Brexley looks up, startled when I open the shower door. Then his face morphs into a seductive grin. “You going to get out of those clothes and join me or what?”
“You came here to kill Gigi?”
The expression on his face tells me everything in less than a second.
My world was on fire and turning to floating ash. Shame clogs my throat.
“Red, I—”
I don’t let him finish, my brain races a mile a minute. “What was I then? Just some fuck toy to amuse you until you could find the most powerful mage and take her out?”
“Red, no, it’s not like that. Or, it was in the beginning. But we’re mated now. I could never--”
“Are you working for Hansel and Gretel?” I demand.
His face darkens and I know he isn’t, but it changes so little, too little.
“Red, it’s true, I needed you to get close to your grandma, but then you were attacked and the twins got in the way. It changed things. It changed me."
“Stop.” I hold up a hand. “How do I know everything out of your mouth isn’t a lie now? You tricked me, you used me, you want to kill my only family. I’m half surprised you didn’t kill Bangs and Bombs, or were you saving that for last? The final bullet to riddle me with?”
Having said my peace, I retreat to the bedroom. I shuck on a pair of pants before rushing downstairs. The rabbits are already in a pet carrier. Some part of my brain knew what was going to happen.
“Red, listen to me,” he says, following me down the stairs, still naked and wet.
“No, I can’t. I won’t. Stay the fuck away from me.” I slip on my shoes.
A hand grabs my arm and he spins me around. Brexley’s mouth crashes over mine. The heat and desire pulses there like a live entity. But it doesn’t erase the ugly truth. I wrench myself free then slap him across the face. My palm stings from the contact, and his head remains poised to the side, a red mark across his cheek.
Before, our violence had been about being uninhibited, a game that led to sex. But this time, the act leaves me cold and stiff.
“If you come near me again, you’ll wish you’d died when your pack banished you.” I packed as much punch as I could in those words. The slight flutter of his eyelids let me know I hit my mark.
“Leave me and my family the fuck alone.” Then I pick up the rabbits and leave. It’s time to rely on the only people I can trust.
Chapter38
Crying over Cookies
RED
Icall the girls to meet me at Poison Apple. The bar is the only safe place for me and the buns right now. When I get there, of course Rap is working in her office. She tells me the ward has been reset and to go lie down because I look like shit. She’ll be out in a bit and we’ll talk about a plan.
I set up Bangs and Bombs in a storeroom and head out front.
Making myself a double mocha from the espresso machine, I prepare myself to lay it all out there with Goldie and Cinder. It’s time I told them everything. Brexley did nothing to deserve my trust while they have gone above and beyond.
I refuse to be like him. I’m not going to keep my walls up to make sure I stay alone and miserable.
Though it’s hours until we even need to start prepping for our shift, first Goldie then Cinder come in and grab their own caffeine of choice, then join me on the lounge couches under the lighted tree.
“Bad day?” Cinder asks stiffly.
“The worst,” I nod with a sniffle. “And no one can fix it. No one, except my best friends who deserve to know everything.”
Goldie and Cinder exchange a look before crossing over to crowd in on the couch with me. Our legs intertwined, I tell them everything. About where I come from, who my grandma is, and about my time at FFA. About how I met Brexley and how I was terrified of letting my new life fall to pieces.
I bite back tears while the girls listen patiently. Then I share how Brexley figured out I was a hybrid when even I didn’t know. I gloss over the chaining me up in a private room and making me orgasm within an inch of my life.
