Chapter 31
Jade
As each day passed, I found myself getting closer to the witches. They were prisoners just as much as I was. It was the wolves that I stayed away from. They were cunning and ruthless. Damian had chosen the right humans to change for his army. They were the bad boys I would have flocked to before. But now I didn’t feel that way. I had enough of the bad boys and the trouble. I sat with Sheeva one day when a smaller witch with a limp came barreling into the room. Her mascara was smeared in rivulets down her cheeks and her eyes were wide with panic. Sheeva stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders as I watched a group of wolves follow her in.
I bared my teeth at them as they circled us. “What’s going on here?”
“She has something we want,” the man at the front of the pack said.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Which is?”
“Her blood,” he shot me a bloodthirsty smile and everything inside of me turned feral. Nalia rose to the surface as a growl rumbled through my chest. The man’s smile faltered for a second. “Give her to us and you won’t have a problem.”
I looked behind me at the small girl and I saw red. Her neck was bleeding like they had tried to bite her, and her arms were clawed up. Her scent told me she wasn’t a wolf, but a witch. Something protective rose up inside of me as I turned back to the bloodthirsty wolves. My lips peeled away from my teeth. Who did these bullies think they were?
The tips of my fingers ached as my claws burst through the skin there. I flexed my hands as I prepared for the fight and as the other witches and wolves in the room took a collective step back, I knew I was alone. Which was fine, I wasn’t going to let these wolves get away with this, especially when almost everyone knew who I was. These were the exceptions I assumed.
I rolled my neck and shoulders as I smiled. “Well, if you want her, come get her.”
I didn’t know where the fight inside of me had come from but I had a feeling it had to do with Nalia. They look a look at my eyes and sniffed the air. I had no idea what they had found as their faces paled, but I didn’t care. The first one rushed me and I stuck my hand out in defense. The memory of Knox ripping a heart out was still fresh in my mind. Nalialovedit. She practically purred as I went over the strategy in my head. Before I could change my mind, I swiped my hand up into his chest cavity. The sound of bones crunching filled the room, but I didn’t stop there. I wrapped my fingers around the organ and yanked with all of my strength. The man crumbled at my feet and I threw the heart down beside him even though Nalia was very disappointed that we didn’t take a bite out of it. I knew it would show the others I was more dominant, but I wasn’t entirely worried about that. There were still two bullies coming at me. Dominance would come later, that is, if I decided to care about it.
I grabbed the other one by the neck and lifted him into the air before my claws pierced his skin and punctured his jugular. I threw him to the ground and went for the next one but he was already gone. He had tucked tail and disappeared.
“Anyone else?” My voice came out in a growl. “These witches are here to help Damian’s cause,our cause. If anyone of you harms them again, your death will be slow like this one.” I kicked the man choking on his own blood.
Our cause? I asked Nalia in my head. I hadn’t realized she had taken over until now. Until I felt sick at all the bloodshed. My claws sunk back into my fingers and I tried to wipe the ichor on my jeans. It was caked under my nails. I tucked my fingers into fists and jutted my chin into the sky. The only way out of this was with dignity.
Damian has to trust us. He will be watching that scene over the cameras. We had to make it believable.Nalia said proudly.
* * *
Damian was lounging on my bed when I came out of the bathroom. Lucas was on his bed, pretending to look at his tarot cards but I knew better. He was hyper-aware of his past love not even ten feet away from him.
“There she is,” Damian purred.
I pulled the towel off of my head and tossed it into the hamper. “What do you want?”
“Ourcause remember?” He smiled at Lucas, who now found the ceiling to be rather interesting, rather than the man staring at him.
I crossed my arms over my chest. I had scrubbed my body until it was raw and I hoped he couldn’t smell the weakness. I hoped he couldn’t feel it in the air. I had vomited until I felt like I was going to blackout and now I had to pretend like I was okay, like I was going to be all right. “Yes, I remember. I told you that I was on your side, didn’t I?”
He narrowed his eyes and nodded. “Yes, but you have given yourself over to the witches here. You have alienated yourself from the wolves.”
“Aren’t you a witch?”
He regarded me thoughtfully. “Yes, but I thought for sure you would ally with the wolves.”
I shrugged one shoulder up. “What can I say? I’m not very predictable.”
He hummed. “I suppose. I’m still trying to figure you out, little wolf.”
“I thought that was what you wanted. I didn’t think you would want me to side with the wolves. You have had me surrounded by them, except my guard and Lucas. But he’s still technically a witch, isn’t he?” I could feel Lucas’s eyes burning into the side of my face.
Damian smirked. “Yes, I suppose you’re correct. I guess I should have kept you close to the wolves then?”
“I still can’t guarantee that I would befriend them. They are all rogues here. They have their own pack dynamic that I don’t care to know. I don’t care about their ranks or their dominance or lack thereof.”
Damian sat up and a curious look passed over his face. “You like to run alone.”
“I have been alone since I was a child, what’s new? Pack life doesn’t interest me.” Pack life only interested me if it had to do with the Crimson Pack and that was it. I still didn’t know where I fit in there, but I liked how easy it felt. I liked how good everyone was. Except Rafe, he was still complicated and not exactly good either.
“I like you, Jade Rivers,” he muttered as he walked to the door. “Don’t make me regret that.”