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“I know. I wonder . . .”
Everything roars into clarity, and when I blink my eyes open, the pigments in the air are clear, twirling and dancing with the dust. My hearing pops, and it’s like they are right next to me. My nose twitches, the coppery scent of blood and fresh rain filling my lungs as I rub my hands into the cot.
Everything feels new.
Did . . . Did she turn me?
“His eyes,” Lucien comments. “They were blue, like hers.”
“It could have been a trick of the light or the pixie magic moving through his veins. It could have healed him. He’s always healed fast,” Vale reasons, his voice too loud, making my eyes shut as my head pounds.
Every inch of my body is aching, even the tips of my fingers.
“Or she turned him,” Lucien murmurs.
“No, not like that. It requires a bite, right?” Vale asks.
“I thought so, but what if we were wrong?” Lucien hisses. “Then he’ll be one of them.”
“Then we’ll kill him ourselves, but for now, let’s just watch him and not rush to make assumptions. He’s alive, and that’s all that matters. We’ll watch him tonight and make a decision tomorrow,” Vale orders.
“And Quinn—” Lucien cuts off at Vale’s curse.
“Let her go. She’ll be too far away now anyway. Our promise is up tomorrow, so we can hunt the pack then. We know they are here now. First, let’s make sure Jai is okay.”
I groan. Their loud voices are like jackhammers in my head. My body starts to heat, and it feels like I’m going to explode.
It feels like something is moving inside me, ripping me apart from the inside, and when it cuts, I scream. The sound must be trapped inside my own head since neither Vale nor Lucien react.
I silently fight an unknown entity, my body locked and still.
It is a battle I fought before all those years ago, and I won’t lose now. I won last time, and I will this time as well.
The internal claws finally stop, and whatever it was slinks deeper inside me, but the wounds feel fresh and raw—a reminder of what I am.
A monster.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The night drags on, the thunder and lightning only letting up in the early hours, but Jai still doesn’t wake. We wash him clean as much as we can and redress his wound, and he still doesn’t move.
He’s alive though. There isn’t a fever or anything, and it’s like he completely passed out.
My eyes keep going to the wicked scar on his neck. It looks weeks old. I don’t have a clue how he survived, and that worries me. I don’t like what I can’t understand, since it’s usually monster related, but what I told Lucien was true. We will wait and see.
We spend our time tidying up, and for a moment, my eyes scan the empty cage, missing the weight of that stare.
No, not missing, annoyed.
Turning away, I ignore Lucien’s gaze and check on Jai again. He’s fine, so once we finish cleaning, I cook, needing the rhythmic motions to let my mind wander. How did Jai survive? Was it her? Is he turned? I guess only time will tell, but if he is, can I really kill him?
What do I do about Quinn?
As I stir the pasta, my hand stops. Those eyes . . . I keep thinking of them and the familiar way she watched me, like she knew a secret I didn’t. It can’t be her, it just can’t be, but now I will never know, and part of me is angry at my own foolishness for never asking her.
If it was her, though, would that change anything?
I saved that girl that night, and in the end, it cost me everything. She is the reason I became a hunter. I always told myself that if I found her again, I would rectify the mistake I made that night. If it was Quinn, I will kill her. We will hunt her pack, and even with her warning them, they won’t be safe. They won’t run or abandon their pack land like that. I know that much.
