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“Was it a member of the Pack of Shadows?”
My eyes widen in surprise. A distant part of me recognizes the name, but I can’t quite point my finger at it.
One blink.
“Was it one of your brothers?”
Tears well up in my eyes. This can’t be happening. Grayden’s family can’t be so directly involved in the deaths of my parents.
One blink.
“That’s all I needed to know,” Hekate says to no one in particular before turning to me. “His younger brother, King Gavin Lafayette was the founder and the Alpha of the Pack of Shadows. While I had it on good authority that they were the ones who hunted our parents down and killed them, now I know for sure. That’s whose bed you’ve crawled into. I’m actually surprised that you didn’t recognize him as a wolf. While his light doesn’t shine as bright, he’s definitely tapped the Source. You’re either blind or too weak to see it.”
Despite the dehydration, it’s a miracle that I’m still able to cry. I avert my gaze downward, refusing to look at her or Grayden.
“It’s time for you to finally understand that the wolves are an abomination,” Hekate pushes, still determined to flip me and convince me to join their cause. “It’s a curse that backfired. There’s no hope for them. They have no humanity because they’re ruthless beasts that should never have existed in the first place.”
That’s not true, Grayden’s weak voice echoes in my mind. You know me better than that. You know that I am more than the beast she’s describing. My family isn’t like that either. They’re good and kind. All we ever wanted to do was survive just like the witches. Does that mean that we had to cross horrible lines to protect our loved ones? Yes, but so did the witches. Things aren’t as black and white as Hekate is painting them to be. There’s a lot more to it, and you know it.
Your brother killed my parents, I state in my mind, unsure if he can even hear me.
I’m not sure but I think it was his pack, Grayden confirms. Gavin especially is skilled in protecting our young ones. He gets very defensive when it comes to the pups. He even helps a new pack which is full of survivors of the massacre that your sister mentioned. They’re a group of orphans with traumas they shouldn’t ever experience in their short lives. He gave them a safe place to heal and grow. He’s teaching them to control their powers not just so they could fight and protect themselves, but because with control comes discipline. He’s teaching them lessons that are bigger than life.
Your brother killed my parents, I repeat, stuck on this piece of information.
Which is why it’s up to us to make sure things change, Grayden insists. I never saw humans as worthy of my time, and I was a firm believer that all witches should be killed on sight. You changed all that. Please, don’t close yourself off now, and help me open the minds of others.
How do I know you’re not playing me? I question, wondering if maybe it was all a lie and they tried to use me to get to Hekate.
Because you’re the one person I can’t lie to. You’re the one person who will see the whole me no matter how much I might try to hide myself. You’re the only one who I’ve ever loved and will love forever, Grayden says in my mind. He lowers his voice as he confesses the most valuable secret. Because you’re my fated mate, my soul mate.
I choke on my own saliva which must be a skill in itself because my mouth is as dry as the desert. Hekate looks up from her phone to check on me. She steps closer and puts a hand on my forehead.
“You’re burning up,” she says. “We should probably get ahead and start with the waterboarding.”
My coughing fit gets even worse at the mention of the next step in the torture plan. Burning was bad enough, but to induce controlled drowning over and over again was a new degree kind of brutality. The way humans do it is bad enough, but the witches use spells to keep their victims awake longer. Knowing my sister, I’m sure she’d have some other tricks up her sleeve to further enhance my suffering.
“It’s perfect that your wolf toy is here because he’ll play an integral part in your rebirth,” Hekate confirms my guess.
I’m not surprised that her plan differs from the traditional, but I am getting a bit anxious about it. She playfully tosses the siphon dagger from one hand to the other. With a malicious smile, she walks toward Grayden’s still-suspended wolf form.
“Instead of using water,” Hekate continues, “We’ll use his blood.”
“No,” I breathe.
“I’ll make you watch until I siphon the magic out of your wolf and bleed him dry. We’ll use his blood for your rebirth. It’s poetic. I guarantee you that when the others hear about your ordeal, you’ll be celebrated and welcomed back into our midst with open arms.”
“Don’t do this, Hekate,” I plead with her. “This isn’t the way.”
“It’s the only way,” she assures me and slowly lifts the dagger toward Grayden whose eyes are wide with fear and pupils dilated. Her cruel, ruthless ass is enjoying every second of this.
A dangerous dose of pure adrenaline shoots through my veins, spreading over my body at a high speed thanks to my rapid heartbeat. I act on reflex, allowing my instinct to take control.
I step on my toes and stretch myself as high as I can. When I get a good grip on my chains, I put all my strength into the pull, yanking down as hard as I can. Grayden must’ve really loosened it because the crack in the ceiling spreads like a spiderweb. The specks of dust fall down, making it look like it’s snowing inside.
Hekate turns her attention from Grayden to look at me. Her eyes widen and she manages to lift her arms up to protect herself just as parts of the ceiling come crashing down.
I land on my knees, then get toppled on my side when something collapses on top of me. The chains fall heavily on my back. I cry out when my leg gets pinned underneath a big chunk of the ceiling.
