CHAPTER 40
FRANKIE
∞
Something’s wrong with Wren. I can see it in his eyes. His normally vibrant green eyes are more muted than they were last night as a black tinge settles within his irises.
His eyes widen when I’m suddenly in front of him, slashing my blade across his chest. He steps back quick enough that the cut is shallow. He presses his palm to the tear across his shirt and looks back up at me with so much regret on his face that it makes me hesitate for a second.
“Frankie, let’s just go. Give him some space,”
Alex says, panicked.
“No,”
I growl. “If you want to run off like a coward while he breaks in front of you, that’s on you. Me? Imma beat the sense back into him.”
I launch at Wren again and I can see him fighting with himself. If he was in his right mind, he wouldn’t fight me. He would pin me to try and subdue my rage, but he wouldn’t hit me.
He shakes his head, and I see his expression change in front of me. The small fragment of himself that was still there, gets snuffed out as his eyes flash dangerously and his canines lengthen.
He looks like a rabid animal. The man he was when he was with me moments ago, is nothing but a fractured memory as I stare at the beast in front of me.
I slash at his forearm, and he launches me back. I slam into the counter, and I hear it crack from the force. I feel one of my ribs shatter and can’t help the cry of pain as I fall to the ground.
“Wren! Snap out of it!”
Alex screams.
I glance up to see Wren stalk towards me. I can literally see the venom dripping from his fangs as he looms over me. He reaches down and grips the back of my neck hard, pulling me to my feet. I knee him in the dick, cringing at the grunt of pain he lets out as he releases his hold on me. I jump up and twist my hips, kicking him in the side of the head. He stumbles to the side and smacks his head off the counter as he falls. I scramble across the ground and climb on top of him, pinning his arms under my knees as he thrashes under me.
I hold the blade above me and stare down at him as he gnashes his jaws and bucks his hips.
“Don’t make me do this,”
I choke out as he continues to struggle under me.
“Frankie!”
Alex screams as I plunge the blade into his chest.
His body stills under me, and I slam my eyes shut as I try to stop the tears from breaking through.
“You missed.”
My eyes snap open to see Wren staring at me. His fangs are retracted, and blood pours out of him from the wound in his chest. His eyes are settling back into their green hue, and a pained look crosses his features.
“I thought you said next time you wouldn’t miss, Chess. Didn’t you say you’d kill me?”
I hesitated. I couldn’t bear the thought of actually killing him, even though he was trying to kill me. He wasn’t himself and I fucking hesitated because of it. “I’m sorry, Wren.”
I don’t know what else to say. I don’t understand what’s happening with him, but he’s struggling right now.
“Don’t apologize,”
he murmurs as I shift back to settle onto his thighs. He reaches for the blade and flinches as he rips it from his chest.
“Are you still going to argue with me that you have it under control?”
Alex’s harsh voice behind me, sends a shiver up my spine.
Wren looks past me to him and then turns his face away. “I’m sorry, Alex.”
“You could have killed her, Wren. You could have killed me.”
“What’s going on?”
I say, my voice shaking.
“Tell her, Wren. Tell her the fucking truth.”
“Chess.”
Wren pulls in a rattling breath and looks back towards me. “I’m falling into the insanity. Do you know what that is?”
My eyes widen and panic beats through my chest. “How? Why are you letting this happen?”
I know the general idea of the insanity. I don’t know all the symptoms, but I do know what causes it. When purebloods don’t share their blood enough, they start to lose control of themselves because the venom overpowers their system. It’s natural for vampires in general to share blood. Whether during feedings or just from turning a human. Wren hasn’t turned anyone except Alex, and I never realized how serious it was until this moment.
This is why he had me cut him. He was trying to do a bloodletting without actually feeding me any. This is why he panicked when I tasted him. He’s risking losing himself because he hates who he is this much.
“How bad is it, Wren?”
I ask quietly.
“It’s…it’s getting pretty bad, Chess. My anger triggers it further. It’s like I feel myself being dragged down into a pit of darkness.”
“Let me help you.”
His eyes widen, and they shift to Alex before shifting back to me. “No.”
“Why?”
“Because this isn’t your job. This has nothing to do with you, Chess.”
“If you don’t do this, I can’t be with you, Wren. Is that what you want? I don’t want to hurt you, but I’m not risking my life because you can’t get out of your own head.”
“I’m not drugging you, Chess,”
he says through gritted teeth.
“You saved me, Wren. Let me do the same for you.”
“No!”
He roars. His hands shift to my hips as he tries to push me off of him.
“Alex, leave us,” I murmur.
“I…don’t think I should,” he sighs.
I shift myself forward and sit into Wren’s hips. His body stiffens under me, and his fingers dig into my hips harder.
“If I need you to step in, I’ll call out to you.”
I turn to look up at him and he gives me a hard glare. “I’ll take care of him, Alex.”
“He’s right. You shouldn’t do this, Frankie. This isn’t part of your job.”
“I won’t let him fall.”
“I’m not letting you do this, Chess. Get the fuck off of me!”
Wren wails. I can see his emotions trying to break through as his eyes glisten slightly.
“Do you want Alex to call one of your blood whores then? Would that make it easier?”
“I’m not bloodletting with anyone!”
He grips my arms and bucks his hips again, surprising me enough to lose my balance. Suddenly I’m pinned under him, and Alex is gripping into his shoulder, trying to pry him away from me. “You understand nothing, you insolent human!”
His head snaps to the side as I punch him square in the jaw. “You’re not giving me the chance to understand!”
I scream back.
He clucks his tongue and pulls himself to his feet, walking away from me. I scramble to my feet and run towards him, launching myself onto his back. My momentum makes him stumble and his knees slam into the ground. I put my full weight into him, gripping the back of his neck and pushing his face into the floor as he tries to force himself back up.
“This is the most fucked up relationship I’ve ever seen in my life,”
Alex laughs awkwardly. “You two literally just beat the shit out of each other.”
“Hand me my dagger, Alex.”
“I rather live, thanks.”
“Hand me my fucking dagger!” I scream.
He walks towards me and crouches down next to us as Wren continues to struggle. “I’m impressed you can subdue him like that. He’s three times your size.”
“I have enough experience to know how to take down enemies bigger than him, now hand me the knife.”
“Don’t you think you’re going too far? You’re literally holding him down against his will, Frankie.”
My body stills at the comment. I’m doing to him, exactly what was done to me. He and I both know I’m trying to help him, but his struggle and panic and now Alex’s comment, is bringing up some dark memories.
“It’s…not the same thing,”
I whisper harshly.
“Isn’t it? He doesn’t want this, Frankie.”
“I’m trying to help him!”
“How would you react to this situation?”
I stare down at Wren. His breathing is harsh, and his body is shaking under me. His features look fearful as his eye darts back to look at me. He’s actually afraid of what I’ll do in this moment. He fears this more than the thought of me trying to kill him.
I loosen my hold on the back of his neck and shift off of him to sit on the floor. He props himself up on his forearms and drags in staggering breaths through choked sobs. He’s crying. Wren Valkyrie is actually crying, and I pushed him far enough to break in this way.
“Wren, I’m sorry.”
He pushes himself to his knees and settles onto his heels. “Get out.”
His voice is low and broken and it tears at my heart.
“Wren, please. Let’s just talk.”
“Get out, Francesca. I won’t ask again. Go to your apartment and stay there. You are not to leave this tower. Do you understand me?”
“What? Why?”
“Because I fucking said so!”
He roars, turning his face to look at me. “Do as your told!”
The anger and hurt pulsing from him renders me silent. I slowly lift myself to my feet and walk up to him, pausing next to his still kneeling form. “I should have never let myself care about you,”
I say harshly, walking away from him and out the door.