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When our parents took her to the events but left me home, I had plenty of time to read through all the books in our vast library. But even that couldn’t prepare me to accept my sister’s true nature.
I force myself to raise my chin and look straight into her eyes in one last act of defiance. Putting as much strength into my words as I can muster, I challenge her, “Do your worst.”
CHAPTER 16
Grayden
“Grayden, sweetie, open your eyes.”
My soul is being torn in two, leaving me with a horrible feeling of emptiness as one part is significantly out of my reach. I try to call out to it, grab it with whatever thought I can, but there’s nothing. I can’t even feel it anymore.
An unspeakable heaviness settles over my chest, constricting my lungs until I have difficulty breathing. I gasp for breath, but nothing comes in. I just keep gasping and gasping. It’s as if the fresh air is at the tips of my fingers, it’s still too far from me.
A sharp burning pain spreads across my cheek. I startle and open my eyes, seeing seven worried faces looking down at me.
“Grayden,” my mother says gently. Her left hand is caressing the palm of her right one.
I furrow my brows, a mixture of shock and outrage on my face. “Did you slap me?”
“I had to,” she replies with an unapologetic shrug. Her brown eyes are shining with fierceness I’m not used to seeing on her. “You were telling us about Helia when you collapsed.”
“What happened?” Gavin asks, his arm protectively wrapped around Leia and their unborn little baby pup.
“I-I’m not sure,” I stammer and shake my head in an attempt to clear it.
Garren nods at Graham and they both step forward, each grabbing me under one arm and lifting me up to sit on one of the chairs in the conference room. I have a vague recollection of calling them here to tell them something...
Helia texted, my wolf reminds me, sounding weirdly groggy as if whatever knocked me unconscious affected him too.
“You were telling us about Helia’s text,” Garren tells me, confirming what my wolf said.
“Grayden,” Alyssa says, bending her knees slightly to lower herself to my eye level. “Where is Helia?”
“Helia,” I repeat her name as if my brain has stopped working, and I’m trying to figure out who to connect it to.
“Yes, Grayden,” Alyssa confirms gently but firmly. “Where is your girlfriend?”
“Helia is my girlfriend,” I say, grinning like a dork while putting two and two together.
They all exchange worried glances. It’s my father who steps forward and takes the reins. He grabs me roughly by the collar of my shirt and slightly lifts me up. My body is limp, and my brain is functioning with a delayed response. My father lets out a low, warning growl. The Darkness pools in his eyes, its impenetrable shade waking something in me.
“Hekate,” I blurt out, my own eyes widening as my memories begin piecing themselves together. “Helia texted that Hekate came to her apartment. I went there as fast as possible, but I was too late. She’s gone. They both are.”
Garren pats our father’s shoulder, who reluctantly releases my collar. My brother takes a chair and pulls it in front of me, straddling it with his arms leaning on the chair’s backrest.
“You’re going to need to be clearer, Grayden,” Garren tells me. “Is Helia on Hekate’s side now or...?”
“She was kidnapped!” I snap and jump out of my own chair.
My eyes roll backward into my head, and I lose my balance. Two sets of strong arms catch me and help me back into a sitting position, holding me there until I’m able to sit straight by myself.
What the fuck is going on? my wolf wonders, asking a question that’s on both of our minds.
“Grayden, sweetie,” my mother’s gentle voice pushes through my weird state. She’s kneeling in front of me, her brows furrowed with worry. “Did you take anything before coming here?”
“W-what?” I stammer, my own brows furrowing.
“Did you take any drugs?” my mother clarifies, her eyes studying me for any reaction.
