Her screams were cut off. She began to convulse in the seat. Her eyes rolled up into her head as she jerked and jolted in her restraints. It was then that I saw the collar around her neck. There was a buzzing, clicking sound on the video. They had her in a goddamned shock collar. The bones of my fingers cracked as I clenched my fists.
Foam oozed out of her mother’s mouth, and she slumped, passed out, and exhausted, her chest heaving. From the edge of the camera, a familiar form appeared. Viola was dressed in another designer suit. This time her hair was slicked back away from her face. She stood directly in front of Maddy’s mother.
“Bitch,” Maddy hissed, vibrating with rage. I’d never seen her look so angry.
Viola turned to the camera. “Well, this was unfortunate. We only typically use shock therapy on the ones who don’t fall in line. As evidenced by this”—she curled her lip in disgust—“display, your mother has been a tough one to break.”
Maddy snarled at the screen, and I put a hand on her lower back to steady her. The fact that Viola could torture someone like this and act like it was no different than swatting a fly made it clear she wasn’t sane. “I’m going to kill her,” Maddy hissed.
I believed her. A chill ran down my spine.
“Maddy,” Viola said. “You can end all this. Your parents and your little friend can all be set free. All you need do is join us atthe disclosed location in a few weeks. Very simple really. I hope to see you soon. Your family hopes I do as well.”
The video clicked off. There was a moment of complete silence, then Maddy went berserk. I stumbled back as she started swinging her arms around the room. She pulled books off the bookshelves. She slammed her hands into the wall, punching holes in the drywall. Her hands flashed between claws and fingers so fast that it was almost like watching a strobe light.
“Maddy, calm down!”
She rounded on me. Her eyes were filled with a fury I couldn’t begin to understand. Her eyes were blood red, then they were back to normal, then red again. Her lips were peeled back in a snarling growl, and I watched as she and her wolf were both fighting for dominance, fighting to see who was the angriest.
I held my hands up, patting the air in a calming gesture. “It’s okay. I’m here. Maddy, take a breath. Remember what I told you at the stream? Focus.”
Maddy’s body twitched as though she wanted to lash out more, but she ended up taking a single steadying breath, then visibly relaxed. I sighed and realized I’d been scared. Hell, I was still scared. I’d never seen anything like it.
Maddy opened her eyes, and though they were calmer, they didn’t have the look I’d expected. She wasn’t crying. She didn’t even look sad. There was only a deep and vicious fire in her eyes. That scared me almost as much as her destructive outburst.
“I know what you’re thinking, and you need to get that out of your head,” I said. “I’m not letting you sacrifice yourself.”
Maddy gave a single shake of her head. “You don’t know what I’m thinking.”
I frowned. What was wrong with her voice? It didn’t sound like her at all. It was deeper. Throatier. What the fuck was happening?
Maddy clenched her hands into fists and shook them in front of her. “I don’t want to sacrifice myself. I don’t want to die. I want the royals to die. I want to force them to sacrifice themselves.” Her words grew in volume. The more she spoke, the more alien her voice sounded. “I want Viola’s sightless, unblinking eyes to stare up at me from where I have her head on a platter. All these years of lies and deceit, so much time spent scheming. I know what they are. Years and years, I’ve dealt with them. I want them to scream for mercy. They’ve done this for so long, they don’t even see how evil they are. I want to gut them and see their faces as they watch their insides slide from their bodies?—”
I ran forward and clutched the sides of her face, putting my eyes right in front of hers. “Maddy! Snap out of it.”
As though a switch had been flipped, she blinked, and then she was Maddy again. Only her. She took a deep gasping breath and put a hand to her chest. “That wasn’t me, Nico. That was my wolf speaking through me.”
I blinked at her. “What? That…” I frowned. “That isn’t possible. She can influence what you say. Give you impressions and emotions, but they can’t talk through you.”
Maddy shook her head, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “None of those words were mine. I didn’t say any of that.”
“But you were talking about knowing the royals. Having memories of them. That can’t be your wolf. How would your wolf have any memory of them? It was onlybornwhen we mated.”
“I don’t know, Nico.” Maddy dragged her hands through her hair. “That’s what I’ve been telling you. I don’t think this is the typical way a shifter’s wolf is born. I keep telling you this is weird.”
My mind spun with the possibilities. How could her wolf have memories of the royals? How strong was it that it could actually take over her body andspeakthrough her? Why hadn’tit come out yet if it was so strong? I needed someone with more experience.
“Are you cool if I call my father over?”
Maddy nodded and paced around the room like a caged tiger. I grabbed my phone and called Dad. He was at our house in less than five minutes. We met him downstairs and sat down to explain what had happened. He listened carefully as we explained what we’d seen on the video, Maddy’s reaction, her outburst of anger, and then the way the wolf seemed to speak through her.
He held up a hand. “Wait, wait, you’re saying the wolf itself spoke?”
“Yes,” Maddy said, desperation seeping into her voice.
“Right,” I added. “She says none of the words were hers.”
Dad sat back and rubbed at his beard. I remembered the look from my childhood. It was what he always looked like when he was contemplating something very important. Finally, he shook his head. “I’ve never heard of anything like this.”
