Chapter 17
It’s been ten days since Kole locked me in this shithole.
The first few days, the other prisoners hissed threats and told me my kind was an abomination.
But eventually, they settled down. In the end, we were all prisoners.
Their hate for my kind didn’t matter down here.
I wasn’t the one threatening them, and when one of the vampires was taken by two of Thane’s men, they were reminded of that fact.
He hadn’t been brought back, and I know he won’t.
He’d be killed whether or not he gave Thane any information, and part of me hoped he hadn’t.
Now that I’ve had time to think on it, war between the vampires and werewolves seems like a good idea to me.
It would cut the population in half, and there would be one less species for me to fear.
Well, that is, if I ever get out of here.
Thane’s absence has given me hope that maybe his obsession with having a human pet was just a phase.
Although, if that’s the case, then this cell might just become my permanent residence, and the idea of that might just be worse.
“Let’s go, Grey.”
I snap my head up to find Kieran on the other side of the metal bars.
As much as I’ve hated being locked in this cell and fed only cans of tuna, I’m thankful Thane still allowed for showers.
Ice cold showers, but at this point I can’t complain too much.
He’s made it very clear that my situation can get worse, and I’m not stupid enough to challenge that.
It’s bad enough having to pee in a bucket.
If I didn’t get shower privileges every day, then I’d have to use the bucket for something else, and there’s really no coming back from that.
“You know the drill,” Kieran says, pushing me into the bedroom I used to be able to call my own. “You’ve got twenty minutes.”
Once I’ve showered and changed, I spend my last few minutes huddled in the warmth of the comforter I now long for. It’s stupid how fast I got used to such luxuries that I spent the past three years without. It’s like I’ve tasted chocolate, and now I can only have vegetables. It’s cruel.
Out of nowhere, Kieran bursts through the door, and I faceplant, trying to scramble out of bed.
“Oh, now that’s just pathetic,” he snickers from the doorway.
I pick myself and my pride up off the floor, avoiding eye contact. “You’re not the one living in a dungeon.”
“No,” he says, nodding for me to follow. “And you wouldn’t be either if you had just done what you were told.”
I scoff but remain silent because he’s right.
I could be living it up with hot showers and warm meals, but even after spending time in the dungeons, I know if given the chance, I’d continue to disobey Thane.
It’s in my nature to disregard authority, and ten days in a dark cell isn’t going to change that.
“Wait, aren’t you taking me back to the dungeons?” I ask when Kieran heads for the front door instead of the back one.
“Not today,” he answers over his shoulder. “You’re going on a field trip.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
He quickens his pace down the elaborate staircase toward a slick black Aston Martin.
I’ve never been interested in cars, and certainly not ones I could never afford, but one of my foster brothers was obsessed with them, and this particular car was his favorite.
Kieran opens the butterfly door on the passenger side and orders me to get in.
I’m in the middle of hounding him for more details when he shuts the door in my face.
“Buckle up.”
I whip around to find Thane already in the driver’s seat with his hand on the wheel and a scowl on his face.
“Where are we going? The roads are all blocked by abandoned vehicles. There’s no—”
Thane reaches across me and buckles my seatbelt before accelerating so fast that my entire body shifts back into the seat from the sheer force.
“We’ve cleared certain roads over the years,” he says, continuing to speed down the road that leads up to the mansion.
“Can you slow down?” I shriek, as we round a switchback.
“No!” he barks, accelerating even more.
I grab a hold of the door and the middle console, holding on for dear life. It’s been years since I’ve been in a car, and between the speed at which he’s going and the winding roads down the mountain, the nausea is quickly creeping up.
“Stop the car!” I yell, squeezing my eyes shut as I try to hold back the acid crawling up my throat. “I’m going to be sick!”
The car comes to a screeching halt, the seatbelt cutting into my neck as my body shoots forward.
I quickly unbuckle and turn for the door, spilling out onto the road as my tuna from earlier comes back up with a vengeance.
When I settle back into the car, Thane looks even more irritated than he did before, like it’s somehow my fault.
“Would it hurt you to drive a little slower?” I snap, making sure to fasten my seatbelt before he takes off again.
“We’re already running late,” he grumbles.
“Late for what? Where are we going?” I press, as the car picks up speed again.
Clearly, he doesn’t give a damn that his driving is making me sick.
“You’ll find out when we get there,” he dismisses, keeping his eyes on the road.
He hasn’t looked at me once, and I’m starting to feel like he’s doing it on purpose. Even his posture is more tense than usual, and if he grips the steering wheel any tighter, the thing is going to split in two.
“Fine.” I turn my body toward the door and peer out the window at the blurring trees. If there are any houses nearby, I can’t make them out. The only road seems to be the one we’re on, and I have yet to see it fork off.
Eventually, I accept that I won’t be able to map out an escape route from the car and close my eyes, hoping it’ll help with the motion sickness.
I’m not sure how long I dozed off for, but when I open my eyes again, the moon has replaced the setting sun.
As I adjust to the new surroundings, I sit up to get a better look out the windshield.
Just as Thane had mentioned, half of the road has been cleared of the abandoned cars, which are now piled along the right side.
Though it’s been years since the Last War, the essence of it still remains, lingering like a fog over the new world.
The blood spilled along this road has long since been washed away, but the broken door hinges and caved-in hoods still depict the horrors of the attack, reminding me of all that was lost. Suddenly, the emptiness in my stomach isn’t from the nausea, but from the realization of it all.
It was easier to compartmentalize it when I was living in the woods.
It was like I had been plucked from the world and placed in an alternate universe.
Of course, I knew that wasn’t the case, but it felt less real that way.
I was almost able to trick my mind, but coming face-to-face with the wreckage now is a reminder of all that the world used to be.
All of the lives that were taken. Generations of families.
An entire species. Wiped from existence like a smudge on a window.
The only ones left to mourn the old world are the few of us who remain alive.
Hidden in the shadows of the monsters that now rule over it all.
I glance over at the one sitting next to me.
The one who is responsible for bringing the two deadly species together to overtake everything we had built.
Over the last few days, the fire in me had been stifled by the isolation of my cell, but as my eyes sweep over the worst monster of them all, that fire breathes new life.
Everything seems to crash into me at once.
I never had much love for the world before.
It had only ever brought me heartbreak and torment, but each car we pass seems to cut into me with a plea for vengeance.
It’s like the ghosts of all the lost are now clinging to me.
Begging me to deliver the revenge they’ll never be able to.
Without a second thought, I unbuckle my seatbelt and thrust myself onto Thane’s lap, yanking the steering wheel to the left.
The car jerks off of the road so fast that my forehead slams into the driver’s side window, sending a shooting pain all the way down my spine.
Everything fades into a blur as shadows crawl around the edges of my vision while my body violently jolts with the car.
One second, I’m pressed between Thane and the steering wheel, and the next, I’m lying on my back, watching the car be engulfed by flames as an explosion sends a ripple of heat rushing toward me. It only lasts for a couple of seconds before Thane appears next to me, blocking the wave of heat.
No. He’s supposed to be burning up in that fire, paying for what he’s done.
Before I can even attempt to fight him off, Thane scoops me into his arms and takes off into the forest.
“Let me go!” I grunt, throwing my left palm into his chest with as much force as I can muster.
He stops running, his eyes falling to mine with a wild look in them that makes my heart stutter. Thane sets me down on the ground and starts pacing back and forth.
“How could you be so stupid?” He spits the last word, pushing his hands through his dark hair as he turns on his heel and rushes toward me. “Reckless, stubborn, impossible human!” He pulls me up from the ground and pins me against a tree. “You could’ve died!”
“If it meant taking you with me, then so be it!” I fire back.
He grabs a hold of my head with both hands like he’s about to slam it into the side of the tree, but he doesn’t. Instead, he presses his forehead to mine, drawing in a deep breath.
When he pulls back, there’s a smudge of blood next to his scar, and I wipe my forehead, realizing it’s my blood.
Everything happened so fast, and with the adrenaline pumping, I hadn’t realized just how much I hurt.
Thane rips a strip of fabric from his shirt and presses it against the wound with pinched brows.
“You and this damn forehead,” he breathes with the shake of his head.
The anger seems to dissipate between us with each passing second.
Almost as if the mark is somehow making it impossible for us to fully hate each other.
It’s like there’s an ocean between us. Sometimes there’s a hurricane violently whipping up waves, while other times, the water seems to be completely calm.
Neither of us seems to have control over our emotions.
I know I hate him after all that he’s done, but risking my life to take his doesn’t feel like me at all, and yet that’s what I did.
He pulls the fabric from my forehead and runs his glowing eyes down my face.
“Never, ever, do something like that again.” He says it as more of a plea than a threat, and I watch as his throat bobs, wondering if he’s swallowing the rest of his anger.
“What are you doing?” I scream, as he throws me over his shoulder and takes off through the forest.
He sets me down once we reach the road and immediately starts sprinting from car to car. Eventually, one purrs to life, and he calls for me to get in. When I slip into the seat, I chew on the inside of my cheek, trying to hold in my laugh.
“What’s so funny?” he asks, clearly not sharing my amusement.
I shake my head. “It’s nothing.” A laugh bursts from my lips, and I quickly clamp my hand over my mouth to smother it.
“Tell me,” he growls, reaching over to pull my hand away.
“It’s just…” I draw in a breath. “You went from an Aston Martin to a Prius.” Hysterical laughter spews from me as I take in the look of Thane bunched in the driver’s seat. “And it’s teal!”
He lets go of my wrist and sits back, letting out an irritated breath. “Get it out now because you won’t be laughing later.”
“Oh, come on. You know it’s a little funny.”
He rolls his eyes at me and inches the car out onto the side of the road that has been cleared.
The engine struggles when he attempts to accelerate too fast, and I toss my head back, letting out a laugh that sounds a hell of a lot like a scream.
He mumbles something, but I can’t make it out over my laughter.
“Quickly!” he adds, a bit louder.
I turn my attention to him, and my laughter immediately ceases.
“You have a cell phone?” I gape, watching him shove it back into his pocket.
He looks at me with confusion. “Yeah…”
“I thought… well, I just assumed that the cell towers wouldn’t work anymore.”
“I think you have the wrong idea of us, Grey.” He keeps one hand on the steering wheel and turns to face me.
“We’ve spent hundreds of years living in the human world.
Most of the werewolves integrated. They had jobs and houses.
Even some of the vampires found isolated work.
” He turns his attention back to the road.
“The areas you’ve been living in are reserved for those who choose to live a more natural lifestyle.
Once we get to Seattle, you’ll see it’s not so different. ”
“Seattle?” I blurt. “That’s where we’re going?”
“Mhm.”
“Why?”
He turns to me with a slight smirk. “I lost two leaders because of you. Now I need to find their replacements.”
“I didn’t make you kill either one of them!” I fire back.
“Maybe not directly, but they’re still dead because of you.”
“You think I asked for Troy to—” I choke on the words and turn to look out the window.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Thane finally says.
“Yes, you did.”
The car comes to an abrupt stop, and Thane grabs a hold of my face, turning it to him.
“His death is not yours to own. I never should’ve said that.” There’s a sincerity in his voice that catches me off guard as his intense gaze cuts straight through me.
After an achingly long moment, Thane finally drops his hand and starts driving again.
“I don’t get you,” I mumble, turning to face the window.
“Well, I don’t get you either.”