18
NESS
Ihelped Ryder inside where he could fall into the bed. He made a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl as he rolled onto his side and slipped back into sleep. I watched him for a few heartbeats, as if the poison might kick in again now that we were away from Cerri. When that didn’t happen, I retreated back to Connor.
“Thanks again,” I said.
Connor gave a half-shrug. “Don’t worry about it. I have a favor to ask in return, actually.”
My stomach flipped. When my hound whined inside my head, I knew that something was up. Connor loved me, though. I’d been blind to it until the day Alvin tried to make an example out of him. Perhaps, I could see his guilt over our past. Maybe that’s why my hound didn’t like where this was going.
“Can we go for a drive and talk? I want to get some things off my chest.” He jingled his keys.
I glanced over my shoulder to the hall where I’d left Ryder. He needed someone to watch over him, but a short drive shouldn’t hurt.
The night didn’t feel safe anymore, yet I followed Connor to his car and claimed the front seat. I expected it to smell like Ryder. I would have been more comfortable if it had. Ryder had smelled like himself when I’d curled in his lap, so I didn’t understand why his scent didn’t linger on the seat.
Connor pulled away from the curb while my mind churned. I didn’t pay attention to where he was taking me or the fact that he stayed silent for too long. Maybe I was tired. Maybe I trusted him too soon.
Before I knew it, Alvin’s house loomed outside the windshield. Two wolves prowled the front lawn, their heads low and hackles raised. I tensed and turned a panicked look at Connor.
He gripped his steering wheel so tight that his knuckles were white. He wouldn’t look at me. No matter how I tried to get his attention—snapping my fingers, shouting, shaking him—he would not look at me.
“Alvin said that he would let you survive the hunt if I brought you to him,” Connor said under his breath.
“You stupid mother—" My words were cut off when someone yanked my door open and ripped me out of my seat.
I scrabbled to get back onto my feet, but Harvey jerked me off balance every time I came close. If I went slack, maybe I would fall out of his grip. He would kick me, though. I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt me. I was already tired from shifting twice. I didn’t have the energy to heal broken ribs tonight.
“Good job, Connor,” Alvin said as he stepped up with his hands in his pockets like this was a casual meeting. He put a fatherly hand on Connor’s shoulder. “You did the right thing. The traitor needs to be taught a lesson.”
Connor opened his mouth. Alvin didn’t give him time to argue. Jackson and Marcus swarmed around Connor’s legs. They herded him back to his car.
“You said she would be safe!” Connor shouted. He tried to push past the wolves, but they bit his calves and held him back.
Connor grunted and dragged the wolves along as he pushed forward. The smell of blood rose on the night air. My stomach turned. Alvin shook his head and approached Connor. When Alvin leaned forward to whisper in Connor’s ear, Connor’s face drained of all color. My once-friend looked to me with horror and fear across his face.
Harvey yanked me off balance again. The world turned into a blur before my face met the ground. Pain reverberated through my skull. My shoulders throbbed. I wanted to cry for help, but no one had my back here.
I couldn’t rely on Ryder. My friends weren’t nearby.
I was alone once again.
Harvey grabbed my hair and lifted me. I hissed and tried to follow to ease the stinging pain in my scalp.
“Good girl,” Harvey purred.
Vomit seared the back of my throat. I wouldn’t be upset if I threw up on him, but there was nothing in my stomach anymore.
Connor shouted behind me.
The sound turned into a howl as Harvey dragged me inside. He didn’t throw me to the ground like I thought. Instead, Alvin stepped around him and opened a door that led down into the darkness. The smell of mold and earth reached my nose. I thrashed in Harvey’s grip, but that only made him laugh.
Damn Connor. Damn him to hell. He was a naïve fool for thinking that Alvin ever had good intentions. No one wanted to believe that Alvin was really a bad man despite the evidence. They all wanted to go back to the days before. I refused to believe that the days before my first shift were truly better.
Alvin lost his mind over that damn prophecy for a reason.
Harvey dragged me down the stairs. By now, the fight had bled out of me. Instead of struggling to escape, I scanned my surroundings. Though the basement was dark, I noted the narrow windows near the ceiling. I watched Alvin close the door behind him and wondered if there was a deadbolt.