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High risk, high reward, right?
With a shaky breath, I pick up the bag, reaching inside to pull out one of the cookies. I give it a good sniff before biting into it and immediately grimace because it tastes like ass. Still, I choke the entire thing down while Cheyenne continues to watch out the window for something, finally turning back around to face me when she receives whatever confirmation she was waiting for.
“Alright, let’s do this,” she breathes, letting the curtain fall back into place as she turns around and hustles across the room. “You’ll be a little slower on foot since you didn’t eat the damn biscuit an hour ago, but we should be okay.”
I push up from the bed to stand, feeling a little lightheaded when I first get my feet underneath me. I take a second to steady myself before following Cheyenne to the rear of the motel room and into the small bathroom. She slams the lid down on the toilet, climbing on top of it to unfasten the latch of the small window above.
“I’ll jump out first and help you down,” she says, glancing back at me as she forces it open with a loud creak.
“Sure,” I breathe.
Taking a step back, I watch her climb up onto the back of the toilet tank and maneuver her upper body through the smallwindow, wriggling until she’s completely through the gap and her feet disappear. I hear a soft thump as she hits the ground on the other side, then immediately take her place, climbing up onto the toilet and peering out through the window.
Cheyenne stands on the ground below, brushing the dirt off her black leggings as she glances up at me. “Come on!” she whisper-shouts, head moving back and forth as she checks to make sure the coast is clear.
Gripping onto the edge of the window frame, I hoist myself up to stand on the back of the toilet tank and shove my arms and head outside, pressing my palms to the side of the building for leverage as I wriggle my body through the gap. Once I’m hanging halfway out, Cheyenne grabs onto my arms, helping to ease me the rest of the way down. I practically fall on top of her, but somehow she manages to remain upright, and I breathe a sigh of relief as soon as my feet hit the ground.
“Come on, this way!” she hisses in a whisper, grabbing onto my wrist and tugging me to follow her into the woods.
I could try to make a break for it now, but I’m not familiar with this part of the forest and I don’t know if they’ve got scouts positioned out here. I may not trust this girl as far as I can throw her, but the smartest play right now is to follow her- at least until the wolfsbane wears off and I can shift to my wolf and make a quick getaway.
We pick our way through the forest, ambling over rocks and fallen branches and keeping at a vigorous pace. Even though I’m panting with exertion in no time, I manage to keep up with Cheyenne as we increase our distance from the motel, my own strength slowly building. I’m not sure if it’s the cookie or just being up and moving, but either way, I’ll take it.
Cheyenne climbs over a cluster of boulders, turning back and offering me a helping hand. I slap my palm into hers, allowing her to pull me up and over, and the two of us scramble down the other side, brushing the dirt off our legs before continuing on.
I’m so focused on following her and keeping an eye on the terrain underfoot so I don’t trip that I’m not paying much attention to what’s ahead- or rather,who. And when I finally glance up past Cheyenne to see Javi jogging toward us, it’s like a damn gut punch.
“No…” I whisper as I grind to a halt, shaking my head.
Before I can turn around and run, Javi rapidly closes the distance between us, reaching out to wrap his arms around me and yanking me into his hard chest.
“Baby, just listen to me,” he says breathlessly, his strong arms holding me captive in their grip. “I never meant for any of this to happen.” His scent envelops me, his warmth seeping into my skin.
I shove my hands up between our chests, pushing against him as hard as I can. “You lied to me!” I choke out, writhing and kicking until he finally relinquishes his hold and I stumble back.
Javi holds his hands up in surrender, showing me his palms. “Lo,please, just let me explain…”
His dark eyes are rounded in sincerity, the expression on his face pleading, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to fall for another one of his tricks. I know the truth now, and it’s uglier than I ever could’ve imagined.
My gaze swings over to Cheyenne, now standing off to the side, a few feet behind Javi. “You marked her,” I croak, my vision blurred by tears as I turn back to him.
“No, he didn’t,” she pipes up.
I whip my head around to glare in her direction. “Isawyour mark,” I grit out, head snapping back toward Javi. “The guys you locked me up with said it was from the alpha. So don’t even try to lie to me right now. Iknow.”
Javi clenches his jaw, the muscle in it feathering as he stares back at me. He doesn’t say anything to defend himself, though, and his silence speaks volumes.
My heart feels like it shatters all over again.
“It’s not from him,” Cheyenne speaks up, drawing my attention her way as she steps closer. “You can tell her, Javi,” she says quietly, looking his way before returning her gaze to me. She tucks her fingers beneath the collar of her t-shirt, pulling it over to show the mark on her skin. “He killed the guy that did this to me.”
My eyes ping from the mark on her skin back over to Javi, my mind spinning. “Is that true?”
“Yes. That’s how I became Alpha,” he states, his voice gravelly. He flickers a glance in Cheyenne’s direction, and I don’t miss the pained look in his eyes as he adds, “Our prior Alpha marked Chey against her will.”
My mouth falls open, but no sound comes out. If what he’s saying is true, it’s too awful to even fully grasp. I just stand there in stunned silence for a moment, staring into Javi’s dark eyes. “You… you lied to me about your father,” I rasp, pivoting fromthe topic of Cheyenne’s marking since it’s obviously painful for both of them to talk about.
Javi hangs his head, his shoulders slumping. “Only because I knew you wouldn’t give me a chance if you knew,” he replies quietly. Then he picks up his head, chancing a step toward me. “I was going to tell you, I never meant for you to find out like this. I never evenknewhim, Lo, and before coming here, I only knew my mother’s version of who he was. I know the truth now, and I’m nothing like him. I swear…”
