The grin he gives me is blinding in its intensity. “I’d expect nothing less. You always were the only one who could give me a run for my money; I’ve missed this.” Dropping his hand, he cracks his neck from side to side as he turns to step out onto the porch. “Just keep in mind, Sabrina, that the age-old phrase ‘better the devil you know’ is a crock of shit. Like the rest of us, that little demon in your head has her own motives. You should always take anything thatanyonetells you with a grain of salt. Ultimately, every story told is biased by the one telling it.”
Chuckling, he descends the steps. “And in the company of Nightmares, you can’t trust what you see with your own eyes, as they aren’t solely yours, are they? Even if you choose not to help us for our sake, at least do yourself a favor and consider what this predicament we’re in means for you. Our kind will always be drawn to you now that there’s nothing dampening Aurelia’s power. They may not understand why, but they can sense that you have the ability to free them from their prisons. Whether you kill me or not doesn’t change a thing in that regard.”
Striding across the yard, he calls, “Not that it holds any weight to you, but I give my word that I can coach you through how to free them without destroying the humans in the process. I’ve been planning this for hundreds of years, Sabrina; do you really think all of my experimenting with that drug was simply to bypass the mate curse aspect and make the best of a bad situation?”
He doesn’t bother to turn around as he fades into the tree line at the edge of the clearing. “Take a few weeks to think things over, we have time yet. Even if you’re growing stronger by the day, you still have a ways to go before you’ll be able to do what we need, if your dramatic exit from Shadow Ridge is anything to go by. So, in the meantime, decide what kind of life you want to live. One at odds with yourself, always on the run, or a peaceful life where you can settle down with your mates and everything you deserve? When you have your answer, you know where to find me.”
Chapter 2
Damian
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My inner demon isfurious,ranting and raving to the point I can’t even hear myself think. Yet, when I can finally bring myself to speak, my voice is completely steady and calm. “Two minutes.” Something splinters in my brain as the image of the man I strived to emulate my entire life fractures in front of me. “You have two minutes to give me a damn good explanation, and save me the ‘blissful ignorance’ bullshit this time. There’s plenty you could have still clued me in on while glossing over the worst of it.”
Pity takes residence in my father’s garnet eyes; fuckingpity.“You were one of the few left that had any hope for a better future at all. I couldn’t crush it, turn you into one of the depressed zombies like the rest of them.”
Bo is the first to shift back, yanking Sabrina away from Hunter to crush against his chest and setting off a chain reaction of the others shifting back. Reid’s indignant scoff is coupled by Hunter’s demand of, “Were you under his influence all this time? Ash fucking with your head like the rest of us?”
His whispered reply echoes like a shock wave, rendering not only the entire room silent, but even the hitchhiker camped out in my brain. “No.”
It lasts for all of a heartbeat before my volatile counterpart surges to the forefront and snaps our hand out to wrap around my father’s throat, slamming him against the nearest wall. “So you knew.” The last remaining framed photograph on the wall crashes to the ground, the glass shattering. “All this time, you knew what he was doing to me, tous, and you stood by and did nothing?!”
Sabrina fused my warring halves together to where I finally feltwhole, even if it’s been a whole lot of heartache at times, but right now, I’ve never felt so detached. Lost. I’m honestly relieved that there’s someone in my head to take control, allowing me the mercy of falling apart for a few minutes without letting anyone else down.
“What would you have me do?” He doesn’t fight me, and somehow, that actually makes it worse. “You’ve seen what the man’s capable of, how he can manipulate everyone he comes in contact with; with or without his abilities. He’s conned thousands of people into doing unforgivable things long before you were born, and by the time we realized how he used us... it was too late. We’re cursed in so many ways, Damian. Imprisoned, jumping through hoops for the chance at a mate, immortal unless our bodies are injured beyond repair.”
My ears perk up at that bit, and I nearly ask the question on the tip of my tongue before realizing the answer myself. I’ve never seen a wolf die of old age. Our lives are too brutal toreachold age. And the females whose mates precede them in death? They may choose to follow them into the grave, or take new mates, but once their second set has fallen, they don’t have the will to go through that agony again. They die of broken hearts as much as we die when losing ours.
Unless you have something to make your life worth living, immortality is the greatest curse of all; trapped in a state of perpetual, never-ending pain.
Sabrina settles a hand on my arm, and the raging monster lurking beneath my skin stills immediately. Agonizingly slowly, he removes one finger at a time until he’s released his death grip on my father’s throat, taking a step away. Dad scrubs a hand over the red marks, growing more resigned as the minutes tick by. Clenching and unclenching our fist, my inner demon assuages a fraction of his indignant fury by finally wrapping an arm around Sabrina’s waist, pulling her tightly into our side and taking a couple of slow, deep breaths, leeching off of her presence.
The only thing in my life that needs to make sense, I already have; her. The rest simply needs to be endured.
“Ash’s power. How does it work exactly?” The cold demand falls from my mouth without my influence, and it’s a harsh reminder that I need to pull myself together when it doesn’t upset me like before. As opposed to the last time he took over my vocal cords, this doesn’t feel invasive or nauseating. It’s a mercy that I’m grateful for, and from the corner of my eye, I glance at Cinjin.
