I grab my shirt from the floor. “I don’t have time for this shit. You’re already getting attached, already looking at me like I’m supposed to care. I fuck to forget, not to play house.” The words scrape my throat raw. “There are a million other holes in this city that understand the rules, that don’t require this much fucking babying.” I finally look at her. “This isn’t worth the headache.”
The words hit their mark. Her face crumbles before she catches it, forcing it into a blank, cold mask.
“I shouldn’t have started,” I mutter, turning away. “Just go to bed.”
I don’t wait to see what it does to her. I snatch my pants up, yanking them on so fast I almost trip. I move toward the door before the voice can speak again—before I do something I can’t take back.
Behind me, the room goes silent. Then, I feel it. A spike of her rage, and the sound of something heavy slicing through the air behind me. Her fucking hairbrush. It stops an inch from the back of my skull, then clatters to the floor. My magic. My fucking shield. I wish it landed. I wish she’d fucking drawn blood.
For the first time, I don’t know if I walked away to save her—or if I just finished twisting the knife.
PART II
THEN — JAX’S POV
NOW — SISK’S POV
Twenty-Four
Unknown
IT WASN’T A QUESTION.
“I can’t—I can’t do that. I can’t. It’s wrong.”
WE DON’T WANT HER. BUT HE WILL COME IF SHE DOES. FIND A WAY.
“No. No, I don’t understand—why him? Why her?”
THAT’S NOT FOR YOU TO KNOW.
“Stop! Stop, I won’t do it.”
YOU’LL OBEY. NOBODY ESCAPES.
“No—no, that’s not what I asked for. That’s not what I wished for.”
YOU WILL GET YOUR WISH IF YOU PAY THE PRICE.
“I already did. I gave you blood.”
YES.
“Leave me alone.”
NOT HUMAN.
“…what?”
HUNGER CAN WAIT.
“No. No, I didn’t agree to that. I didn’t?—”
YOU’RE ALREADY THINKING ABOUT HOW.
“…no.”
YOU ARE.
