“But Bane doesn’t want to hurt me?”
“Notyou, no.”
As in, he’s still a danger to Khalil and Thorin and anyone else within reach when he wakes up.
“Shit,” Aurelia swears as she sits up. “This is worse. So much worse.” And then she turns on me with new hope alight in her eyes. “Can the trigger work both ways? If it wakes him up, can it put him back to sleep?”
I feel dread seeping into my veins as I slowly shake my head. “I don’t know, Sunshine. It’s never worked before. We’ve tried it.”
“But it’s like you said. The rules have changed.”
“The only way to know for sure is to try it, and I seriously doubt that’s wise. By keeping Bane away from you, I gave the trigger new purpose. I gave Bane a new purpose. As long as it’s you pressing the trigger, we can open any door we like, but that’s it.”
“Khalil and Thorin think I’m affecting Bane. Zeke wasn’t in any danger when Bane woke up, nor was he any of the other times. He was reacting tomeand somethingIdid. What if this thing between Zeke and me is putting them in danger?”
“Sunshine, I think that ship has sailed. What’s done is done.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means Zeke won’t be so easy to shake now that he’s been inside you. Sex is no small thing for him. He would have warned you before he went that far with you. Trying to stay away from him might do the very thing you’re trying to prevent. Bane and I are his alters. We give Zeke what he needs…what he wants. And what he’s decided he wants…is you. Denying him won’t end pretty. For anyone.”
“Maybe we should have stayed at the cave.”
“Yeah, but—” A twig snaps in the distance. Aurelia gasps and looks in the direction the sound came from. We aren’t armed, so her fear is palpable. I can feel it seeping into my bones and infecting my blood as if it were my own—until I’m filled with a single-minded purpose, and that’s to keep hersafe. It’s the last thing I remember before it all goes black.
KHALIL
Ifollow the glow of a fire in the distance, trying to keep quiet in case it’s someone else and not them. I’ve been searching for two days, barely eating or sleeping and only stopping long enough to consult the map and all the areas I’ve already crossed off and to radio Thorin to check on him.
He’s getting impatient, and so am I. I don’t know how much more I can reason with him that he’s in no shape to help me look.
And then there was the sheriff. He’s been coming down on our heads since Aurelia missed their daily check-ins. Apparently, they had some kind of secret deal. A condition that allowed her to come back with us and keep her hidden from her uncle until the sheriff decided if he believed Aurelia’s story or not. We told him what happened with the storm and that Zeke is missing too. It’s the only thing that’s kept him from coming up here to arrest us both, but I’ve been keeping him up to speed on my progress.
Or rather lack thereof.
I’m creeping along trying to remain undetected when I hear a scream.
Forgetting all about caution, I sprint toward the sound and come across a small but empty campfire. Resting against the tree is Aurelia’s bow, but she’s nowhere to be found. I kneel and study the footprints on the ground that indicate a struggle, the rock with a snake’s peeled skin and bloody entrails, and a knife.
Hearing another scream, I stand and kick dirt onto the fire, grab the knife, and Aurelia’s bow and take off in that direction.I hop a log, following the female voice, which becomes more distinct the closer I get.
“Let me go! Do you hear me, you crazy bastard? Let me go, dammit! I’m not going back to that cave!”
I burst through some dense foliage and onto a trail that leads away from the cabin, and I immediately spot Zeke walking down it with Aurelia thrown over his shoulder. At least I assume it’s Zeke since he’s not hurting her. Aurelia’s pounding her fists on his back and screaming bloody murder, but he seems to be oblivious to it all as her protests fall on deaf ears.
“Aurelia! Zeke!”
Zeke doesn’t stop walking, but Aurelia’s head pops up from where it’s hanging upside down, and her eyes widen when she sees me. “Oh my God. Khalil! Help me!”
“What the hell are you guys doing?”
Before she can answer, Zeke turns around, and from the look in his eyes I know it’s not Zeke at all.
It’s Bane.
“You.”
“Fuck.” Dropping everything, I pull the tranq from its holster just as he removes Aurelia from his shoulder like she’s a sack of flour and tosses her into some bushes. She volleys a string of curses at him as she disappears from view, and then it’s just him and me.
