Chapter Thirty-Four
Jay
Do you ever get the feeling that something isn’t right? But you ignore the growing unease and miss your window to turn back?
Yeah, that’s me.
Caleb said they’re harmless, but something in my gut is just not sitting the way it should.
We’ve been walking for some time. As we sauntered deeper in, the forest gradually changed. At first, the trees behind us were fluffy with bright leaves, but now the foliage around us is bare. The only thing blanketing their branches is fog.
A poster of a teenage boy is nailed to trees at eye level.
At the top, in big red letters, is the word missing.
The boy has a baby face and an adorably awkward smile.
A dimple punctuates one cheek from his toothless smile.
My heart aches for the child, and his family.
I can’t imagine what the parents must be feeling.
A low hum of power has the hair on the back of my neck standing up. For it being springtime, it’s chilly, like fall.
“How much farther?”
“We’re almost there,” Cody answers.
The other three don’t respond, but they exchange a glance and continue walking.
Part of me is wondering if I should turn back.
The other . . . Well, the other wants to find out what Caleb wanted to talk to me about.
If it’s not to talk about us, then, maybe I’ll find the courage to bring it up.
I felt something and need to know he felt it, too.
Twigs snap beneath our feet as we trek through the dead forest. Why is everything dead around here?
My stomach is in knots, and my gut is screaming. I keep checking behind me to see if Caleb is going to appear. Surely his meeting must be over by now, right?
“Are you sure he said to meet us out here? Maybe we should turn back.”
“Just a little further,” one female says.
I sigh. But sure enough, she was right.
“We’re here.”
Ahead, through the trees, are pyramid-shaped glass homes hidden in the darkest depths of the forest. You wouldn’t know it was still morning. I’m starting to think that, when we crossed into this new territory, time changed.
Stars and the night sky reflect on the glass, making the homes appear to be onyx instead of transparent. A porch leads to the front door of every single one, and wind chimes clink in the distance. But no Caleb.
One snaps at another. “You said he would be here. Where is he?”
“He’ll be here,” they respond. “Just relax.”
“I’m sorry. Sorry. It’s this place. I don’t like it out here. It gives me the creeps.”
Okay, something is definitely wrong. “Where’s Caleb? And”—I scan my surroundings again—“where are we?”
A snapping twig captures the group’s attention. “There he is.”
Their worry is replaced with relief. One rubs their hands together in anticipation for whatever is coming out of the forest. A guy from their crew appears, carrying a bloody and bruised teenager over his shoulder.
He throws the boy down at our feet in the center of us. I cover my mouth in horror at the sight. The boy’s face is puffy from taking a severely prolonged beating, but his eyes are glazed over, lifeless.
The same one I saw on the missing poster.
I bend down to check on him. Even though he’s gone, part of me hopes he’s not . . . I press my fingers to his neck, and the cold touch of skin should’ve been enough.
No pulse.
I cover my mouth in horror.
I’m not a fan of witches, but that doesn’t mean I want to see them dead. He was just a boy. Whoever he was, he didn’t deserve this.
The wolves around me gag at the sight, but the only repulsive thing here is their behavior.
They did this. And they’re laughing about it. Yet, people call me a monster.
Place me in front of someone who has harmed a child, and I can be.
“Which one of you did this?” I snarl, but they just roar louder with their laughter.
My wolf is banging on the cage, louder than she ever has before.
She wants out.
And fuck am I going to let her wreak havoc on every single one of them. They deserve it.
“On second thought, it doesn’t matter.” I lose all control.
Red streaks my vision.
My wolf comes forward, but I don’t even bother to shift.
I want to feel his bones break myself. I want this to be intimate—skin to skin contact.
Monster versus monster. I will exact vengeance in this fallen life’s honor.
And if the little angel can’t see it from above, I’ll make sure he can hear it.
Lunging, I wrap my arms around his legs and lean my body weight into him while lifting him up all the same, taking him down.
Once he’s horizontal, I climb him until I’m straddling his legs.
One punch to his nose is all it takes to crack his first bone.
I continue to pummel him, blow after blow, not letting up.
It all happens in seconds. He’s losing consciousness.
Hope you’re ready, Satan. I’ve got another one for you.
“Okay, okay. That’s enough. Get off of him!” The female reaches for my shoulder, but at the feel of her hands on my body, I react.
My claws extend and grab onto her chest like a cat clinging to its owner.
She stares into my eyes with holy terror.
She’s ruining the show, I tell my wolf from the chamber of my mind. I said I don’t enjoy killing, and that’s still true. I’m not into killing innocent people. But this one . . . I’ll relish. I’m damned anyway.
My wolf tugs her toward me and blood leaks from her chest. “Do you want a front-row seat, princess?” I pull her down, so she’s laying directly beside him.
“AGHHH!” she cries.
I can’t concentrate with her screaming. At first, I loved it. But it’s his pained and dying cries I want to hear.
“Shhh . . .” my wolf speaks through me. “Rude to interrupt.”
I’m about to enact the grand finale—his end—when there’s a sharp pain to my ankle that causes me to howl.
Protecting my beast within, I come forward to ensure she’s not taking on the pain alone.
When I’m back inside my body, I locate the source and a bear trap is clamped on my flesh.
I follow the chain and see it’s connected to a silver loop firmly planted in the ground.
They planned this. They planned all of this.
I try to pull apart the clamps, but its jaws are pure silver. To touch it is like soaking in poison ivy. A little may itch, but a lot is pure, agonizing torture.
I can’t calm myself enough to focus on a solution. The pain is excruciating.
I’m losing a lot of blood, and my energy is dwindling.
I groan in frustration. “Shit!” I try again to peel the trap open, but every time I get close, the pain consumes me, and I let go.
It enters my flesh, and I hiss while my tears fall.
“Let’s get out of here,” one says.
“We will. But first, hold her.” Cody flicks open a pocketknife and kneels beside my leg.
They grab my arms before I can protect myself and hold me tightly. He lowers the knife to my shin and right on the bone, starts carving.
Bloodcurdling pain ignites my skin. I scream and someone covers my mouth to muffle it. It feels like eternity passes before he finishes. When he does, they all take off running.
Several minutes later, Caleb appears suddenly, pale, like he’s seen a ghost. He rushes to me and takes a moment to panic before figuring out what to do. “Shit. Okay. Bite down on my shoulder.”
“What?”
“This is going to hurt, and you can’t scream. They’ll know you’re here. Bite.”
I don’t argue with him. Instead, I sink my teeth into his shoulder. Caleb’s eyes roll to the back of his head, then closes them. When he opens, he refocuses.
“Okay.” He grips both hands on either side of the clamps. “Hold still.”
I squeeze my eyes shut in anticipation of the pain, but it never comes. When I open them, Caleb’s are trained on a girl.
A witch. Her mouth is agape, and her eyes are locked onto the body of her kind.
We are frozen at the sight of her.
“Hey, hey,” Caleb says softly.
Her eyes, filled with terror, scan the scene.
“I know what this looks like, but if you would just—”
Flight kicks in, and the girl turns and runs. “Help!” she yells out. “Somebody help! They killed him!”
“We’ve gotta get the hell outta here—and fast!” Caleb panics.
“Why? What’s happening?”
“No time to explain.” That’s when Caleb shifts his focus on removing the trap from my leg to simply breaking the chain binding it.
At the little girl’s alert, the lights to the buildings come on and instead of onyx black they’re now bright with warm yellow. Voices emerge from the distance, inquiring about all the commotion.
Caleb scoops me up, and I wrap my arms around him.
“Ahhh!” I scream and sob at the pain as he bounces with me in his arms.
My leg flopping only causes the sharp trap to tear through more flesh.
“I know, I know. Stay with me. I’ve got you.”
But darkness seeps into the edges of my vision. “I . . . can’t.”
I’m losing consciousness. Everything is a blur around me. Caleb’s words are jumbled. “. . . Stay awake . . . Stay with me . . .”
I try to keep my eyes open, but the pain is too great. I’m slowly slipping under.
When I focus on one thing, everything above me is moving, and I can’t keep my head up. The only thing I can focus on is the sky and trees. It makes me dizzy.
“Open your eyes . . . Here.”
I still can’t make out everything he says, but suddenly, my leg isn’t bouncing anymore. Caleb must have stopped running. I don’t know where we are, but I know we’re inside and there’s a strong medicinal scent mixed with cleaning products. Wherever we are, at least it smells sterile.
My wolf whimpers when I’m no longer cradled in Caleb’s arms but laid out on a soft surface.
Someone grabs my injured leg a little too hard, and my throat scratches from the scream I let out.
A growl echoes in the room. And I think it’s Caleb. I preferred when he was holding me.
“I don’t care if she’s a rogue. Make her scream like that again, and I’ll have your throat!”
At Caleb’s threat, the nurse is gentler with me. After she finishes poking and prodding, the pain starts to subside, and I am finally able to sleep.
***