting to run for the exit.
“Is that true?” My eyes lock with my father’s, but the truth is clear. That was never his title. It explains so much, yet nothing all at once. Rage burns deep inside of me as I whip my gaze back to Kael. “How long have you known?”
The vampire’s chin drops to his chest and no answer comes. The silence is drowned out by the whooshing of my heartbeat in my ears, fueled by a rage inside of me that I can’t control or understand.
I’m mad at my father for existing. I’m angry at Kael for keeping something so important from me. I don’t know which is worse.
I can’t breathe, I can’t think, I can’t speak.
Defeated, I turn for the exit, my name quickly falling from my father’s lips as I leave without a word, doing what I seem to do best.
Run.