Chapter 10
JESSIA
Vienna had killed him. The last surviving monster from the Alpha’s Bark.
She killed him. Even days later, I struggled to believe it, to accept that he was gone, they were all gone.
I thought he’d be out there forever, waiting for me to leave the compound so he could grab me again.
Now, he was dead. Vienna saved us. A little laugh bubbled up out of me as I leaned back against the kitchen counter in the sanctuary, staring at the room, a bowl of forgotten popcorn in my hands.
The Knights had searched Pewter’s place after Vienna killed him, had scoured his phone and found messages between him and Pierce.
Pierce, who was never here in the compound.
He’d found me, and paid Pewter to leave his messages behind, but he couldn’t get in.
Only Pewter had gained access, and Vienna bludgeoned him to death. Pierce had no way of getting to me.
“Stop thinking about murder and smiling,” Lynn chided, knocking her shoulder into mine. “Think about murder with a straight face like a pro,” she added, making me laugh.
It was rare for me to laugh these days, but at least the numbness had slipped, letting emotions through. Usually, they were hurt and anger and resentment. Longing, too, which I ignored. I missed Devil, but I’d told him to leave me alone and he gave me exactly what I asked for.
“Lynn,” I said, giving her a pleading look.
“No,” she huffed, arms crossed over her chest. “I won’t talk to Devil for you. If you want to make things up with him, put on your big girl pants and do it yourself.”
“I don’t want to make up with him,” I said firmly. “He lied to me. He kept secrets about the most important thing in my life.”
“So did I, and you forgave me,” she pointed out, earning a swift glare.
It had hurt, Lynn knowing and saying nothing. Others had known, too, and kept it from me. My mate—I had a mate and they’d all conspired to keep me in the dark about it. That knowledge sat in my chest like a thicket of thorns, keeping the numbness at bay.
“At least it wasn’t your choice,” I muttered. No, Devil had sworn her to secrecy. He’d told her to hide it from me, and probably told the others to hide it, too.
“Did you actually stab him?” Lynn asked with dark curiosity, grabbing a fistful of popcorn from the bowl I held.
“No, I just pointed it at him.”
“Shame. He definitely deserves a light stabbing for lying to you.”
“It wouldn’t have been light,” I said, scowling. “I would have killed him.”
She scoffed around a mouthful of popcorn. “Yeah, sure. You’d just kill your mate, who you’re biologically programmed to protect.”
My glare darkened. “I could understand if he’d kept it from me to protect me, but he said all this bullshit about knowing what I need and it not being him and—why are you smirking?”
“I love it when you swear.”
I rolled my eyes and crunched sweet popcorn. At least I could taste food again; for a whole week, everything had tasted like ash. At least being so angry at Devil kept me distracted from thoughts of that basement.
“And look, I know Devil,” Lynn sighed. “He’s a good guy, but he’s a fucking idiot. He probably believed what he said. He thinks you didn’t need him, so he kept his distance. Makes sense after—that fucking pub, but before that? He’s a grade A dumbfuck.”
I blinked. “Shouldn’t you be defending him, as his friend?”
“Rude of you to presume I wouldn’t call him a dumbfuck to his face.
” She stole more popcorn and contemplated me as she ate it.
“The way I see it, you have two options. You decide lying and keeping secrets is too big a thing to forgive, and it’s over for you two.
Or you forgive him for being a moron—after you make him grovel, obviously—and see if there’s something between you worth exploring. ”
I chewed the inside of my lip. “What would you do?”
“Punch him in the dick,” she replied instantly.
“What would you do if it was Cobra who’d kept secrets from you? Important, life changing, essential secrets.”
Lynn measured me, reading me too well, seeing how much this mattered to me. We’d had conversations about mates and bonds and fate before. She knew it was something I’d always dreamed of and never expected as a beta.
“I’d shout at him,” she answered after a moment. “Probably throw a few knives. Give him the silent treatment while I sorted my head out, and found the answer to what I just asked you—is forgiving him worth it? Is losing your future with him better than the risk of getting hurt again?”
I’d never heard her so quiet, so thoughtful. “What would you choose?”
“Him,” she said with a faint smile. “Always.”
I sighed, thinking of the way it felt to be around Devil—easy and safe and fun. One chance. I could give him one chance.
“But,” Lynn said, interrupting my thoughts. “Cobra’s not as big a fucking idiot as Devil, so maybe just punch him in the dick and walk away.”
I’d keep that as option B.