Shaken, I walked back out to the balcony, desperately needing fresh air. I let myself fall onto one of the armchairs and closed my eyes, blocking any thought that suggested Isis was not who I thought she was, and inhaling deeply over and over again to calm the emotions trying to overwhelm me.
I just sat there, glancing at the contained forest beyond the steel rail. My entire life I’d wanted to be in the city, among humans, but now I wasn’t sure if this was a dream come true or just the beginning of my nightmare.
One by one, all the moments I’d shared with Isis began to swirl in my mind. The once-happy memories were now filled with doubt, and it was just one more thing for me to hate.
Why did Isis have Dante’s potions? Had he tricked her into thinking he was just a regular Witch trying to help, or did she know about him all along? Was she somehow involved withthese people? With the Vampires? Had she lied to me all my life about who she was?
Why weren’t D and Vanessa deformed, cursed creatures deprived of thought, logic, or feeling like I was led to believe by the Hunters? Like my entire pack was told by their Alpha for years?
Truth was, there wasn’t an ounce of Vanessa that wasn’t filled with some type of emotion. Although it was troubling to admit, she was sweet and kind of funny. Something inside me did agree with her, under different circumstances, we could have been best friends. I’d even admit I wished there had been someone like her in the pack to be close with aside from Isis.
Something else troubled me. The way D reacted to his sister accidentally making my claws come out, was as though he already knew me, already cared for me. He’d entrusted his sister to watch over me while I was unconscious and seeing me bleed seemed to cause him physical distress—the way I might feel for the hurt of someone I loved.
“I can smell her blood,”he’d seethed to Vanessa in reprimand, like spilling my blood was a crime, something that shouldneverhappen.
I almost snorted at that; bleeding was a regular occurrence for me. The only constant in my life had been the dreaded monthly attempt to shift into my wolf, only to fail miserably, leaving my body in shambles.
Yet, his reaction to me being hurt had been possessive, like I washisto protect.
It was alarming to me, but if I was honest with myself, something deep inside me liked it. The samesomethingthat enjoyed the way his thumb stroked my cheek so lovingly… my wolf. His gesture took me back to the mountain after I thought I’d saved him, only for him to end up saving my life instead.
“How could I possibly fear you when you are the woman who brought me back to life…”
Those were the words D shared right before he kissed me. At the time, I assumed he meant rescuing him from the Hunters, but now I wasn’t so sure.
As the sky darkened before my eyes, the city became alive with twinkly lights, music, and the lively spirit of the humans. All the while conflicting thoughts, doubts, memories, and unanswered questions I wasn’t certain I wanted the answers to, tortured my mind.
My arms tightened around myself as the temperature dropped, but I wasn’t cold. I welcomed the chilled breeze sweeping my hair back, because it was the only comforting thing here, the only recognizable element I could hold on to.
Standing, I walked closer to the railing, seeing the park alive with visitors, and even a colorful machine I could see peeking through the trees. Once more, I inspected the building where I was currently held. We were on the highest floor, nothing above it but the roof of the building, whileNew York Citystretched below us in every direction.
Unfortunately for me, my knowledge of the human world extended only to the stories and bits Isis had shared with me about it, and to the makeup I’d learn to use and love. I didn’t know how humans called the homes in constructions this tall, especially the ones on the last floor, but glancing down at the levels created by the balconies along each floor, I was confident I could climb down to the street without anyone noticing in time to stop me.
My body flinched as the bouts of pain I had begun to feel in the past few hours returned, twisting my stomach. Hunger. The kind of debilitating hunger I hadn’t experienced since Isis began taking care of me as a child. Before that, it wasn’t uncommon to go a day or two, sometimes three without nourishment. Myuncle never remembered to feed me, and I was too small to find the communal dining room on my own. Not to mention, that no one in the pack dared to go against his orders of not coming near me, even if it was just to help me eat.
Taking a slow, calming breath, I caressed my stomach, trying to figure out why I was so famished. I had eaten last night before bed, after the attack on the village. It had maybe been half a day, why was I starving?
Soothing shadows suddenly shifted behind me, but I’d felt the swaying dance of energy before I saw or heard the Dark Witch. Thank the Goddess my senses were back in control. Oddly enough, I was grateful for his arrival; glad I was no longer alone with my troubling thoughts.
“You could escape, but I wonder, what comes after?”
His question wasn’t mocking, or pitiful, only bringing attention to my reality.
No answer reached him because I didn’t know what came next. What would I do after I escaped their hold? Though I’d heard ofNew Yorkbefore, I didn’t know the city or how far away it was from my home mountain. I had no idea where to go, or how to try to search for Isis.
Do I even still have a home?I didn’t have an answer for that either. Probably not.
“Didn’t I throw you out?” I asked instead, glancing back at Dante over my shoulder, eyes narrowed just like he’d done when D messed with him.
A sarcastic smirk teased his lips but didn’t take hold. “I thought about that but hear me out.” He raised a finger as though to emphasize his point. “Technically, you threw me out of the room, and we are on the balcony, so…”
“You are still out,” I finished, seeing Dante’s lips stretch into a perfect smirk, not caring to hold back.
“Exactly.” He winked. “Like my logic?”
“It’s surprisingly sound,” I replied, unable to hold the chuckle that escaped me.
“See? I knew you’d get me.” His arms crossed over his chest, and he rested a shoulder on the brick wall behind him, crossing his ankles in a relaxed stance. He just looked at me, seeming pleased with himself that he’d made me smile.
