It’s like I was back at Delphi, back inside a cage where I couldn’t be myself.
He knocked on the bedroom door a few times but I barely heard him through my sobbing into the pillow.
The next twoweeks dragged on painfully slow. Everyone and their fucking mother had heard about Sawyer cuffing me. Rumors swirled about me not being able to control my wolf, or about me attacking someone and that’s why he had to cuff me. But the best rumor was that he had in fact found out that I was an assassin and I wore these cuffs to keep from killing him.
Fuck my life.
Sage was so confused, kept asking me why Sawyer would do that and pried for more information, but I was too depressed to tell her everything. If this was my life now, caged inside my body, I’d better get used to it and there was no sense in telling her now.
Sawyer had sent approximately one giant bouquet of flowers per day since he cuffed me, and it was getting to the point where I couldn’t walk around my apartment. He’d even been commenting all these cute apologetic things on my Instagram photos. Sage was ignoring her cousin in solidarity on my behalf, and I was turning down date requests from him daily. Let him go out with the other nineteen girls; I couldn’t be with a man who wanted to see me imprisoned, even if it was because he thought he was protecting me. This was no way to live, especially after getting my taste of freedom.
Yesterday I’d found out that I made the top twenty.
Yay.Cue sarcasm.
“I’ve got a surprise for you tonight.” Sage turned to me as I pushed my eggs around my plate. Sawyer was eating breakfast with Meredith and Priya, while not so casually sneaking glances back at me. Today I was wearing a custom t-shirt Raven had made me that saidFeeling Stabbywith a little wolf cartoon holding a knife.
It perfectly displayed my mood. Raven and my parents sent weekly care packages with human candy I didn’t get in Werewolf City, and we talked often, but I was starting to feel lonely and homesick.
“I hate surprises,” I informed her as I watched Sawyer take a drink of his orange juice. Even his jawline was attractive.
Asshole.
Sage waved her hand in front of me. “Hello.”
My gaze snapped to hers. “What?”
“You’re going to like this surprise. Trust me.” She grinned. She was such a good friend, doing her best to take my mind off of the fact that I was a prisoner in my own body.
Giving her a weak smile, I stood. “Okay. Thanks. I gotta run. See you later.”
She frowned. “Yeah … later, Demi.”
* * *
When I got to class,I immediately threw myself into my art. Taking pictures was the only thing keeping me sane right now. I’d talked Sage into letting me do a series of four shots of her a few weeks ago and they all turned out amazing. Her vibrant red hair against the muted background I’d chosen was perfect.
“These are impressive, Miss Calloway,” Professor Woods spoke from behind me as I laid the prints out on my desk.
“Thanks. I was thinking of doing a nature series next.”
He nodded. “Well, you might just get your wish, because today we are all going on a field trip with Professor Hines’ class after lunch.”
Excitement thrummed through me. “Where are we going?”
Please say something cool like to snap pictures of a cemetery or something.
“The Dark Forest.” He winked and moved on to the next student.
It sounded ominous, but I had no idea what the Dark Forest was.
“Holy shit,” Chris whisper-screamed from behind me. “The Dark Forest? I wonder how the alpha approved that?”
I spun, stepping over to his and James’ shared table as I fiddled with my wide-angle lens. “What do you mean? Is it haunted or something?” I whispered back.
Chris chuckled. “Yeah, by wolf rebels and hybrids that want to cut our throats out.”
I froze, looking up at him. “What?”
