A bitter laugh escapes me. “Days? That’s generous. I figured you’d want me dead by morning.”
“Answer the question.”
“I don’t understand.” I tilt my head at him, ignoring the way the movement sends pain shooting through my skull. “Why can’t you identify who took her? Surely you can pick up on their scent.”
His jaw tightens. For a moment, he doesn’t respond, and I see a spark of frustration cross his face. Maybe even a hint of defeat.
“Whoever helped her used a scent blocker,” he finally says. “Very rare. Very expensive. Not something just anyone has access to.”
I don’t let myself smirk at this piece of information. A scent blocker. That’s why they haven’t found her yet. That’s why he’s here, demanding answers, instead of dragging her back in chains.
“Tell me who it was.” His voice turns cold, commanding. His alpha voice, meant to compel obedience.
I look up at him through the blood and swelling. “Why?” The word comes out sharp. “So you can kill my mother like your son killed my father and my brother?”
Alaric goes completely still, and the air around him becomes thick and dangerous.
I should stop talking. Should keep my mouth shut and my head down. But rage bubbles up from somewhere deep inside me, hot and uncontrollable.
“You know what?” I lean forward as much as my injuries and the chains allow. “My mother must be a saint. She saw Zion kill Trevor. My brother. Her son.” My voice rises, cracking. “And she lived with you for years. Years! Right under your roof. She could have gotten revenge at any time. She could have slit Zion’s throat while he slept.Could have poisoned his food. Could have done a thousand different things.”
Alaric’s hands curl into fists at his sides, but I’m beyond caring.
“But she didn’t.” The words pour out of me like poison. “She never touched him. Never hurt him. She just survived, day after day, living with her son’s murderer. And look at you now.” I bare my teeth painfully, not quite able to smile. “So desperate to torture her and execute her. All to cover up your bastard son’s crimes.”
“Watch yourself.” His voice is deadly quiet.
“Or what? You’ll kill me?” I laugh, and it sounds unhinged even to my own ears. “That’s already going to happen. We both know I’m not walking out of here alive.”
I don’t know the full story of what happened that day. Don’t know all the details of the massacre. But I know one thing with absolute certainty: Zion was the real perpetrator. Zion wanted something. Someone. And people died because of it.
Alaric bends over, and his fingers wrap around my throat. He lifts me slightly off the ground, the chains straining against my wrists as they straighten.
“Where is Lillian?” His face is inches from mine, his breath hot against my skin. “Tell me where she is. Now.”
I gather what moisture I can in my mouth and spit directly in his face.
The glob of bloody saliva hits his cheek and slides down slowly.
For a heartbeat, he doesn’t move. Just stares at me with those cold, wolfish eyes. Then, he lets go, and I fall back against the wall, gasping.
“You want to play games?” He wipes his face with deliberate slowness.
“You want my mother to die so your secret doesn’t get leaked, don’t you?” The words come out hoarse but clear. “That’s what this is really about. If she talks, if anyone finds out what Zion did, your precious legacy crumbles.”
His expression darkens.
“She told me everything.” I’m lying, but he doesn’t need to know that. “About the girl Zion wanted. About how he massacredan entire settlement because they wouldn’t give her to him. About how you managed to cover it up for so many years.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I?” I hold his gaze steadily.
His face tightens, telling me I’ve struck a nerve.
“Where is she, Violet?”
“You’ll never find her.” I say it with complete conviction. “She could be halfway across the ocean by now. Long gone. Out of your reach.”
