CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE #2
“Ha. He just had to point, and his daddy took care of all of it.” Henry’s disgust at Jacob and Alexius was very clear.
I wondered how much time had passed. I knew Alexius and the others would have made time on Lexi and me.
They were all far more experienced with driving at high speeds, and they could coordinate with anyone closer, like members of the pack or Maria’s nest, to get people here quickly.
They didn’t beat Lexi and me, but I had a feeling they were only ten to fifteen minutes behind us, tops.
“What if I… like Alexius?” I asked tentatively.
“You have had no other options because he’s kept you with him, making you think it was a good idea, but he’s also put you in danger every time I’ve heard about it.
He pressured you out of public, away from even an attempt at meeting someone else.
I saw it. I will find you a husband who is respectable.
The right husband,” Henry snapped. “Just like I made sure my sister had the right husband. I made sure every girl of the family who stayed in the area found the right husband. A little suggestion here or there. I couldn’t do anything about the ones who left. ”
And that clearly bothered my uncle.
“But we can find you a better man, and I will make him a vampire, and he’ll be your husband.” Henry leaned toward me. “Declan will have to approve of him as well as a grown man of the family now, too. Clearly, as the senior man, I will have the final say.”
I could hear Lexi’s heart thumping and saw her disgusted expression out of the corner of my eye.
Henry was repulsive. He had hidden it so well for so long.
Jacob’s exile must have been him realizing how disturbed Henry could be or perhaps not even the full depth of it.
Just a real glimmer of it. In the years since, Henry just grew more deranged, all the awful things he would have never said finally pouring out of him.
He was obsessed with his family. He was addicted to the power of controlling it.
“That would be nice. Alexius was really my only option for a long time. I felt like I owed him,” I lied. “It would be nice to be guided by a family member instead of a stranger.”
The words felt revolting to say, but it was the only thing I could think of. Perhaps Henry could get away with attitude for a long time as long as he was quiet about it, but it made me sick. Perhaps he went off the deep end after he’d lost everything.
I didn’t know, and I didn’t care anymore.
The only thing that mattered was that I bought time and got closer to my target.
The red at the sides of my vision grew. I was certain it was just the light playing tricks on me.
I just needed to wait for the right time to let myself do what my blood was screaming to do. I was doing my best to keep a stranglehold over my nature as the roaring call of my blood demanded that blood be shed.
I took another step.
I hoped enough time had passed.
He opened his arms, and I closed the distance, trying to remain emotionally detached as we embraced.
There was a slight turn, and I could see Lexi.
I summoned my claws into Henry’s back, holding tightly.
“Now, Lexi!”
Lexi lunged forward as Henry realized the pain was because of me, and the werewolf he hadn’t been worried about was moving to take Declan.
“No! He’s mine!” Henry screamed, ear-piercingly.
I hissed, pulling Henry away, trying to give Lexi the time she needed. She lifted Declan with ease and scrambled for the stairs with him in a fireman’s carry.
I tore my nails from him intentionally to cause pain and damage. He roared and shoved me into the wall. I had seen it coming and tucked my chin to make sure my head didn’t bounce off the wall. He went running for the stairs, and I followed, grabbing his leg. Henry was quick, but so was I.
My claws dug through his pant leg, and I ripped him back.
His chin hit three steps before he found the side rail to grab and kicked me with his free leg.
He kicked again, aiming for my hands, and I released my hold before he could break my fingers.
He got back to his feet and was running up again.
This time, I jumped on his back, looking for leverage to get control of his head.
“You’re staying with me,” I screamed as he spun and grabbed at my wrists as I balanced myself on his back and shoulders with my legs.
We fell into the kitchen together. He was able to grab my head this time and slammed it into the tile.
It made my ears ring, and one felt wet suddenly.
As I pushed up, through the pain of that hit, he grabbed something from the kitchen and swung back into my direction.
I started to jump away, but I didn’t get one foot away in time.
The pain raced up my leg and reached my brain too slowly.
I was screaming before it registered. I turned to see he’d used a knife through my foot to keep me from getting away.
“You’ll stay here, and I’ll deal with you when I’m back,” he snarled, then ran out, going to chase Lexi down, who certainly hadn’t been able to make it down the drive yet. It was so long, and she was fast, but she wasn’t that fast.
“Fuck you,” I hissed, and knowing it was going to hurt like hell, I grabbed the handle of the knife and pulled it out of my foot.
He’d buried it into the tile and concrete as well, and I could feel the awful little debris.
Bones were broken, but I pushed myself to stand.
I yanked open the mini fridge under the bar and grabbed a blood bag, drinking it as I hobbled after them, each step beginning to heal my foot.
It was healing wrong, but I knew that could be fixed later.
I was in a run again by the time I got out of the building, and I pushed hard, seeing what my top speed could be while I was in my right mind.
Am I sane right now?
I was certainly not as my vision went entirely red, and it looked like the world was washed with blood.