The dealer gasps, fear rattling him as he holds Roman’s hard stare. “Doe,” Roman demands.
And just as Roman releases the guy’s fist and turns his back, Doe bounds past the small fire and launches herself at the dealer, giving him only the slightest warning before slamming into his chest. The dealer screams as Doe effortlessly takes him down.
Savage growls tear through the night as her teeth gnash against his skin, going straight for his throat. She grabs hold of him, her head violently whipping from left to right as blood spurts up around her in a horrendous wave. I gape at the wolf. My precious, sweet Doe who rests her giant head in my lap, who cries for her brother when he’s injured. I knew she was capable of wicked things, but I never thought she could do something like this.
Blood sprays across the pool, splattering in the water as a chilling scream tears from the dealer. He fights against her hold, desperate to get her off him, but she’s far too heavy. Not even one of the boys could force her off, not now. This sweet girl is in the zone and there’s no stopping her until her job is complete.
She keeps at him, the growls and scuffles in the night like nothing I’ve ever seen. Perhaps this is the scene the boys envisioned for me when they told the rest of the world that I’d been mauled by a bear … though perhaps I don’t want to know.
Marcus’ lips move over my skin. “Are you ready?” he breathes. “Any second now.”
And not a moment later, Doe tears the dealer’s throat right out of his body, sending a spray of blood far and wide. She shakes her head, flicking his throat around like a toy before looking back at Roman with a proud stare. Roman nods to her, and with that, she struts away and plops down beside Dill, dropping the throat in front of him like a gift as the dealer’s body convulses and shakes.
28
A heavy pang of regret settles into my chest as I curl my hand into Levi’s, threading my fingers through his. “Are you ready for this?” I murmur, hating how heavy today is going to be.
We stand outside the castle the boys had called not only home for so many years, but their own personal prison. I knew today would come eventually, but nothing can prepare somebody for this, nothing will ever make it okay.
Levi shakes his head. “No, but it has to be done. She’s been suffering up there for too many years. Her body should have been put to rest a long time ago. We owe her this.”
I nod before glancing up at him. He’s been taking it the hardest. He’s always blamed himself for his mother’s death, but he couldn’t be more wrong. Roman and Marcus got more time with her, and have more vivid memories, but Levi was too young and doesn’t get to remember her in the same way that his brothers do.
“Come on,” Marcus murmurs, his tone heavy and filled with a deep kind of pain that tears at my chest. “Standing out here and staring at the castle isn’t going to help put her to rest.”
Roman lets out a heavy sigh and makes his way toward the front door as the early morning sun begins to peek out over the mountains, sending a ray of light shining down over the castle. I’m not into spiritual things or believing in some kind of ultimate power, but if that ray of sunlight shining down on us isn’t some kind of sign, I don’t know what is.
The rest of us follow Roman with heavy hearts right up to the very top of the castle. Memories of my time here assault my thoughts. Some were good, hell some were incredible, but others were so horrendous that just the thought of ever reliving them has me in a ball of sweat. I can’t even imagine how it must feel for the boys having to come back here. Hell, they still have a whole lot of shit they need to move out. Those few loads they took a few weeks ago didn’t even make a dent in the piles of shit they’ve accumulated over the years.
It takes a lifetime to reach the top room of the castle, and as we push our way through, the heaviness hits me in a whole new way. The boys were only kids when she passed, and they never got their chance to say goodbye. Sure, it’s heavy and my heart is plagued with grief, but this is their mom. Whatever I’m feeling right now, they’re feeling it so much harder, and because of that, I need to do everything in my power to be strong for them—even Roman who couldn’t possibly allow himself a moment of weakness.
The room looks just as we left it—creepy as fuck.
Snow White lays in her frozen coffin, her face barely visible through the frosted-covered glass. I hated coming in here the first time, and I hate coming in here now. I’ve only just been able to stomach the fucked-up things the boys like to do in their spare time, but this is a whole new level of fucked up. I don’t know what the hell Giovanni was thinking putting her away in here, but I don’t doubt for one second that the boys will do whatever it takes to make this right.
Marcus lets out a heavy sigh, his heart out on his sleeve for the world to see. His gaze lingers on the coffin and the brave man I’d seen downstairs is a complete stranger to the man I see now. “Sorry, Mom,” he murmurs. “It’s time.”
He spreads a blanket out on the floor as Roman steps around him, moving toward the side of the coffin. All three of them look sick with what they have to do, but without them, their mom would be doomed to rot in this frozen casket until the end of time.
Levi steps around the opposite side of the blanket before moving into Roman’s side, and I keep out of their way, wanting to give them the privacy to do this themselves. I’d offered to stay down in the car or chill out in the living room while they took care of business, but Levi wanted me here.
Roman’s fingers curl around the side of the frozen casket and linger on the hinges for a short moment, knowing that once they crack that seal, there’s no turning back. He mutters something to Levi, so quiet that I don’t hear them from across the room, but whatever it is has Levi letting out a pained breath before finally nodding.
Roman pulls on the hinges and strains against them, the frozen glass working against him as Marcus moves into his other side. The hinges finally come free with a deep crack and the glass top of the casket slowly begins to rise.
Marcus puts his hand on the lid, helping it along, and when it finally opens all the way, the three of them just stare. “She looks just as I remembered,” Roman murmurs, a soft smile playing on his warm lips. “A little rough around the edges, but she still holds that subtle softness.”
Marcus scoffs. “You’d be a little rough around the edges if you were frozen solid too.”
Roman gapes at his younger brother as Levi’s eyes bulge out of his head, struggling to hold onto a laugh. His lips press down into a tight line, but the laugh is too strong and comes tearing out of him. Levi tries to choke it back down, desperately trying to swallow the booming roar but there’s absolutely no hope.
A grin pulls at the corners of my lips as Marcus smirks at his brother, pleased to have at least one person find humor in this dark moment.
As Roman stares at Levi struggling to control himself, his lips strain against his will, pulling at the corners. “Do you find this funny?” he demands.
“No, no,” Levi says, shaking his hands while trying to rein it all in. “Not at all, but apparently you do.”
Roman glares at his brother, his lips instantly settling back into their usual tight line, not pleased to have been called out for almost breaking down his carefully structured walls. “Let’s just get this done.”