Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
NATALIE
I dig my hands into the ground, begging for purchase.
The fence grates my back, surely ripping through the fabric of my shirt, and next, my skin.
I push myself forward despite the unimaginable pain pulsing at my spine, inching my face across the dirt and rocks to the other side.
He’s coming for me. Viktor. A gait loud enough to shake the mile-long wall standing between me and safety.
I grab for anything within reach, even the small blades of wet grass slipping through my fingertips.
The vicious stomps get closer, only adding terror to the laundry list of things my limbs have endured tonight.
I writhe, twisting my body at different angles to squeeze through, forgiving the scratches and cuts I earn along the way.
A small price to pay. I’ll gladly accept a new row of scars if it means something inflicted by Viktor doesn’t accompany it.
He doesn’t want to take me back to that fucking cellar.
He wants to make me an example. A warning to anyone stupid enough to call out this self-proclaimed alpha.
I pull myself forward, gaining momentum.
The air kissing my taut cheeks is cool, somehow a lower temperature than anything I felt during my time at their den.
But I can’t lose focus now. I won’t survive the night if I can’t get my feet through this damn fence.
With one final thrust, I free myself to the other side and stand, feeling each of Viktor’s violent slashes land on the fence and fail to cut through.
His snarls grow higher until a final unnerving howl erupts, shaking the trees in the distance.
Leaves fall. Rodents scurry. The world, it seems, takes a collective breath.
Then, there’s nothing. Not even a curse coming from the perimeter.
The cold air is different now, like some imaginary knob twisted and shut off the vent altogether.
There’s only heat. An inferno destroying anything in its path.
I’ve felt this sensation a few times, but it was only when I was closest to Nik, as if his skin is permanently set to the hottest degree on a stovetop.
Boil? No, that’s just Nikolai Vostik, heating the room with the same intensity of a fucking furnace.
I grew accustomed to it. Knowing when I was with him I’d never reach for a blanket or a new layer of clothes.
This isn’t Nik, though. This fire is coming from someone else. It’s coming from … me.
I peer from one side of the woods to the next, taking in any movement from the overwhelming dark.
There’s nothing. Nothing I manage to find, at least. The sounds around me get lighter first, then they reduce to the sharp crackle of static in my ears.
There’s no more Viktor. No more gunfire inside the compound.
Silence is my only companion, and as I take a step forward, something gives me pause.
There’s a tree. It’s massive, and the overgrown roots stretch for its smaller offspring within reach.
The trunk alone is bigger than a car. The branches?
Well, I’m not so sure I can fit my arms around them.
That’s not what worries me. It’s what glares at me behind it that has my tired knees locking.
The air becomes stiff now. Suffocating, even.
The idea to squeeze back through the Vostik fence hits me first, then, the overwhelming urge to run as far as my legs will take me.
Judging from the aches setting in my thighs, I won’t make it far.
Not against the thing stalking me. There’s no shadow to judge.
No silhouette. Only the noticeable glow of each brown eye lighting different parts of the forest.
A distorted body comes into view a few yards in front of me, arms and legs sprawled in different directions.
Long, black hair drapes over most of her face, sticking to the blood trickling from the large gash at her throat.
My breath catches. My stomach heaves, and sour bile makes a breakaway for the back of my tongue. Courtney.
The creature in the distance watches as I fall to my knees near her. It can’t be. I saw what Viktor did. Watched as he smiled sadistically when his nails pierced into her neck. It’s not her. It can’t be her.
I reach for her hand, my fingertips grazing a cold and lifeless palm.
Snarls break through the static in my ears.
The noise of the woods returns one uncomfortable beat at a time, and the loudest of it emanates from whatever is hiding behind the tree in front of me.
I rip my hand back, rearing my arm away from her corpse.
The beast’s growls ease to a low rumble.
When I reach for Courtney again, the snarling increases to a higher pitch.
It’s not just the glowing eyes I see anymore, but the haunting figure revealing itself.
White clouds plume from its open jowls, and it stands from all fours to its hind legs.
It's not Viktor. Sure as hell isn’t Nik.
I’m not sure which pack it belongs to, but the thing I’m staring down doesn’t look away.
Doesn’t even seem to be bothered by Viktor’s scratching on the other side of the property fence.
It takes one menacing step forward, and when I fail to pull my hand away from Courtney, it takes another.
I know what it’s doing. I’ve seen enough werewolves in my lifetime to know when one is stalking me like prey.
And for some reason, this monster doesn’t want me anywhere near the friend I couldn’t save.
I look at her again, noting the paleness setting in each cheek. God. My mouth dries. My stomach churns with pure acid melting away what’s left of my organs. I’ve never seen something so horrible. How her features are permanently fixed in agony, and worst of all, how she’s cold to the touch.
An earsplitting howl shakes the landscape.
It isn’t marching toward me anymore. No.
The wolf is dashing forward, its four-legged stride gaining momentum.
The fur is different from Nikolai and Viktor’s.
Not a solid color, but multiple. Three to be exact.
Black and gray mark up most of it, while the underbelly is noticeably white.
“You can’t have her!” I scream at the wolf racing toward us and scoop Courtney’s fragile body in my arms. I’ll fight off whatever I have to if it means keeping her intact.
I’m not gonna let this thing gnaw off different parts of her for some sick, animalistic indulgence. I’ve failed her too much already.
The wolf responds by snapping its jaws in the air wildly, spit flinging off the gnashing teeth into the wind. I don’t move. There’s no point to. Not when I know I can’t outrun this creature while carrying Courtney. If I’m going to die, at least this time we’ll die together.
I close my eyes and take an unsteady breath, ignoring the sound of death growing louder by the second. Will it hurt? Will I feel everything? I’m not sure, but I know I’m mere moments from finding out.
“Nat,” a familiar voice calls out to me.
My eyes shoot open. I don’t focus on the monster a few paces away, I only peer down at her.
Courtney glances up at me, and I feel the blood drain from my reddened cheeks.
The slashes at her neck are gone, and the horrible gray skin has been replaced by a vibrant, lively color.
Her soft face isn’t etched with pain or fear, she’s … smiling.
The hairs at the back of my neck stand straight, and a rash of goose bumps start at my shoulders and careen down my forearms. Small, strangled gasps escape my low-hanging mouth, and although I’m not sure how I continue standing, I know it won’t be long before I collapse completely.
She lifts her hand to my cheek, thumb grazing it gently. “It’s okay.”
Tears fill my eyes and spill down my face, some catching at her fingertips. I cry. I cry out everything I’ve been holding in since Viktor took me from the red room. A sharp pain seizes my chest, each sound out of my mouth more hysterical than the next.
“It’s okay,” she repeats and gives a slight nod.
Then, the monster leaps through the air, spreading its impressive claws for my throat.
My entire body jolts and I sit up, swallowing harshly.
The lights raining down from the ceiling do nothing but add a newfound peak to my throbbing headache.
All of my joints ache, straining at the slightest movement.
There’s large wooden crates scattered around different areas of this warehouse, while the spot to my left has enough computer screens to support a NASA mission.
“Natalia …” Nik says, a foot away from the cot, leaning forward with his fingers interlocked in clear hesitation.
His long brown hair is brushed back from his face, revealing the worry tensing his brows.
He looks like he wants to rush to me. Hold onto me for dear life, but there’s something giving him pause.
Is he worried about how I’ll react? If I’ll shove him away?
I don’t think I could even if I wanted to, not with how useless my arms and legs have become.
“You were talking in your sleep,” he says, his deep voice rougher than gravel.
Dimitri stands from the table and watches me with the same worry, a rifle in his hands and barrel aimed at the floor.
“What,” I croak out and try again. “What was I saying?”
Nikolai lowers his head and clenches his jaw, teeth sure to be near the point of cracking. When he looks at me again, there’s sorrow in his golden eyes, dimming them a lighter shade. “You were saying Courtney.”
Fresh tears sting my eyes, and before I can stop myself, sobs break through my quivering lips.
Nikolai is there, though, casting aside all reluctance and wrapping his arms around me the second the first tear cuts off my chin.
He rests his cheek on my crown and squeezes me tight, incredible heat surrounding me.
“He—killed her,” I stammer, my voice breaking at each syllable. “He killed her and left her in that fucking club!”
Nik hushes me and places a kiss at the top of my head. “I know. I know what he did. And it’s my fault. I’m sorry, Natalia. I am so fucking sorry. Nothing I say or do will ever make up for the pain I have brought you. The loss.”
Another wave of sobs leaves me crashing into his bare chest, and he holds me tighter, continuing to rub small circles on my back. He doesn’t say anything for a long time, just caresses me in an embrace every part of me needs.
It’s only when my cries begin to stifle that Nikolai speaks again, his voice lowering with concern. “There’s something else I need to tell you, Natalia …”
Then, my entire world shatters.