A sharp pain radiated from my chest. I clenched my fists as I glanced up at the Moon for strength as I told her the truth. “Joanna,” I began with a sigh. “They chose you to be a part of Silas’s family.” I stooped and removed my tank top from the pile of leaves. Staring at a piece of skull stuck to the fabric, I continued, “Silas would’ve Bitten you whether you wanted it or not. And I didn’t care.”
I looked up and kept my hands at my sides as I took a step forward.
“No,” I corrected, “the truth is that I wanted him to do it.” I raked my hand through my hair, wanting to yank out every strand. “BecauseIcan’t do it. Not when I know you don’t want this. But I promise I would never have let him near you again after that.”
Joanna shook her head as if trying to shake my words from her memory. She’d been toying with the bracelet on her wrist whilst listening to my confession, and with a roll of her eyes, she tossed it to the ground.
She loosened her shoulders as her aura burst free, crackling like electricity across her skin. Goddess, she was—
“A rogue Bit a human, and the girl was excited to make the change.” She gave a nonchalant shrug. “So, I killed her.” She smirked. “Because you’re all monsters.”
My wolf barked in confusion. I tossed the tank top back on the ground and held up my hands as I continued to close the gap between us. “You don’t mean that, Joanna. I know you don’t. You care about me. And what about your sister?”
Joanna’s cold eyes hadn’t left mine. “I’ve been replaying a conversation I overheard earlier in my head… I think Latoyasuspected Silas would want to turn me. What do you think, Marcus?”
When I didn’t respond, she nodded her head.
“That would’ve been something to mention about four days ago, right?”
“Joanna—”
“And she’s not the only one who forgot to share something important. But maybe I’m wrong—Tell me you don’t know…” She paused, her breaths quickening in the seconds it took for me to take another step closer. “Do you know, Marcus?”
I froze in my tracks, my blood running cold. “Know what, Joanna?” I asked, my quiet voice swallowed by the wind.
“Am I your fated mate, Blackwood?”
The howl of my wolf resonated deep within my core.Ours.
I frowned. “I never asked for any of this.”
“Am I?”
“AmI?” I echoed stubbornly.
Joanna tilted her head, her mouth dropping open.
“Am I the father?”
She stiffened but said nothing as she balled her hands into fists. She kicked a pinecone by her foot, sending it hurtling toward me. As I swatted it, she lunged for me—intent burning in her eyes, venom weeping from her battle cry.
She swung, her fist colliding hard with my cheek. I leaped back, shaking the spots from my vision.
“Joanna, stop—”
She continued to attack. I held up my arms, shielding myself, when I saw her pick up a stick from the ground. She twirled the stick around, swinging it like it was an extension of her. She landed a blow on my elbow, shooting shockwaves down my arm.
She wanted the kill.
She had the speed and the strength; but thank the Goddess she had no silver to use against me.
I hissed, trying to shake the pain from my arm when Joanna leaped into the air, swinging the branch down for my head. I blocked it with my forearm and grabbed her by the neck. She struggled and tried to swing again.
“Enough,” I roared, wrenching the branch from her hands and flinging it away.
I released her, and instead of landing on her feet, she hit the ground with a thud, wheezing as if the air had been knocked out of her.
“What the fuck?” I scrambled to my knees as guilt pulled my chest taut. “I’m sorry,” I pleaded, my shaking hands hovering above her.
