Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 62782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
I’m so focused on running, chasing after Van’s begging, I almost miss the silence. Almost. I probably would have, too, if it would have been everyone but Remy. But the moment Remy’s bond cuts off, I stumble, falling to my knees.
A chill, bone-deep and so fucking cold freezes me.
Kill.
Kill.
Kill.
The deep, malevolent voice is inside my head, darkness swarming around me, making me choke and clutch at my chest.
It’s here.
The thing is here.
Crunch.
I’m trying and failing to get to my feet, but the loss of connection to my pack is so eviscerating, I feel like puking my guts up. Pain, sharp and debilitating, stabs at my heart.
A whine catches my attention up ahead.
Wolf.
Ewan.
I’m unable to stand, too weakened by this crushing weight of silence and disconnect from Remy. Tears are stinging my eyes. I crawl forward, the pinch of sticks poking into my palms the least of my problems.
I need my pack.
I need Remy.
I need to know they’re okay.
Kill.
Kill.
Kill them all.
“No,” I choke out. “Don’t.”
I’m begging the voice inside my head, pleading for it not to hurt them. They’re my family. I can’t lose them. And if I lose Remy…a ragged breath rattles out of my throat as panic sets in, clawing at my insides.
Another whimper.
I crawl and crawl and crawl, dizzied and disoriented. The scent of blood hangs heavy in the air. I recognize it. Rey. Fuck no. And Judd. Ewan too.
Nononononono!
My cheeks are wet, but I can’t accept it until I see it with my own eyes.
Cut their heads off. Rip their eyeballs out with my teeth. Dismember them limb by limb.
“Stop,” I choke out. “Get out of my head.”
The voice won’t stop. It’s so fucking angry. Vibrating with such hatred it scares the shit out of me. All I want is for it to stop. I don’t want it to hurt them.
“Cyrus…” Van’s voice is so close. “Cyrus…”
My wolf is oddly silent, confusing the hell out of me. I almost can’t feel it either. Deep down, beneath this…fog…I sense him. Quiet but there. Breathing. Stewing. Starving. Right now, it’s the only connection I have to anything, so I reach through the bond, stroking the beast, tugging off the collar, and—
Before I can free the wolf, something pounces on me from behind, crushing me to the earth. I’m so weak, and I can’t understand why. Rage fills me, but it has no outlet. The heavy weight on me is cuffing something around my neck, snapping the metal into place.
Blackness eats at my vision, but I fight it off. I scream for my wolf to emerge, but he can’t. He’s gone. I can’t feel him or see him or hear him.
Gone. Gone. Gone.
I reach for the metal around my neck, yanking at it to no avail. The heavy body sitting on top of me chuckles. Then he strokes his fingers through my hair.
“That’s it, Alpha, accept defeat.”
The voice is familiar.
Laced in cruelty and anger.
My mind reels to try and place it, but whatever this thing around my neck is, it’s jumbling my thoughts.
I need Remy.
I fight through the mental chaotic storm, seeking my little Remy, desperate to feel him just once. Just once more and I could die happily.
Dark eyes are in the forefront of my mind.
Remy’s dark eyes.
Through the mess clogging up my brain, I fumble through it, seeking his scent—rain showers and wet earth—filling my nostrils with familiarity. His young, pliant body beneath mine as I ravish his mouth. Those memories are all that’s making sense in my head right now, so I fight with all that’s in me to cling to them. I’m afraid if I release my grip even for a second, I’ll lose this forever—lose him forever.
I can’t.
I refuse to.
Even as Wyatt fucking Easton flips me onto my back and glowers down at me, I see past him. The memory is my reality. I’m a selfish bastard and won’t let it go.
Everything about the Easton men was a trap.
I see that now.
The motherfuckers have taken away everything from me, leaving me powerless.
Not everything.
Remy. Remy. Remy.
I love that fucking kid with every ounce of my being.
The bond sparks, and I feel it.
Faint and hidden behind its usual wall, but there.
Remy is alive.
So strong. So brave. So fucking resilient.
Remy
Watching Cy run off with Ewan was like ripping my heart in half. I’d never felt so connected to anyone in my entire life. The pain of seeing him leave hurt. So much so, I’m still clutching my chest, stunned and out of breath, long after he’s gone.
Finnick urges us back into the cabin, his usually playful eyes tight with worry. He keeps himself between me and Cash, gaze sharp and assessing.
“Since you lost mine,” Cash says, once back inside, “I thought I’d give you more.”
He’s no longer wearing his sling, and there’s something tense in the way he holds his shoulders. Pulling out a new set of dogtags, he swings them out in front of him, offering them to me like a prize I should want.