“It’s done.”
I slammed the revolver onto the table, spinning the butt towards Marini. The mother-of-pearl shone in the light, the beauty of the thing marred by all the lives it’d taken. Instead of a headsman’s axe, Fortitude had a gun.
The executioner.
It was late when I’d arrived back at the compound, past one a.m., but Marini wanted an immediate report the moment I got in, whatever hour it was. Revenge, messages, shows of power. Blood never waited, and neither did he.
This time I’d been sent after a wolf who’d fled from the pack only days before. I couldn’t blame the guy, but with the Hollow Men watching, the pack couldn’t afford any loose ends. One misstep and they’d descend like locusts, kill everyone, and take Sloane. For the first time, Marini and I were on the same page…despite our differing motives.
The dining table in the alpha’s room was empty, save for the revolver. Marini sat at the head like he was the king of the world and regarded me smugly. He leaned forwards, his fingers brushing the barrel like a father caressing his newborn child. “And?”
“The vampires hadn’t got to him,” I replied. “He won’t inform on the pack.”
“Did you make him squeal?”
I nodded. I’d made it quick and painless, but he didn’t need to know that. My tastes had changed in light of certain…events.
“Good. What took you so long?”
“I had to make sure there was no heat on him,” I said, resting my hand on the back of a chair. “Last thing the pack needs right now is attention.”
Marini picked up the gun and turned his gaze on me. “What do you think of Betty?”
“I don’t think anything,” I replied, unsettled by his abrupt change of subject.
“Yeah, you do think something, Chaser. You think a great deal. It’s ingrained in that baby-faced head of yours. You’ve had over a hundred years to figure out how to hide things from me. I know you do.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You ordered me to get her back. I got her back.”
“Took you long enough.”
“The—”
Marini slammed his fist down on the table, and I was suddenly grateful I’d left the revolver unloaded.
“I don’t want your excuses,” he snarled. “Tell me. What do you think of Betty?”
He was baiting me, which meant he suspected. Whatever I said next, I had to choose my words carefully.
“She may be fighting the wrong battles, but she can fight.”
Marini snorted and leaned back in his chair. “And what makes you say that?”
“The Hollow Men,” I replied, deadpanning him. “She killed one without blinking. You and I both know how difficult it is…and she thinks she’s human.”
“Hollow Men…” the alpha scoffed and flipped open the revolver barrel. Seeing the chambers were all empty, he scowled then reached into his shirt pocket.
I stared in confusion as he tossed a broken shard of human bone onto the table. It clattered and slid towards me, a strange shiver rolling down my spine. It had magic in it, I could feel it in the air.
I couldn’t take my eyes off it. At five inches long, it had intricate symbols etched into the length to bind whatever spell clung to it. It’d weathered and darkened over the years, the grime of a dozen alpha’s settling into the marks. Witches’ runes and sigils sealed with blood—a talisman.
“Take it,” Marini said, waving absently towards the bone. “Go on.”
My gaze lifted to the alpha’s.
“What are you so afraid of?” he asked. “Don’t you remember?”
I scowled. “Remember what?”
“It’s a shard of bone from your own arm,” he told me. “I wasn’t there, of course, but I heard it grew back…eventually.”
I stared at him in shock, my mind working overtime trying to find the memory…but it wasn’t there.
Witches. Had to be. They’d wiped the knowledge from my mind as another layer of protection for the pack. I thought the brand on my thumb was the thing binding me—and no amount of cutting, severing, and scraping had ever removed it. It was as brilliant as it was twisted. If I didn’t know the true nature of the spell, then I’d never be able to escape.
“Pick up the bone, Chaser,” Marini barked when I didn’t move. “Pick. It. Up.”
The order sank into me, the magic binding the alpha’s will to action. I reached out and grabbed the talisman, but the moment it came in contact with my skin, my flesh burned.
Marini smirked, his eyes glinting maliciously as he watched the magic melt my hand.
I grimaced as the pain became unbearable, but I couldn’t shut it out. The magic forced me to feel the hold the alpha had over me, to let me know that even though I now knew what bound me, there was no hope. The spell was unbreakable.
I grunted and stumbled against the table, the smell of my cooking flesh filling the room.
“Put it down,” Marini said after he was sure I’d gotten the message.
I dropped the bone onto the table and pulled my hand away, hissing as the blistered wound began to heal, but Marini grasped the shard in his hand and squeezed. The pressure bore down on me and my breath caught.
“Don’t play me for a fool, Chaser,” Marini snarled. “I own you. I own your life. I own your immortality. And I own your pain. If you’re lying to me, the pain I will cause you will be unbearable, and it will go on for days…weeks…months… It will go on for as long as it amuses me.” He rounded the table and tightened his hold on the talisman, forcing me to my knees. “Do you understand?”
I gasped for air that didn’t come. The blood in my veins began to dry and my vision blurred.
Marini loosened his grasp. “Do. You. Understand?”
I nodded, coughing as air filled my lungs. “I understand.”
The alpha glared down at me, his lip curling, and he slid the talisman into his pocket. “Get up,” he snarled. “You’re pathetic. A pathetic disappointment. Get out of my sight.”
I didn’t wait around. I pushed to my feet and stumbled out of the room and into the hallway.
Marini suspected. What, exactly, remained to be seen, but doubt was dangerous enough. I had to warn Sloane to cool off and lay low. Breaking point was never as close as it was right now.
Stopping by the door to the roof, I sighed. The heat, the bloodshed, and Marini’s threats were getting to me. My returning humanity wasn’t helping, neither was being apart from Sloane.
This shouldn’t be hard. Subterfuge was second nature, but the talisman changed everything. It was a part of me, sealed with pack blood. Unbreakable. If I couldn’t pick it up, maybe Sloane could. Maybe she could be the one to command me.
But only if she is alpha, a small voice taunted. Only…