Chapter 10
It Wasn't Me
ELLIOT
“Mother wants you home early,” Vanessa says, the shrill pitch of her voice making the speaker crackle.
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know, Elliot. I’m not in the habit of asking her to explain herself.”
I groan.
Of course, Mother says jump, and Vanessa just takes off flying.
“When?” I ask.
“Tonight. Midnight.”
“I can’t. I have—”
“I don’t give a fuck!” she snaps, and I hold the phone away from my head as she shouts. “Don’t be late!”
The line goes dead before I can tell her to fuck off, and I fist the phone to keep from breaking something as I start to pace.
The last time Mother called us in early, she announced that she’d be taking over as head of the family. The time before that, Uncle Aaron had died in a challenge a few days beforehand. So even though I have no idea what reason she could have this time, I know it’s nothing good.
My dampener starts to chafe at the mere thought of the entire Cross line packed into one house. It’ll be a miracle if we can make it to sunrise without killing each other.
I pry at the heavy leather as it bears down on my Adam’s apple, wishing I could be free of this cursed thing.
It’s been getting worse lately. Every little thought sends it constricting around my throat like a boa. The only thing I’ve found to ease the tension is—
“Iris?”
Her name slips from my lips as I catch the scent of her smoke and honey wafting in from the hallway. The grip on my phone loosens as I check the time.
She’s early, and she’s moving fast.
She must be hungry.
I’m on my feet before she reaches the door, but she doesn’t bother knocking.
She strides into the room, uninvited, and my dampener eases off my throat. But the relief is short-lived as I register the scowl on her face.
“You know what’s funny?” She spins on me, arms crossed, hip hitched. “I should’ve known better.”
Okay, this is not a friendly visit.
I shut the door and ready myself for the onslaught.
“Actually, no,” she says, waving a finger at me.
“I do know better! That’s the worst part.
I only agreed to this because I thought you could keep it in your pants for five minutes.
” Her eyes roll exaggeratedly as she shrugs.
“Silly of me, I know. Why would I expect such a thing when I’m expected to feed from you and only you? That’s silly, right?”
I don’t get a chance to answer.
“Gods, I can’t believe you!” she snaps, throwing her hands up.
Her bag falls to the floor as she starts to pace.
Is this a joke? If so, it’s not funny.
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
She whirls, her midnight eyes blazing as she stalks across the room to stand in front of me.
“Spare me the innocent act. I know you get around. It’s no secret. But I thought for five minutes—” her hands clench and her eyes shut ”—I thought I could trust you for five minutes.”
She swallows hard, fingers curling into fists at her sides.
It takes a lot for her to get those words out. After she’s done, I can see she wishes she could take them back. Reel them in and say something ordinary instead. Like, ‘fuck you.’ But it’s too late.
“Baby, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Okay?”
“Don’t. Call me that,” she hisses. “And don’t play dumb. I know you’re fucking Tara Bridale.”
“W-who?” The dampener tightens, stunting my words, and all I can do is stare at her as she shakes her head.
“Tara? Bridale?”
She repeats the name slower, as if that’s supposed to help, and my own frustration mounts as I start to cough.
“I don’t know who that is,” I choke out. “But I’m not fucking anyone else.”
Strictly speaking, I’m not even fucking Iris.
“That’s not what I heard,” she sasses.
“Yeah? I heard if I stare at you for too long, my dick will fall off. So, fuck what you heard.”
Her gaze drops to the floor, and her expression hardens as she holds up her phone.
On the screen is a picture of a young wolf and me. She is reaching up on her toes, mouth inches from mine as we stand in a dark alleyway, somewhere off of Valorath Rd.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
“That’s not what it looks like,” I say.
Iris’s face twists into a look of pure disgust.
“That’s the best you can come up with? Are you kidding me? What are you going to say next? It wasn’t me?” She shakes her head as she starts pacing again. “Gods, I could strangle you.”
I finger the dampener closing in around my neck.
“I think you might be.”
“Excuse me?” She whirls.
“Nothing.” I cringe as I try to swallow. “Can you sit down? Your pacing isn’t helping.”
“No,” she snaps. “I don’t want to sit down. And I don’t want to see your stupid face ever again.”
The veins in my throat start to swell as she snatches up her bag, and I rush to head her off, blocking the doorway.
“No,” I rasp. “Sit down.”
Her eyes are wide as she cocks her head.
“Who are you talking to?” she shouts.
Fuck, she looks so good when she’s angry. I think I’m going to pass out.
“I’m talking to you!” I shout back. “You don’t get to come in here yelling and leave without giving me a chance to explain myself. Now, sit your ass down!” Before you kill me.
She frowns, face fuming so hot I can almost see the steam rising from her forehead.
But it’s been a couple of days since she last fed, and she doesn’t have the energy she usually does.
So instead of clawing her way through me as she normally would, she sighs, dropping her bag by the door and taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
Her legs cross as she leans back on her hands, and when I crouch down in front of her, she looks anywhere but at me.
“Here,” I say, passing her my phone.
I have the message thread with my new friend pulled up, and her eyes widen as she reads.
“Oh, my gods. Elliot, that’s-that’s…how—”
Her hands start to shake, and I pocket the phone to keep her from staring at it too long.
“I will explain everything, alright. But I promise you, there’s no one else. Not her, not anyone. If you don’t believe me, we can ask Kitty or Dame. They’ll tell you. The only scent on me is yours. Okay?”
Her eyes are distant when she looks at me, glassy and empty.
The image is wholly foreign for a woman who, at any given time, has so much life pouring out of her it could suffocate a man, and I find myself wondering who I have to kill so that fate will leave her be.
When she finally speaks, her voice is low, soft, and defeated.
“I refuse to be embarrassed by you, Cross. And that—” she gestures at my phone ”—is clearly more than we bargained for. Maybe I should just—”
“No.”
She groans, rolling her eyes so far back I think they might get stuck.
“You can’t just say no,” she says, shoulders slumping.
“Yes, I can. You’re not the only one in that picture, Iris. Do you know what they do to people like us?”
“People like us?”
“Dangerous people,” I clarify. “The ones with so much power it makes them nervous. If you’re lucky, they slap a dampener on you and turn you loose like Cain.
A brand on your back for everyone to gawk at.
If you’re not, they leave you to rot in a hole somewhere for the rest of your life.
” My own dampener constricts at the mere thought of her alone in a dungeon somewhere.
“They’re already afraid of us. All they need is an excuse. I’m begging you not to give them one.”
I’m on my knees now, her hands clutched tight between my own, but she doesn’t pull away.
Iris is not naive. She knows every word I’ve said is true. But it still takes a while before she can stand to look at me again, and when she does, her eyes are misty. The dark color swimming in a pain I’m more than familiar with.
But eventually she blinks away her unshed tears and nods.
“Okay,” she says, voice unusually soft.
I pull her hands to my lips, pressing a swift kiss to her open palm.
“Thank you,” I mutter against her skin.
I don’t move until the clock tower rings, marking the hour and disrupting the quiet moment.
“Shit.” I curse as I stand. “Come on.”
“No,” she shakes her head. “I’ll be fine. Just go.”
“No, we need to talk about our new friend,” I say. “And you still need to eat something.”
I tug her to her feet before collecting her bag off the floor. She follows begrudgingly, but she doesn’t fight me as I lead her to the door. Not until it swings open.
Her foot blocks the path, and I look back to see a more familiar, heated expression on her delicate face.
“If you embarrass me again,” she says, pointing a finger at me. “I’ll cut your dick off in your sleep.”
She smiles as she levels her threat, and a thrill runs down my spine as her sharp words meet their mark.
I tuck her under my arm, unable to keep the smile off my face.
“Promise?”