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I manage to catch her gaze and offer a reassuring nod. “Of course. We’re listening.”
She inhales deeply, then starts talking quickly. “The night I left here after finding those pages in Atlas’s office, I went to Brighton’s. Before I made it inside, Dante grabbed me off the sidewalk and knocked me out. I woke up in some fancy penthouse—I’m still not sure where it was—and he was there. I thought he took me as revenge against you guys for the Wall Street deal, but I quickly found out he wasn’t the one behind it. Not really. He, uh…” Her voice breaks off, and she blinks a few times, trying to fight back tears. Swallowing hard, she continues, “He bit me. It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt. I mean, up to that point.”
“He’s a dead man,” Lex growls, his fangs on full display.
Calla laughs, but the sound is void of any humor. “Heisdead. So you can put your fangs away, Lex.”
“Dante is dead?” Kade asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
She nods. “I thought he was going to kill me. And then, he just stopped.” Her jaw clenches. “He dropped dead, after she, um—after Selene ripped out his heart.” She shakes her head. “I thought she was saving me from him,” she says quietly, and her low voice makes me think she’s beating herself up more than we know.
“What happened after that?” I ask, my stomach already churning at the mention of my sire.
Calla’s brows pinch together as if she’s struggling to remember. Her gaze drops to the floor, and she says, “I don’t really know. She came at me, then everything went dark. When I woke up next, it was a week later, though I guess I’d been awake before then and don’t remember it. She fed on me twice between the time I woke up and when she put me in a car to come back here.” A shudder ripples through her as she seems to relive the memory of Selene biting her, and my hands curl into fists at my sides.
Kade growls low in his throat, and Atlas shoots him a warning glare that says,keep it together.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on with Brighton’s family,” she says in a more level voice, lifting her gaze to look at Atlas, “but Scott was there. He met with Selene one morning. I don’t know what they were talking about, but he left abruptly and it didn’t seem good.”
Atlas’s eyes narrow. “You didn’t hearanythingthey said?”
“Not really. I caught the end of their conversation. She sounded pissed, and he told her they’d be in touch.”
“Well, fuck,” Lex mutters. “Add that to our list of problems.”
Calla frowns at him. “I wish that was it.” Her eyes flick to me for a split second before they move away, her pulse jumping.
“What else is there?” I ask, that wretched pit in my stomach growing bigger by the second.
“As you could probably guess, she didn’t send me back to you out of the goodness of her heart.”
Because she doesn’t have one.
“She wants something in return,” Kade guesses.
Calla nods, her heart hammering in her chest as sweat dots her brow. “She…” Her eyes land on me again, glassy with unshed tears. “She wants you, Gabriel.”
My stomach sinks. I’m not surprised—Selene has never been subtle or coy about what she wants—but the thought of returning to her, to even seeing her face, makes me sick. I can count on one hand the number of times in the last century I’ve vomited, but the bile rising in my throat threatens to increase that tally.
“At first, she wanted me to choose to convince you, but I refused her. As angry and confused as I was—as Iam—I could never do that to you.” She sucks in a breath. “She took matters into her own hands and decided to make you choose—you or me.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Kade demands.
She doesn’t take her eyes off me as she says, “If Gabriel doesn’t go back to her… she… she’s going to turn me into a vampire.”
“No fucking way,” Lex snarls, his eyes dark. “She’s not getting anywhere near you ever again. We’re going to rip her limb from limb and set them on fire until she is nothing but ash.”
Memories of my life before I met the guys flash before my eyes. The dark period I spent with Selene, the hunger and the bloodshed that followed everywhere we went. The thought of returning to that life grips me with a fear so strong my lungs constrict, making it hard to breathe. But if this is what it takes to keep Calla safe—
“I’ll go.” The words leave my lips before I realize I’ve spoken. The pit in my stomach seems to grow blades, slicing through my abdomen and filling my veins with poison that makes me bite back a string of expletives. I know this isn’t ideal—for anyone—but I also know what Selene is capable of. I’ve seen it firsthand, and this is the least of it. So there isn’t a choice here, not really. I have to do what she wants.
Kade moves forward, stepping in between me and Calla. “Absolutely fucking not. There is no way in hell we’re letting you go back to that psychotic bitch.”
Atlas steps up, standing next to Kade. “He’s right. We will deal with Selene and we are more than capable of protecting Calla.”
Calla scowls from behind Kade. “I want to be able to protect myself, thank you very much.”
Atlas glances over his shoulder at her. “Fine. Once you’re fully healed and have your strength back, we’ll start training again. But don’t think I’ll go easy on you.”
