CHAPTER 3
Kathan
A heartbroken howl escapes me as my paws pound against the ground, propelling me forward through the trees. I’ve been running since Rue betrayed us and my steps are beginning to falter.
I pant with every bound I take, and yet, it’s still not enough to outrun the hurt flaying my chest open. I’m running on pure instinct and adrenaline alone, knowing if I change back, my emotions will be amplified tenfold and I’ll have to face everything.
An answering howl echoes in the distance, followed by another. Rhys and Caylix are confused, I know they must be, but like with Rue, I slammed a wall on our tripack bond preventing them from feeling what I am.
I’ll have to stop, rip open the wound again, and explain what happened to them sooner than later, but for now, I’m avoiding it. Just like I’m avoiding everything right now. It all hurts too fucking much.
I’d fallen for the adorable, reckless little witch. She dug her claws into my heart and burrowed herself in there so deeply, I thought she’d never leave. I was beginning to bank on her being our forever.
Actually, we were planning on asking her to complete the half bond that formed when we saved her life. We wanted to make things official. I could see it playing out like a movie in my head. Suddenly all of my future plans and dreams involved her, like new bricks being laid in the footpath of my life.
Until today.
Until Lance.
Until she carved my heart straight out of my chest by confirming she was the spy I thought she was from the beginning. Fucking witches. I knew they couldn’t be trusted. The Witches Council has obviously upped their game to send this one into our lives. Our perfect match and also the perfect ploy.
A twig snaps close behind me. Fuck. They’re gaining on me.
I bank to the left, which is a mistake because my paws come out from under me, and I eat shit. The momentum causes me to sail into a large cypress tree and I yelp as pain explodes through my side. A whimper escapes as I attempt to push up from the ground and plop right back down. Stars explode across my vision and I almost black out.
Shit, I think my ribs are broken.
I take a moment to breathe through the pain, assessing for other injuries, but it’s only my ribs. Thanks to our accelerated healing, it’ll take some time to mend, but I’ll live.
Besides, I’ve had worse. The raw agony in my chest, for one. The hurt in my heart consumes me, overshadowing the annoyance my ribs are causing.
Caylix and Rhys burst through the trees, their gray fur contrasting to the vibrant green around us. They both manage to come to a more graceful stop, unlike me. I blame the bullshit causing a lapse in concentration.
Caylix lets out a growl that grates over my skin. It’s an order, one he’s putting actual power into. Oh, he’s pissed. Wait til he finds out our little forever is now our never.
When I don’t initially respond, he growls again, and this time there’s no ignoring it. He wants me to open our mental link so we can speak. He knows I’ll heal faster in this form, his sharp eyes already picking out the fact that my breathing is labored and my side is caved in.
Even now, the thread of magic within our blood is mending me, putting me back together again. Healing isn’t exactly painful, more of a prickly, tingly sensation than anything, but I almost wish it wouldn’t mend. That way, I’d have something else to focus on.
As soon as the mental channel between us opens, I’m assaulted by both Rhys and Caylix’s frantic questions. They look at each other, seeming to share a private thought, and then back to me.
You need to explain what the fuck is going on, Caylix orders.
We’ve been running for hours. You’re lucky I trust that Rue is in good hands with our enforcer, or I’d kick your ass for taking off on her like that, Rhys adds.
A growl escapes me. Rue is no longer our priority, I respond, hating how much that statement is like a kick to the nuts. Before they can protest, I project my memories back to them. How I walked out of the store, only to find her talking with Lance fucking Lacroix, of all people.
Of course, it had to be him. Had to. The only wizard I’d ever considered a friend. I thought I’d never recover from what he did. Not until I met Caylix and Rhys and they yanked me out of the trenches of my own self destruction.
I’ve never been a particularly trusting person—how can you be when life proves to you over and over that placing your faith in the wrong person can shatter you—but Lance killed my sister. Killed her. And I will never forgive him. And I certainly will never forget exactly how deep the corruption runs in witches and wizards alike.
Rhys lets out a whine as the memory of Lance telling Rue not to let the council down plays out: him leaning in intimately, brushing his hand down her arm as if that’s a familiar gesture from him.
Caylix’s snout flares, and he inhales sharply, then shakes his head, the action very human-like if he were any ordinary wolf.
No. I refuse to believe this is as black and white as it appears. Nothing is ever that simple, Rhys mind speaks.
Caylix’s wolf nods in agreement. You know as well as we do that you should believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see.
A dejected scoff leaves me. It comes out more like a puff of air, but the meaning is clear because Caylix’s lip curls to show me his teeth. Of course, they’re automatically jumping to her defense. The thought fills me with unbridled rage. I know what I saw…
Why are you so quick to write her off? Rhys snarls. The vehemence in his tone finally shifts something inside me.
Why am I being so quick to write her off? The answer seems out of my reach, like something should be clicking, but I can’t seem to grasp the thought. I shake my head a few times, trying to clear the utter rage I’ve felt since seeing them together, but it’s as if it’s stuck to my very fur, not allowing me to dispel it so easily. What the hell?
Every time I try to jostle the feeling free, it returns with a vengeance. Now that rings alarm bells when it didn’t before. Did Lance do something to me?
The cracking of bones shifting and realigning signals Caylix’s transformation. “Enough. The only way we’ll get any answers is to talk to Rue herself. We can only hope that she’ll be willing to actually tell us anything after we all ran off on her like this.”
Caylix approaches me, probably to check on my ribs, but I bare my teeth at him. I don’t need his fucking charity. I’m fine.
A flash of hurt crosses his face. Fuck. That’s when I realize I’m full on snarling. He places his palms up to show he’s not a threat.
What the hell is wrong with me? Normally, I’d never even dream of hurting him or Rhys, but right now, I’m not exactly sure I wouldn’t. There’s an endless well of anger in my chest that’s replenishing by the second.
Something is wrong. I’m not in my right mind… I tell them quietly.
Rhys snorts. No shit. I’d bet big money that Lance did something to you. He’s a fucking cocksucking cauldron licker.
I know that better than anyone, except I still remember the days when he wasn’t. The days before his mother sank her claws into him and eviscerated the boy I once knew. The days before he killed Kallie.
I take a deep breath, my ribs screaming in protest, but I ignore it and turn my head as Caylix kneels to examine me. After a minute of poking and prodding, he stands. “Well, you’ll live, but it will take you a while to heal.”
Rhys growls. We need to get home to Rue. This whole Lance shit aside, I have a bad feeling. I can’t sense her.
Caylix runs a hand through his hair. “If I had to guess, I’d say she’s blocking us. Not that I can say I blame her. I’m sure she thinks the worst.”
That would be me. I severed the connection linking her to the pack.
Rhys loses his shit, roaring at me. Caylix steps in between us, keeping Rhys from attacking. The same irrational anger that got us into this mess in the first place attempts to rise up, but it doesn’t have the same effect as before. Probably because I’m far enough out of Lance’s vicinity, it doesn’t have the same potency. That or it had a time limit long enough to get me away from Rue. I knew he was powerful, but this is more than I expected. More than I remember.
God damn, I can’t believe I was so stupid.
Shame fills me as I take a moment to think through what actually happened. The anguish on her face when I stormed off plays on repeat in my mind like a heart broken record. I couldn’t see through my own pain. Couldn’t recognize what me taking off like that would do to her. At the very least, I should’ve stuck around and heard her out. Fuck!
I want to stand and rage and lash out at something about my own stupidity—about allowing Lance to get the better of me—but blinding agony fills me when I try to stand. Yeah, that was a bad idea. All I can do is plop back to the ground and breathe.
Are you fucking done? Rhys asks, a twinge of amusement to his tone. He’s enjoying seeing me like this. Fucker. I deserve it, though.
As soon as he’s healed enough to make the trek home, we’ll get to the bottom of this. We need to hear her side, Caylix says, echoing my own thoughts.
I find myself sending up a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess that this is all a huge misunderstanding, and that I was wrong—that she’s not the plant I feared.
I’m not sure I could handle it if I was right.