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 think you should let him go to school,” Rey says, her voice slightly shaking despite the fierce expression on her face. “He could use to find other kids his age. Us old folks can’t be all he ever knows.”
The hairs on my arms stand on end as Cy sends a warning through the bond, hot and commanding. No matter how much I try to ignore it or block him out, I feel it all the way down to my very being. It’s nauseating.
“No.” Cy also signs the word, his icy blue eyes locked on mine, in exaggeration so I don’t misunderstand.
A blast of hatred burns deep in my gut. I give him a hand gesture but it’s not ASL. It’s my middle finger.
Finnick lets out a bark of a laugh that has Judd elbowing him for it.
“He’ll learn far more here than the little Brigs Ferry Bay school could ever teach him.” Cy rips off a piece of bread and dunks it into the juices of the pot roast in his bowl. “End of discussion.”
He shoves the soaked bread between his lips, his eyes sharp and assessing. Daring me to fight him on this. His intimidation tactics might have everyone at this table lowering their heads in submission, but not me. I lift my chin in defiance.
Tomorrow, I sign. Tomorrow I’ll be eighteen. The law says I can do whatever I want then.
Cy doesn’t use sign language. Instead, he uses his own mental mindfuck language. Powerfully stubborn disagreement. Possessiveness over me and the rest of his pack. His word is law according to the smug feelings vibrating from him through our bond.
Too weak. Too small. Too broken.
Those words I hear over and over and over until I can’t take it anymore.
I bite on my bottom lip, hating the sudden urge to cry. Anger is my best friend, not defeat. Tears sting at my eyes, blurring Cy’s form in front of me. Rey’s warmth reaches for me again, but I slam the mental door in her face. Slowly, I blink away the despair at forever being a prisoner and meet Cy’s firm stare.
I will leave if you don’t let me. I’ll run away.
My signed words have Ewan sucking in a sharp breath and Judd scowling at me. Finnick’s brows fly to his hairline while Rey gasps.
Cy remains unmoving aside from the tick in his jaw.
He finally speaks, chilling me to my bones. “I will hunt you down and drag you back.”
Stalker. I chase my signed word with, I hate you.
“Teenage angst. Oh, the drama,” Finnick mutters. “Can we talk about something else now or—”
“Two bodies were found at Red Hake Campgrounds. Raped. Mutilated. Throats torn out,” Cy spits out, his blue eyes raking down to the scar on my neck. “There are reasons why we keep you protected.” He cracks his neck. “Because the shit out there isn’t safe for you, Remy. It’s just not safe.”
Everyone grows silent. All that can be heard are thundering heartbeats through the bond. It’s then I realize Cy ripped down my mental wall without me realizing it.
The entire pack is a witness as grief slams into me with the force of a tornado.
Mom. Hope.
Dead.
Whoever killed them is still out there…and it seems like they might have returned.
Cyrus
I hadn’t meant to tell him, but for fuck’s sake he pissed me off and needed a reality check. The reality check was too brutal though. He’d gone from angry and agitated at his supposed imprisonment to gasping for air as panic seized him. All of his protective barriers fell as he felt the assault of his grief, nearly injuring the rest of us with the sharp, sudden onslaught of it.
Remy scrambles up from the table, abandoning the rest of his meal. The despair tugging at our bond has everyone at the table but me whimpering. I ache to soothe his pain, but he doesn’t want to speak to me right now. Rey will go to him later when he’s calmed down, run her fingers through his hair in a way I know he secretly loves, and hold him until he falls asleep. She’ll tell him stories of her travels and places she’d love to one day go. Together they’ll dream of any place but this one.
“Cy,” Rey starts, disappointment in her tone. “He—”
“What happened to not telling him?” Judd asks, interrupting her.
Ewan sighs, clearly bothered by the rift in the pack while Finnick leans closer, eager to hear more.
“He’s blind to what’s out there,” I bite out. “He’s old enough to hear the harsh truth now. You heard him. He’ll be eighteen tomorrow.”
I refrain from rolling my eyes.
At eighteen, I was a fucking child. Just like he is. Naïve to the world around me. I still shudder at how blinded I was to the sickness that existed. It shocked me to my core and changed my entire life. Maybe a little tough love is what he needs. It certainly could have given me my own warning dose of reality before it smacked me in the fucking face. One day he’ll look back on this and appreciate all we’ve done for him.