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“He killed them?”
“In one way or another, they break, and they die.”
Sadness consumes me, but I push it down deep and harden my voice. “That won’t be me. I won’t give up.”
“I know. We all know. You’re different, and that terrifies me the most.”
“Listen to me, Wolf.” I squeeze his hands. “I’m going to take you from this place. We’re going to escape. I promise.”
He searches my eyes and sees the conviction in my words. His chest rises with a deep breath, and his features soften.
“What happens now?” I ask. “What does Denver expect?”
“He expects us to have sex tonight, hoping you’ll get pregnant.”
“We’ll let him believe we did.”
He nods. “Tomorrow, he’ll repeat the performance, and every night after, until Leo and Kody return.”
“What happens when they return?”
“He’ll force the same deal on them. He knows they’ll do it. They faked being sick to delay the hunt.”
“To protect you.”
“And you. They never bothered with the other women. Never showed a glimpse of concern. But it’s too late now. He has us exactly where he wants us.”
“Don’t do it.” I release his hands to grip the front of his shirt. “Don’t you dare bargain with him again.”
“The devil demands flesh. Now that he knows how to get it, he can’t be stopped.”
I know he’s right. But I’m not giving up. “Tell me about the other three women.”
“Why?”
“I need to know what not to do. Who came after Kody’s mother?”
“Gretchen.” He grits his teeth.
His mother. And Leo’s tormentor.
“She was pregnant with you when Denver took her?”
“Yes, he brought her here right after Kaya killed herself. Leo was seven. Kody was two.”
“Do you know who your father is?”
“No. My mother probably didn’t even know. I think she came here willingly. She was into Denver. Then she was into Leo.”
“Why did she stab Leo in the stomach?”
“He was tired of being her fuck boy, and by age fifteen, he had the power to end it. He was bigger and stronger than her. That just made her want him even more, but he refused her, over and over. They fought a lot. Until one day, it got out of hand, and she stabbed him.”
“What happened to her?”
His eyes shift, darting away, and his chin lowers to his chest.
“It’s okay.” I cup his cheek and gentle my tone. “You can tell me.”
Returning his gaze to mine, he loosens a shuddering breath. “I killed her.”
“You…” I shake my head, trying to recall his age at the time. If Leo was fifteen… “You were eight.”
“Eight years old, and I didn’t hesitate to cut her the way she cut Leo. I can still feel that knife sinking into her soft belly. She was pregnant, you know. Pregnant with Leo’s child.”
A gasp escapes my lips, a fragile plea for the universe to show some godforsaken mercy. How much more can these men endure?
“She was a rapist.” I touch his jaw, lifting it. “She abused your brother. Stabbed him. Scarred him inside and out.”
“She was also protecting me. But I didn’t know…”
“What do you mean?”
“The night I killed her, Denver came to my room for the first time. My mother was no longer alive to stop him, so…” He exhales. “I became his sole source of entertainment for the next five years.”
“Until you were thirteen.” My sinuses burn with unshed tears.
“Nothing like a little father and son bonding time.”
I know he bears his sadness with sarcasm instead of lament, but he shouldn’t have to bear it at all. No one should suffer like this.
“You said he hasn’t touched you in ten years. Why?”
“Kody and Leo intervened. They started sleeping in my room. Wouldn’t let him near me. They’d grown older, meaner, and confident enough to protect me. And because Denver doesn’t like violence, he didn’t push it. Instead, he left Hoss and got himself another woman. Jasmine Noel. He hoped we would grow attached to her and offer ourselves in her place. We didn’t. So Denver took matters into his own hands.”
“He raped her.”
“Over and over until he got her pregnant. Leo was twenty then. Smarter. But not smart enough to keep his damn mouth shut. He told her what would happen to her baby, and she lost her mind. She ran straight into the hills. By the time Denver found her, there was nothing left. The wolves had gotten her.”
I knew these women died, and I thought I was prepared to hear the details, but Jesus Christ, I wasn’t ready for this.
“Denver waited five years before he took another woman.” He licks his lips. “Alyssa Yang. Already pregnant. Not quite showing yet. She was small like you but not as pretty. I remember her the most. Probably because I was eighteen then. A walking hard-on. Anyway, Denver tried to use her as leverage, and again, we refused to play. She was nice, though. I hated to see her get hurt. She only lasted a month. I blame that one on Leo, too.”
