Chapter 26
Today is the day I take back my life. I’ll gather everything I need tonight and be on my way first thing tomorrow morning.
I turn around and take one last look at the room.
There’s a bittersweet feeling tugging on my heart.
On one hand, I’m happy to be leaving this place behind, but I can’t ignore the fact that I’ve grown to feel a sort of comfort in this particular room.
For a moment, it actually felt like mine.
But that was an illusion. This wasn’t a safe haven; it was just another cage Thane locked me in.
“Going somewhere?”
I whirl around to see Thane standing over me and instantly take a step back to put space between us.
“I’m going home.” I eye the staircase, but Thane’s enormous body is blocking my path to it. “Kole said he’d take me back.”
“He said I bit you last night.” Thane’s head falls, almost like he’s ashamed of himself.
“You say that like you don’t remember doing it…”
He runs his right hand down the back of his neck, still avoiding eye contact. “The last thing I remember was running into the forest to look for you. After that, the eclipse sort of took over.”
My heart sinks, knowing he doesn’t remember anything that happened between us last night.
I guess I should be thankful for that, but instead I feel embarrassed.
It’s bad enough that I haven’t stopped thinking about how good his fingers felt touching me, but now he’s basically told me it wasn’t even worth remembering. Eclipse or not, it hurts to hear.
“Did I do anything else? Did I hurt you?” There’s a hint of fear lacing his words.
“No,” I lie. “You just bit me, and then Kole showed up.” His shoulders sag as he lets out a weighted breath. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d really like to get the hell out of here.”
“Not until you’ve had breakfast.” Thane counters my sidestep with one of his own.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Really? Because I’ve heard your stomach growl twice since we’ve been standing here.”
I wrap my arms around my stomach like that’ll somehow muffle the sounds of hunger. The truth is, I’m starving after walking away from dinner last night, and a breakfast that’s actually cooked sounds pretty damn enticing.
“Just breakfast,” I finally agree. “And then I get to leave.”
Thane steps aside, motioning to the stairs. “You have my word.”
Not sure that means much, but I guess it’s better than him telling me he doesn’t give a fuck about what I want. Must be a hangover from the eclipse that has him acting less ruthless.
Kole already has breakfast waiting for us when we get to the dining room, so I quickly head for my seat and begin shoveling food into my mouth, eager to get out of here.
“Well, good morning to you too,” Kole teases, taking a seat next to me.
I offer him a forced smile, well aware that I probably look like a chipmunk with how full my cheeks are. Thane glares at the two of us from his seat at the other end of the table, and I have to choke back the laugh at the obvious divide.
Within five minutes, I’ve had my fill of eggs, bacon, and toast. I suppose I could’ve savored it a bit more, but the fear of losing my freedom grows each minute I’m still here.
“Alright, I’m ready to go,” I say, tossing my napkin as I stand.
“Wait,” Thane and Kole say in unison, both jumping up from their seats.
“You said I could leave!”
“And you can,” Thane reassures, shooting over to stand next to his brother. “But first, we have a proposition for you.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I don’t want to hear what the two of you have to say. I want to leave!”
I turn for the door, but they’re already blocking it.
“Just read it,” Kole pleads, handing me a piece of paper.
“What is this?” I ask, running my eyes down the length of the document.
“A contract,” Thane answers.
“More like a truce,” Kole adds. “A way for Thane and you to live in peace.”
I scoff at the ridiculousness of that idea. “Peace would be letting me go.”
“Damnit, Grey! Just read the contract!” Thane snarls.
I reluctantly do as he says, hoping if I entertain this, I’ll be able to get the hell out of here. As I start reading each bullet point, questions begin to run through my mind.
“What’s the point of all this?” I finally ask once I’m done reading.
Thane looks to Kole, as if telling him to explain.
“Well.” Kole clears his throat. “Since Thane marked you, he’s been at war with himself.
Each time he does anything to hurt you, there’s a sort of consequence that comes from the mark.
” Thane’s eyes are locked on the floor between us, but his jaw ticks like he’s fighting the urge to interrupt.
“The bond you two share calls for him to protect you. We’re hoping this contract will ease some of the tension that it’s caused.
But you would get something out of it too, of course. ”
“Like what?” I demand, sitting into my hip.
“You would live here again, but you wouldn’t be locked in your room. You’d have free rein of the house. Other than the east wing, of course. You would be able to read and paint and spend time with Sienna if you wish.”
“Just as long as Thane still has access to me,” I point out, waving the contract in my hand.
“Yeah, but that’s why there are restrictions.
” Kole grabs the paper from me. “See? It says here that you’d only have to have dinner with him four nights a week.
Plus, he can only bite you once a week and only once you’ve consented.
It’s enough to keep the bond satisfied while also giving you your freedom. ”
“Why?” I direct the question to Thane, forcing him to pull his gaze from the maroon rug. “Why would you make a contract restricting yourself when you’ve made it perfectly clear you enjoy seeing me suffer?”
“Because I don’t enjoy it!” He shoots over, grabbing my face in both hands. “It broke me to see you drowning in that tank of blood!”
“Then why’d you do it?” I snap, pulling my face from his hold. “Why keep hurting me?”
“I’m trying not to! Can’t you see that?” He turns his back to me, carving his hands through his hair.
“Look, Thane will let you go if that’s what you want,” Kole explains with an even tone. “But the longer you two are separated, the more the bond will call you together.” Kole glances at Thane, who still has his back to me. “After last night, we’re worried he won’t be able to stay away from you.”
“But I thought that was because of the eclipse?”
“It was,” Kole confirms. “But it was also because of the mark. Each day you’ve been gone, it’s been harder for him to stay away.”
Thane suddenly whirls around to face me. “You feel it too, don’t you?”
“What? No!”
“Really?” Thane presses. “Then why haven’t you left? If you’re so scared of me and hate me so much, why stick around?”
“It doesn’t matter, because as soon as I get back, I’m packing my things and getting the hell away from you!” I snatch the contract from Kole and tear it down the middle before tossing it on the floor. “Fuck your contract. And fuck you!”
Thane lunges forward, but Kole cuts him off, stepping between us.
“I’ll take you back now.”
Thane looks like his head is about to explode, but he steps aside, allowing me and his brother to pass. Kole apologizes for Thane as we make our way out to the SUV, but I tell him to save it for someone who cares.
Once we pull onto the road, it feels like a weight has been lifted. Telling Thane that I plan on leaving wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but seeing as how he’s been watching me, he’ll find out soon enough anyway. I just hope I can get far enough away before the bond sends him after me.
“The contract was your idea, wasn’t it?”
“I had to do something,” Kole says, keeping his eyes on the road.
“You had to have known I would never agree to it.”
Kole shakes his head disapprovingly. “You’re so stubborn that you can’t see this is the best thing for you.”
“What is best for me is to get the hell away from here.”
When I turn toward him, he looks utterly defeated.
He doesn’t even continue to argue. He just remains silent the rest of the drive.
Once we’re back at the abandoned house I’ve been staying in, there’s hesitation from both of us.
We know this is probably the last time we’ll ever see each other, and everything about that feels wrong in this moment.
“I hope you find the freedom you’re looking for,” he finally says. I can barely look at him without feeling like my heart is breaking. Whatever this invisible string is that seems to connect the two of us, it feels like it’s on the verge of breaking, and the feeling is almost unbearable.
“Goodbye, Kole,” is all I can muster.
I slip through the door, shutting it before the tears start to roll down my cheeks.
I can still feel him on the other side, waiting for me to change my mind.
It feels like I’m being split down the middle.
Half of me wants to lock the door and forget he ever existed, while the other half wants to run into his arms and tell him to take me back.
It’s the latter that reminds me I’ve gotten in too deep.
If I don’t leave now, I might never, and a life under Thane’s control is no life at all.
Minutes feel like hours before I finally step away from the door and accept that Kole has gone. I even resist the urge to look, holding onto the sliver of hope that he’s still on the other side, waiting.
Eventually, night falls, and I decide it’s time to gather my things.
The small comfort I had been holding onto dies the moment I open the front door and find Kole no longer standing on the other side.
A hurricane of emotions whirls inside of me, but I do my best to block it all out.
If I give in to them, I’ll never make it out of here, and right now, that’s all that matters.