“I’m going to make sure you rest in pieces,” I breathe, defiant as his eyes widen in horror, tracking the hammer in my hands.
Effortlessly, I swing all of my strength into the metal in my hands, relishing in the crunch as it meets his skull, blood splattering over me like a burst pipe.
There’s no cry of pain or howl of rage this time. There’s nothing but silence.
It’s not enough, though.
I lift the weapon again, and again, and again, each blow meeting its target until he’s unrecognizable. Certain he’s dead, I let the hammer fall loose at my side as I sway on my feet. I stumble back two steps before I’m met with a firm but warm embrace. Arms wrap around me gently as a familiar woodsy scent engulfs me.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you. I’ve always got you.”
13
RION
“Remind me why the hell we trusted him to go?”
It feels like someone has poured cement down my throat, and with every breath I take, it settles thicker in my lungs. I never should have trusted him. It doesn’t matter that I saw that look in his eyes, one that I thought would be worth our while, but now, as I pace back and forth in front of the main academy building, frustration rising inside of me, I regret it with every ounce of me.
I should have known his ability to lie runs deeper than just his words. Fuck, even his actions.
I’m going to slaughter him with my own hands before I shift into my wolf and feast on his fucking remains.
“We have to give him time. He’s coming back, I know he is,” Ocean murmurs, trying to reassure me, but I sense the air of doubt that swarms around her.
Cocking a brow at her, she tries to hide her grimace, but I catch the edge of it as Thorne clears his throat. Reluctantly, I tilt my attention in his direction and almost startle at the sheer level of contained ferocity that tightens his facial features.
“I promised her she would be safe here. If she weren’t, if I didn’t believe he would bring her back, I wouldn’t have allowed it,” he bites, clenching his hands at his sides, and I scoff.
“Youwouldn’t have allowed it?” I blurt, making Ocean sigh as she pinches the bridge of her nose.
“Don’t start turning on one another. That’s the last thing Elodie is going to need when she gets back,” she insists, giving me a pointed look as I lift my hands with an air of surrender.
The reluctant apology remains muted on my tongue as the sound of the double academy doors swinging open cuts through the air. My gaze snaps toward the noise, but the hope that starts to blossom in my stomach instantly vanishes at the sight of the fair-haired vampire asshole filling my vision.
What’s worse? He’s alone.
His green eyes darken as he whips his gaze around us, all while the three of us zero in on him expectantly.
“Where the fuck is she?” I snarl, ignoring the tension to his jaw and the way his shoulders are hunched as I charge toward him with intent. I want answers, and only he can provide them.
The second we’re standing toe to toe, I shove at his chest, not feeling any satisfaction as he stumbles back a step.
In my gut, I know he lets it happen, but my wolf refuses to accept that it wasn’t all his doing.
He continues to glance around us as he speaks. “She came through the portal before I did. She should be here,” he states, scrubbing the back of his neck as his spine stiffens.
Rage tears through me as I reach for his chest, but instead of shoving at him again, I curl my fingers into the fabric of his t-shirt and drag him closer as I bellow. “If she’s gone again, I swear?—”
His nostrils flare as he glowers back at me, but it’s Thorne who speaks.
“She has to be here. I’ve boosted the protection spell on The Vale, as I promised. There’s no way she was intercepted going from The Sanctum back to The Vale.”
My eyebrows furrow as my hands tighten on Kael’s t-shirt, but before I get too distracted with pummelling the shit out of him, I let go, my attention snapping to Ocean as she lets out a sharp breath.
“Institute Thirteen,” she whispers, making my heart flutter in my chest as I nod.
Without another word, I take off, assuming the rest will follow, but I barely make it a handful of hurried steps before Ocean hollers from behind me.
