Jabir finally catches up to us and nearly slips in the puddle of blood that’s begun to seep along the wood floor.
Nell throws out a hand. “I’m fine.” The other settles over her stomach. “We’refine.”
A low, simmering rumble sounds from Axe’s chest. Salivating gums pull back, exposing a menacing set of enlarged canines.Nell orders him to leave, voice cracking.
Jabir backs up to the first step, aiming his gun right between Axe’s eyes. “You heard her.”
I grip the railing, watching Axe breathlessly as he weighs his choices. He doesn’t move a muscle.
“Not like this, Axe,” Nell whispers. “Push him out. You’re not coming any closer.”
He answers with another bone-chilling growl. I’m too shaken to draw my next breath.
“Push himout.”
When our eyes finally meet, the rumbling dies out. He lowers his head. Silence drapes over the foyer, blood seeping down the steps in a macabre stream. The wolf takes the limp body in his jaws, the dull sound of dragging weight following as he takes his leave. Jabir scrambles to his mate’s side, stroking her cheek.
A sudden flight response kicks in, sending me up the stairs, bolting back to the Luna’s suite. I duck inside the restroom, making for the toilet. Burning tears stream down my face as I heave. Every muscle spasms as I picture the lycan’s shorn flesh.
Another death I have brought on these people. How many more will die at Axe’s feet before his pack plunges into hysteria? Before I am blamed indefinitely?
Forget keeping a low profile. Forget evading vampires and Heartlands enforcers for a godsdamned minute. If the lycans of Bleeding Sun turn on me, I’m dead. That’s if Axe doesn’t rip my spine out first for withholding the truth.
A screeching realization clamps down on me.
I have to get out of here. Tonight.Now.
I jump out into the foyer, just in time to hear a scuffling clack outside. A slender woman in a spotted trench coat and knee-high boots passes by with a rolling suitcase. Shay. Heading towards the parking lot.
Through the doorway, I spot my own bags. They haven’t been opened since I moved up a level. Panting, I scribble a note down on the vanity and throw open the balcony doors. I don’t have time to assess what must be a twelve or thirteen-foot drop. All that matters is that it’s survivable. The frigid air nearly causes me to reconsider. But I toss my luggage over the balcony and swallow a scream as I fling myself over the ledge.
Thanks to the thick layer of yesterday’s snow, my tailbone doesn’t fracture when I hit the ground. A few lights illuminate the manor’s exterior, though my view of the carport and gated lot is mostly clear. At the end of the parking lot is a black SUV with its open trunk guarded by the warrior in training, Gemma. While Shay stuffs her items inside, the younger girl bites her lip, looking around nervously. They must be sisters. Their freckles and skin tone are too similar for them not to be.
I slip between the brick arches, pulling hard on my suitcase as the wheels kick up against the slushy gravel pavement. When I reach the final archway, Shay whips around to face me. Her nose crinkles, detecting the trace of vomit as I gasp for air.
"You're leaving?”
Turquoise eyes narrow on me. "Don't look too excited, now."
I gesture to the trunk. “Do you have room for one more?”
Chapter 12
VESSA
Shay and I part ways at the ticket counter. Looking over my shoulder, I make sure that no one from Bleeding Sun has followed us to the train station. Quickly, I pay for my train and bus tickets to Pinesdale and set out in search of the nearest pay phone. Maurleen answers on the first ring, Sylvie fussing in the background. She doesn’t ask why I’m calling so late, just what time she needs to pick me up tomorrow. Fourteen hours from now.
I don’t know which ache is worse: my shoulders or the twinge in my tailbone that’s been howling at me since I plopped down hard on the snow. It doesn’t hit me until I am boarded and seated in the dark booth. What I did was selfish—leaving abruptly with only a scribbled note on a napkin to convey an apology. The message for Axe was brief, but firm.
I'm sorry, but I must go. You and I both know that this is a world I don't belong in.
My body nearly collapses from sleep deprivation when I hop off my fourth bus of the day with my luggage. The brisk evening ripples with unyielding winds. As I make my way across the platform, I spot a head of curly marmalade locks in the parking lot. Maurleen. The second I reach the car, I wrap my armsaround her, inhaling the familiar scent of cinnamon. When I pull away, her expression is rich with sorrow.
“I don’t wanna hear it right now.” I bite the inside of my cheek. “Maurleen, we have a huge problem.”
Her lips form a thin line as she tucks a loose strand behind my ear. “We’ll talk once you’ve gotten some rest. Let’s get you home.”
A piece of my heart snags on the wordhome. Do I even have one at this point?
