Chapter 15 #2
“It’s a really good taco,” Thorne mumbled around a mouthful of food, pointing a grease-stained finger at him. “And shut up. I never said I forgave him. And Calder knows that.”
He pivoted and locked his feral stare on me. Then he closed the distance between us, stopping only when he was close enough for me to pick up on the sharp tang of his rising temper. He breathed in deep through his nose, clearly scenting me. Was he hunting for a weakness? A lie?
“So,” Cassian started, his voice dropping into a deceptive, terrifying calm. “You spent five years playing the martyr to keep us off the government’s radar, huh?”
I didn’t reply, which only incensed him further.
He circled me, his boots thumping on the hardwood floor with every step. “Let’s take a moment to think about the logistics of that for one second. I highly doubt the government just stumbled across our family, regardless of our indiscretions.”
I huffed a laugh. That was one word for all their law-breaking.
“It’s even less likely that they stumbled across Eternity Falls, a town warded by Ravenspell magic. If what Thorne told us is true, then someone must be responsible. Someone has to have pointed them in our direction. Someone with concrete proof of who—or what—we are.”
He came to a stop in front of me and crossed his thick arms. The gold in his eyes had receded until only dark brown remained. But anger still tightened his features.
I shot Ricky and Felix a glance, but neither had so much as budged, clearly content to let their youngest brother run this investigation.
“Who was it?” Cassian demanded. “Who supposedly threatened to hand us over? Give us a name.”
I clamped my jaw shut. If Thorne hadn’t mentioned Evander, then she had her reasons.
Or reason, rather. And I had a pretty good idea what it was.
Telling her brothers about the human who held their lives in his hands would unleash three enraged, overprotective werewolves onto a man who employed a ward-breaking witch.
If they failed at taking him out, it would spark a bloodbath.
If Evander handed their files over to the government and gave Wren the go-ahead to break the wards, nothing in the world would keep Thorne safe.
I cared about Cassian, Felix, and Ricky, but Thorne was my number one priority. Always had been.
“No name?” Cassian cocked his head. “Interesting. Let’s try another angle then. See if we can loosen those lips of yours. Tell me how this anonymous threat plans to expose us. Do they have photographs? Bank records? What proof of our transgressions and existence do they have?”
“Cassian,” Thorne sighed. She set the remains of her food on a napkin and stared at her twin. “Would you knock it off?”
“I’m just trying to understand the magnitude of this threat,” Cassian shot back, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Because it must have been massive. World-ending, even, to make a man pack his bags and vanish without a single word to his wife. Who is threatening us, Calder? Are they human? Witch? Vampire?”
“I’m handling it,” was all I said.
Cassian laughed, but the sound held absolutely zero humor.
“Oh, you’re handling it. And what a great job you’ve done.
You abandoned your family without a word, then waltzed back into town with this fantastic story about protecting us from the government with zero proof. And you just expect us to believe you?”
“Leave it alone, Cass,” Thorne said. “Why do you have to push? Why can’t you just—”
“Because he’s lying,” Cassian snarled, dropping the calm facade. “He doesn’t have a name. Because there is no threat. He’s just feeding you a convenient excuse to cover his own cowardice.”
Oh, that did it. Getting in my face was one thing but calling me a coward was something else entirely.
“I am not lying,” I snapped.
“Then prove it!” Cassian demanded, his nose almost touching mine. “Give me the name. Point me toward the person who kept you away while my sister was bleeding out on the pavement.”
All movement in the den died.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Thorne go completely still behind the massive oak desk.
“Cassian,” she whispered.
But he didn’t stop. So lost to his rage, he probably didn’t even hear the fear in her voice. Instead, he bared his teeth at me. “You want us to believe you? Then give me a name. Tell us exactly where you’ve been. Where were you when Trystan cornered her in that alley?”
The name tore through my chest, ripping me apart from the inside out.
“Where were you, Calder? Huh?” Cassian gave me a little shove. “Where were you when he beat her nearly to death? Where were your noble sacrifices when Trystan took a blade to her side and carved—”
Crack.
The sound made both Cassian and I jump. My gaze leapt to the noise to find Thorne leaning over the desk, her fist now resting in the center. The polished wood bowed inward, and hairline fractures splintered outward, away from her fingers.
Cassian turned in time for Thorne to lift her head, her eyes blazing with molten gold. That furious stare locked onto her brother, and her upper lip curled back, exposing her sharp fangs.
“Get. Out.”
She didn’t yell. The words rasped out of her, low and guttural, vibrating with a deadly command. The sheer force of her rage whipped through the room, heavy enough to seize my lungs.
Cassian froze a moment before the reckless fury drained from his posture and his shoulders slumped.
“Thorne—”
“Get the fuck out!” she shouted. She lifted her fist from the desk and pointed a finger at the door.
Without a word, Ricky pushed away from the stone fireplace. He grabbed Cassian’s arm, his grip tight enough to bruise, and pulled hard. “Come on, bro. You crossed the line.”
Cassian stared at his sister for a moment longer, then spared me a glance. If he was looking for sympathy, he’d find none here. Not after what he’d just done.
Glaring, he spun on his heel and marched out of the den with Ricky following at his heels.
I dragged my focus away from the doors and looked at Felix. He still sat in the leather armchair, his long legs stretched out in front of him. The amused grin he’d worn all night had vanished.
After a moment, he simply pushed himself out of the chair and pointed at the door. “I’m just going to… yeah. Bye.”
With a weak smile at Thorne, Felix followed his brothers out of the den and closed the door quietly behind him, leaving just the two of us.
I unclenched my jaw and took a slow breath, hoping it would help slow my heart rate.
Behind the ruined desk, Thorne stood with her hands braced against the edge, her knuckles bone-white. Her chest rose and fell in shallow, erratic jerks, but it was the fear and distance in her eyes that made my breath catch.
She stared aimlessly. Not at me, but at a spot on the desk. Every few seconds she winced, and tears shimmered in her eyes. Had Cassian’s words dragged her right back to that alleyway? Was she lost in memory?
I edged my way toward the desk, careful not to move too quickly so I didn’t startle her. From the looks of it, she was terrified enough as it was.
Her breath hitched—a short, desperate gasp as she reached for her side.
I stopped beside her. “Thorne.”
She didn’t even twitch in my direction.
I reached out and touched one of her hands.
She exploded. A feral snarl ripped from her throat as she violently twisted away from me.
Her hands came up, fingers hooked into claws, striking out blindly at the ghost of the vampire who had broken her.
Her forearm collided with my chest, hard enough to knock the air from my lungs, but I didn’t step back.
I gently caught her wrists, careful not to restrain or pin her down.
“Hey,” I said, my voice low and steady. “Shh. You’re safe. It’s me.”
She fought my hold for another frantic second, her breath sawing through her teeth.
“Thorne. It’s Calder. You’re safe.”
She blinked. The blind terror glossing her brown eyes finally shattered. She stared at my chest, then trailed her gaze up to my face as the reality replaced the nightmare.
A broken sound punched its way out of her throat.
The fight drained out of her limbs all at once, and she sagged forward.
I hauled her flush against me before she fell with one arm around her back and one hand buried in her hair, cupping her head.
She slipped her arms around my neck and held fast, as though I were the only solid thing left in the room.
I wasn’t sure how long we stood there. Minutes. Hours. Time didn’t matter. I would hold her as long as it took for her to feel safe again. Forever, if she let me. Just so long as I never had to let go of her again.