Chapter 11
When I step into the study, Thane is standing at the tall arched window, looking into the distance.
He doesn’t bother acknowledging my presence, instead, keeping his back to me with his hands tightly clasped like he’s trying to hold back the beast inside him.
I glance back at Kole just as he’s shutting the door.
“Sit.” Thane’s voice startles me, and when I turn back, his eyes are narrowed on me. He motions to the chair stationed in front of his desk and makes his way over.
I hate that he takes every opportunity to put himself above me. Even now, he remains standing, leaning back against the front of his desk with a superior attitude.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” he asks, crossing his arms that look like they’re about to burst from the tight white sleeves concealing them.
“Not really,” I answer, slouching back like I couldn’t give two shits about this conversation.
He leans down, pinning me to the chair.
“You pissed on me.” His hands squeeze the cushioned arms of the chair, and I know he’s fighting the urge to wrap them around my throat.
“Only after you burned my arm and dug your claws into me,” I reply with an even tone, attempting to mask the rise he’s trying to get out of me.
“I should’ve killed you for that little stunt.”
“Then why didn’t you?” I challenge, sitting forward to meet him. “You could’ve left me to die out there, but you didn’t. You even went as far as to let Leo heal me with vampire blood.”
He retreats, standing back up, and it feels like a small victory.
“If you died, then I’d have to find a new pet.” He circles around to the back of my chair, making the hairs on my neck stand up. “And you’re sooo much fun to play with,” he purrs behind me.
I’m just about to shoot up from the chair when the shock collar falls from my neck into my lap.
I turn around to look at him. “What are you doing?”
Thane grabs the collar and tosses it onto his desk with a loud thud.
“We had a bet.” My brows knit in confusion. “One of the werewolves found your antics a little too amusing, so I had to kill him. In the end, the vampires won 3-2.”
“You killed him?” I gasp, feeling a tinge of guilt.
He shrugs as if taking a life means nothing to him. “I thought you’d be happy.”
“Unlike you, I don’t celebrate the loss of a life.” I stand up, taking a step closer to him. “Besides, shock collar or not, I know you’ll find another way to hurt me.”
There’s a flicker in his eyes, but it’s gone before I have a chance to know what it was.
“As long as you behave, there’s no need for punishment.”
“If you want a pet who heeds your every order, then you’ve got the wrong girl.” Despite the feeling of fear creeping up my spine, I take a step forward, so there’s only an inch of space between us. “I have no intention of rolling over, so you might as well kill me or let me go.”
His eyes fall away from mine, and I realize he has a perfect view down my camisole. I start to step back but stop. He doesn’t get to win. He doesn’t get to watch me cower away like some rabbit he’s set his eyes on.
Instead, I glare daggers, waiting for him to say something, but his eyes remain locked on my chest.
“Eyes up here, buddy.” I tilt my head to draw his attention.
“I have no intentions of doing either one of those things,” he says simply, as if he wasn’t just gawking at my cleavage like it were a fresh piece of meat.
So much for Sienna’s theory that Thane isn’t a pervert like the rest of the animals around here.
“I guess we’re at an impasse then,” I declare, sitting into my hip.
“It’s only a matter of time before you break, Grey.”
I turn and start for the door. “In case you haven’t noticed…” I pause with my hand on the doorknob, looking back over my shoulder. “I bend. I don’t break.”
Though the vampire blood healed my wounds, the exhaustion of the past few days had taken its toll on my body.
I spent half the day tucked away in the comfort of my bed, and I probably would’ve stayed there the rest of the night if Sienna hadn’t used her werewolf strength to toss me into the shower five minutes ago.
“What torture am I going to have to endure tonight?” I ask, working the conditioner into my hair. This may be my second shower of the day, but after spending three nights in the woods, it’s still very necessary.
“Well, tonight is the last night the leaders are here. There’s going to be a garden party out back, so I brought you some options with sleeves.”
When I step out of the shower, Sienna is already holding out a towel for me to step into. I always had to share space with other kids growing up, so privacy was never something that held much weight for me.
“What are the chances tonight actually goes smoothly for once?” I joke.
“Well, that depends.” Sienna hands me a silk robe that feels like butter against my skin. “What are the chances you’ll actually behave tonight?”
She tosses me a knowing look, and I shake my head.
“I will if he does.”
Sienna sighs and begins running a brush through my hair. “Well, the good news is, I get to accompany you!”
“No way!” I whirl around to face her and find her smiling like a Cheshire Cat. “That makes it way more bearable.”
She laughs and motions for me to turn back around. “I usually never get to go to these things, so maybe this is Alpha’s way of making nice with you.”
“Yeah, I doubt that.”
Once Sienna is done, I hardly recognize myself. I’ve only worn makeup a few times in my life, and it only consisted of mascara and a hint of eyeliner.
“What do you think?” Sienna asks nervously, looking me over in the mirror.
Something about the way I look tonight makes me feel powerful.
The gown she chose for me is feminine, yet fierce.
The black lace that covers the beige lining starts just off my shoulders and runs down my arms and hands, held in place by a loop fixed around my middle finger like a ring.
It hugs my body as if it were molded to me.
My different colored eyes pop against the smokey eye she’s created, and it feels empowering.
Almost like I’ve reclaimed something that was taken from me long ago.
My shoulders and collarbone gleam from the highlight she brushed over them, and the way my hair is styled on top of my head represents poise and elegance—two things I’ve never possessed.
I see myself, but I also see someone else. Someone who others should fear. Not because she’s the biggest or strongest, but because she knows who she is and she’s not going to change for anyone.
Not even a monstrous hybrid.
“You ladies clean up nice for a human and a wolf,” Kieran interrupts from the bathroom doorway.
“It’s a shame we can’t say the same about you,” Sienna quips, shooing him out of her way.
I catch a glimpse of a grin on Kieran’s face when she brushes past him, and it makes me wonder if his disgust with werewolves is just an act he puts on.
Sienna quickly finishes up, and Kieran escorts us to the garden, which has been transformed for the occasion.
Strings of yellow lights hang over the entire maze of rose bushes while a few of the surrounding trees are wrapped in fairy lights.
Small round tables have been put out for guests to set their drinks and plates on, and there are even servers walking around with trays full of champagne glasses and hors d’oeuvres.
“I figured you guys wouldn’t eat human food,” I say to both Kieran and Sienna despite knowing Thane does.
“Most vampires don’t, but some do. It’s personal preference,” Kieran answers before glancing at Sienna. “The mutts will eat just about anything, though.”
“Actually.” Sienna glares back at him. “Our palates are just more sophisticated.” She turns her attention toward me. “The vampires always had to stay hidden, but most wolves lived among the humans, so we’ve kept a lot of their habits. But don’t get me wrong, we still love a good hunt.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“Make sure she doesn’t go outside of the garden,” Kieran tells Sienna, as if she’s my keeper for the evening.
“What? No leash?” I question with a bite of sarcasm.
“No collar, no leash,” he answers with a head tilt. “Trust, if it were up to me, you’d be enjoying this party from one of the pens.” He motions to the ones behind the hedge, and I notice Night isn’t there.
“What happened to Night and the others?” I ask, ignoring his previous comment.
“Thane sent them to one of the other territories. One that isn’t so wolf friendly.” His voice drops an octave at the last part.
“What do you mean by that?” I probe. It’s not like Night and I were ever friends, but being held captive together did create at least a little bond between the two of us.
“Some territories are more mixed, with equal parts vampires and werewolves like here, but others are vampire or werewolf heavy. Thane may have us all under a truce, but trust me…” He dips his head down toward me. “There are plenty who don’t exactly agree with the arrangements.”
“Are you saying they’ll be killed in the new territory?” There’s an edge to my voice that he seems to find amusing. Surely he’s judging me for having human emotions. Something he obviously lacks.
“If they’re not killed, they’ll wish they had been.” He huffs out a heartless laugh before turning around and taking off.
“What a dick,” Sienna blurts, and I can’t stop myself from laughing.
“You know, you’re not what I thought you were going to be like,” I tell her with a playful nudge.
“Maybe you’re just a bad influence on me,” she replies with a teasing grin.
“Well, in that case…” I pull her down the rest of the steps. “I say we get drunk tonight.”
“Yeah right!” She slips her hand from my grip and shakes her head.
“Oh, come on! You said you never get to come to these things, and I’m off-leash. I’d say those are two good reasons to celebrate.”
She eyes me for a moment, and I can see she’s considering it.
“What about Alpha?”
I shrug. “What about him? He’s not even here yet. Besides, it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
I chase down one of the servers and chug one of the glasses of champagne before grabbing two more.
“Just one,” she says, taking the glass from me.
“Sure,” I agree, though we both know that’s a lie. “Cheers to us!”
We clink glasses and make our way into the garden.
A few of the leaders eye me up and down as we pass by, but when I feign a smile back, they quickly divert their attention.
I’m sure they’re not too pleased with the lack of collar and chains around my neck, which makes me quite happy.
I quickly finish off my second glass of champagne and grab a replacement.
Thane could show up any minute, so I’m not wasting any time.
“If you weren’t here tonight, what would you be doing?” I ask, wanting to know a little bit more about this girl who seems to be the only decent person around here.
“Honestly, when I’m not working, I’m usually at home knitting.”
“Knitting?” I bark a laugh, but quickly cut it off when I realize she’s embarrassed. “Well, hell. When are you going to knit me something?”
“You would really want that?” she asks, hope welling in her chocolate brown eyes.
“Sure. No one has ever knitted me anything, and winter is right around the corner, so it’s perfect timing.”
She bounces on her heels, buzzing with excitement. “I know just what I’m going to make you!”
“Just do me a favor and make sure it’s black.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “Fine, but one of these days you’re going to learn to love other colors.”
“Grey is pretty nice,” I retort with a wink.
Sienna knocks her arm against mine, making me sway a little.
“I’m coming to find I quite like grey,” she says, the smile on her face letting me know she’s not talking about the color anymore.
“Ooh look!” She points to someone near the edge of the garden doing tricks with fire and quickly pulls me along to get a closer look.
The man has a staff lit with fire on both ends. We watch as he tosses it in the air and catches it behind his back.
“It would be a lot more impressive if he wasn’t using his vampire speed to assist him,” I whisper to Sienna.
“Agreed,” she adds with a sideways glance. “But that’s a vampire for you… always cheating.”
“No need to cheat when you’re the superior species.”
We both whirl around to find Kole looking down on us with a smug expression.
“Is that what Mommy and Daddy told you when you couldn’t compete with Thane?” I taunt with a smug grin of my own.
He yanks my arm so hard that my shoulder nearly pops out of its socket. “You don’t know the first thing about our family.”
“And I don’t care to! As far as I’m concerned, you’re all monsters.” I pull my arm back and rub my shoulder with my thumb to soothe the slight ache.
“Trust me when I say you haven’t even begun to feel the wrath of us monsters.” He eyes me up and down, shaking his head. “What’s been done to you is child’s play compared to the things Thane and I have endured.”
He turns around and storms off, but not before I catch the glimpse of pain that flickered behind his eyes. It’s a look that most people wouldn’t notice. Only someone like me. Someone who has also endured more than others could even fathom.