Chapter 52
JULIET
Once again, I am baking to apologize to Roderick Jameson.
When I visited his office, I could see the hurt in his eyes. The way he looked at me, I’d almost given up. But that kiss we shared, the one I practically demanded of him, gave me enough hope to think I could find some way out of this twisted mess.
I still don’t think I was wrong to push away the idea of mating, but when I replay how I reacted, I can’t help the painful gnaw of guilt in my gut. All that animosity that fueled my explosive response shouldn’t have been directed at Roderick.
He was on the receiving end of years of anger toward another man.
And after Tanya’s description of his past, I’m surprised Roderick ever gave any part of himself to me. The alpha made himself vulnerable to an outsider—again—and I crushed that offering under my heel and kicked him out of my house.
All Roderick wanted to do was forge a stronger connection between us down the line.
I see now he wasn’t looking for a way to control me.
So, I messed up. And now I need to find a way to fix it.
Find the strength to share the truth of my past with him while also making sure I don’t start a werewolf war.
“Please be halfway decent.” My begging is heartfelt as I kneel in front of my oven, watching the choux pastries begin to rise.
Knowing Roderick, I’m sure he’ll appreciate the gesture more than anything. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to grind out all memory of Monica’s éclairs with my own.
A half hour later, I pull out some golden-brown confections from the oven, thoroughly proud of myself.
That’s two components down, with the filling chilling in the fridge.
Now I just need the topping. I pull two bars of chocolate from the fridge and shove them in the pocket of my apron to start bringing them to room temperature while I put a saucepan on the stove to warm the heavy cream.
A cool breeze traces down my back, garnering a shiver. I wonder distractedly if I accidentally turned the AC on and it just kicked on because of the heat radiating from the oven.
“Hello, Abby,” a familiar voice says.
My body understands before my mind does, every muscle locking in defense, adrenaline skyrocketing in preparation to run.
No. The word trips through my head, ricocheting around my skull with sharp edges that slice at my nerves.
No, no, no, no—
But then I turn around and find my silent pleading was for nothing.
A face I hoped to never see again grins at me from the back door. A door that hangs wide open. There’s not one beep from the alarm.
Why? Because I left it off in anticipation of Roderick arriving soon.
Gods, if only my werewolf were here right now.
But instead, I’m alone as I face a monster.
“Cory.” His name chokes me, pressing on my gag reflex, urging me to vomit.
“What’s with that face?” He saunters into the kitchen. “You used to love it when I showed up at your back door, naked.”
And naked he is. The guy stands barefoot in the middle of my kitchen, not a stitch on him.
“This is a nightmare.” I say the words aloud, hoping that when I acknowledge it, I’ll wake up from the dream.
But the only thing that changes is the expression on Cory’s face.
Gone is his overconfident grin. Left in its place is a snarl.
“You know what’s a nightmare?” he growls, crowding close to grab my chin with a hand that still sports claws.
“Having the woman you love disappear and not being able to find her. Searching for almost a year without a trace. Then showing up at the meeting of the packs and smelling her all over another wolf.”
His eyes flash completely black, and my panic spikes.
Where’s my bat?
He’s going to hurt me.
Why is this happening?
What the hell is the meeting of the packs?
The sting on my cheek from his claw biting into my flesh refocuses me.
“Once I knew you were in Pine Falls, finding you was so easy. Check the library website. Focus on the only staff member without a photo. Search the name Juliet Adair. You know what I found?” His hot breath washes over my face.
“Nothing. Other than this single purchase of a house, it’s like Juliet Adair doesn’t exist.” His smile has a crazed tinge.
“So easy. Almost as if you wanted me to find you.”
Cory tilts his head down toward mine, like he plans to kiss me. My survival instinct kicks in.
With a strength I didn’t know I possessed, I knee his exposed dangly bits.
His fingers loosen enough for me to rip away, and his groaned curse follows me as I race down the hall.
My eyes lock on the little keypad that’s brought me a feeling of safety all these months.
Now, I hope it’ll be the thing to save me.
I smack my whole hand against the glass screen, fumbling for the emergency button and sobbing in relief when my alarm blares to life. But then, the next second, Cory has his bruising grip around my throat, cutting off my airway.
“Turn it off. Now.”
His hold loosens a fraction, and I gasp in a breath.
No, gods, just let the alarm go.
But my survival instincts know how quickly this wolf can crush my windpipe. When I lived with Cory in Bear Valley, I never truly thought he would kill me. Hurt me? Yes. But kill me? Then I’d be gone, and he couldn’t have me anymore.
But I left him, so who knows what he’s willing to do now?
With shaking fingers, I press the number keys. Only the combination is slightly different than the one I normally use.
Please come fast, I silently beg.
“Good girl. See how easy that was?” His thumb strokes the hammering pulse in my neck. “This whole thing could’ve been avoided if you’d just realized how good you had it with me.”
His naked body presses against my back, and I swallow down a gag of revulsion.
At one point, I loved this man. Or maybe that was only a version of him. A false face.
Still, I hate Abby Green for that love she once felt. For how long she convinced herself this man was good at his core.
“Why can’t you let me go?” Fuck the sob that my question rides out on.
“Because you’re mine,” Cory snarls.
The word is slick against my ear, and I want to scrub myself clean.
“Never,” I hiss back.
He growls low in his chest, fingers digging hard into my arm and neck before I’m suddenly released. In my surprise, I stumble forward, hands slapping flat on the wall.
Why did he let me go?
Can I make it to my front door?
“Time to go home, Abby.”
Sirens sound in the distance a second before a sharp pain rips through my head and the world goes black.