I’m only human-adjacent.
By the time she finds it in her trash can, I’m hard at work trying to write with my damn mouth, which for the record is way harder than it sounds.
“Duck?” she asks in confusion and I growl, struggling my way throughdadwith more precision. “Why would he drink my water? I have no idea what you’re trying to say, Ozzy,” she huffs, as frustrated as I am.
I give up, because I’m only guessing in the first place. The rest of the afternoon is spent with her sneaking back out to put things in the car she has stashed and I pray she didn’t use her father’s credit card to rent it. Rin is far more intelligent than people around here give her credit for, but she’s also lived an incredibly sheltered life. Without being able to ask her though, I’m stuck just praying for the best.
When the evening comes and she steps out of the bathroom in her simple soft blue, floor length dress, I commit the sight to memory. She wafts grace and poise, her slim figure accentuated by the way it hugs her torso, loosening at her hips to hang straight. Chestnut hair is swept off of her neck in an elegant up-do and a thin, silver chain hangs around her neck, an ankh shaped pendant resting on her collar.
She shifts on her feet, rubbing one of her arms over the faded bruises there as she fidgets uncomfortably. “I agree, not very conducive to running, but it was already waiting for me when I arrived at the shop.”
Whether it was Jax or her father, I’m not sure I want to know. The fact that they feel they can go so far as deciding what she’s allowed to wear is absurd. She may look stunning, but there’s a difference between a gift and just another form of control.
“So it’s a good thing I didn’t park too far away from the house,” she rambles as she tends to when she’s nervous. She shakes off her apprehension, features hardening alongside her determination. “You remember the plan?”
I nod my head. We’ve been over it over a dozen times already and I’ve committed every street name and turn to memory. Since she’s relying on winging it to find an opportunity to slip away tonight, I have to leave twenty minutes after she does so I’m there no matter when she can escape. There won’t be time to double back here, the minute she steps foot out of that house starting the clock.
But the thought of her even stepping foot into that cesspool of human garbage masquerading as a party leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I desperately wish I could just grab her and run, put all of this behind us, and hide her away from the world as effectively as she’s doing for me.
I dart beneath the bed without giving her any warning, just barely picking up on the sound of the doorknob turning before her father is strides into the room. “You look lovely, Corinna,” he claims, sounding for all intents and purposes like a proud father.
She murmurs her thanks and before long he’s escorting her away like a lamb to the slaughter. I start the countdown in my head until twenty minutes pass by, taking a steadying breath before leaping out the open window to the branch outside.
The sun is just beginning to set, casting shadows everywhere that should help conceal me. I usually resent being the smallest shifter in our pride, but thank fuck I don’t change into something like Ares or Cole; I’d have never made it through her window that night.
With nothing short of a guardian angel over my shoulder, I make it to the car and slip beneath it without incident, ready to get the hell out of this damn city and never look back. But as the minutes turn into an hour, then another, I get an increasing sense of dread. I war with myself for another tense moment before finally cursing and breaking into a sprint, darting between shadows and keeping my eyes downcast so as not to draw anyone’s eye in the darkness.
By the time I’m nestled in the branches of the tree overhanging the property the party is at, I’ve run through a million worst case scenarios already and am sick to my stomach. The mansion is ostentatious to the point of nauseating. There are countless people that end up starving to death outside of the city gates, those that struggle just to live day to day. And here, people practically use money to blow their nose and light their cigars.
It’s sickening.
I stay low to the branch, trying to peer through the windows on the back of the house for a glimpse of my mate. Time ticks by, and each second that passes has me restless, instinctually just knowing something’s wrong.
Don’t do it. Stick to the plan. You’re going to do more harm than good.
There’s a crash, glass shattering, and my head jerks away from the party on the main level to the story above. A strangled shout has me running across the open expanse of yard, going with my gut. There’s a balcony that wraps around the second floor and I scale up to it easily, landing on silent paws outside of the open French doors.
A hand is wrapped around Rin’s throat and slams her back against the wall. She grunts, clawing at the man’s wrist as he starts screaming in her face. My blood boils, animalistic instinct taking over as I pounce with a snarl, tearing into his arm.
He howls in pain and shock, dropping his hold and jumping back. I land on my feet, wasting no time going for his jugular in an attempt to tear his pathetic throat out. He sidesteps at the last moment, but I manage to rake my claws down his face.
Bloody rivulets drip down to stain his expensive clothes, his expression more furious than terrified. “You mutt-loving slut,” he spits in Rin’s direction, the insult a verbal slap to the face. “This is why you’ve been throwing such a bitch-fit? You’ve been rutting around in the dirt with the beasts?”
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out this must be Jax, and I take great pride in the fact that if I go down, at least I’ll take this asshole with me.
“It’s not like that,” she starts, voice trembling a bit with her fear.
“Well it’s too fucking late, isn’t it?” he spits, one hand pressed to his face to staunch the bleeding. “Because you’re mine now. And no wife of mine is going to ruin my name like this.” He stands a bit straighter and I tense, wondering what he’s planning. “Get your pet to stand down, and I might just consider putting this behind us. You have a chance at a fresh start, Corinna. Don’t be stupid; the mutt won’t be walking out of this house alive. Are you really going to go down with it?”
I don’t even have to wait for her to consider her options. “Fuck off, Jax.”
That’s all that I need to hear, launching myself at him with renewed enthusiasm. He screams as I begin to tear him apart, it taking far longer than I’d like to silence him. Because despite the monsters they make us out to be, I’ve never actually killed a human before. I thought it’d be quicker since they’re so feeble in comparison, but he struggles and fights far more than the deer I usually hunt.
The bedroom is little more than a macabre painting by the time I’m done, and as I step back over his still form, blood dripping from my jaw, I have my first real moment of absolute fear since stepping foot in this city. Even as the mages carved into me, I was just full of loathing, but I have never actually been scared to die. The only thing I would have left behind was my pride, but this world has always just been something I’ve survived instead of actually enjoyed.
Now? I’m fuckin’ terrified. My mate had a front row seat as I proved everything they say about us is true, and that we’re nothing more than violent, dangerous beasts. I’ve survived many things in my life, but I’m not sure I can live with Rin being afraid and repulsed by me.
Reluctantly I turn, and though I try and keep my body relaxed and unthreatening, there’s too much adrenaline flooding my system. My muscles stay coiled, ready to either bolt or fight tooth and nail to give her a shot to escape while I stay behind to give her a head start. My ears perked, I strain to pick up the thundering footsteps drawn by his screams to storm in here and shoot me. The music is loud below, helping to mask things, but I still expect someone to investigate. Though after the way everyone turned a blind eye at her bruises, I shouldn’t be surprised if they thought they were her screams they were ignoring.
