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As I walked back to my seat, a new type of paranoia set in. If Demetrius was telling the truth, someone else in the manor had spiked Jax’s drink. I just wondered who it had been.
I glanced around, wondering if there was anyone at the wedding who had a reason to want to hurt me. But no one looked even a little familiar to me.
Of course, I knew that it didn’t mean anything that I didn’t recognize anyone. Just because no one had a reason to want to hurt me didn’t mean they didn’t have a reason to want to hurt Jax. For all I knew, he had tons of enemies. It wasn’t something we’d ever talked about before.
Come to think of it, we hadn’t talked about much of anything before. Jax may have known me, but I realized I knew very little about him.
Once I sat back down, Jax glanced over at me. “I don’t really know how we got here today, if I’m being honest. My memory is so foggy. But I’m glad that I’m with you.” He reached for my hand, and it felt like a jolt of electricity passed through me; it was a feeling that only his touch could ignite, and it was part of how I knew. I may not have known much about him yet, but I did know one thing for sure.
I knew that Jax was “the one”.
“I’m glad I’m with you, too,” I replied. Then hesitantly, I asked, “How long does this Memory Serum stuff usually last?”
“It depends on which type was used,” he replied. “There are two types. If short-term Memory Serum was used, I’ll probably regain my memory in a couple of hours. But if long-term Memory Serum was used...” He trailed off.
“It will last forever?” I whispered.
“Forever is a long time. It usually lasts many decades, at least.” His eyes clouded over with a look of uncertainty. I got the feeling that little research had been done about the long-term effects of Memory Serum.
“Great.” I paused, allowing all of this to sink in. I wasn’t sure how long-term Memory Serum would’ve affected our relationship – if we even got the chance to have a relationship – but I didn’t really want to find out, either. I hoped he would regain his memory in a few hours, without any lasting effects.
This werewolf stuff was turning out to be more complicated than I’d expected it to be.
“So, I wonder who’s getting married. Do you know?” Jax asked, as people began to fill in the seats around us.
Since Demetrius was in earshot, I simply shook my head. “No, I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out soon.”
I glanced at the clock anxiously. It was only five minutes to eight. The wedding would be starting soon.
Well, Demetrius thought it would be starting soon. He had no idea that my sister had already escaped from the compound.
At least, I hoped she had. I hoped she’d found a door, a way out of the compound and a way out of all of this.
The music began to play then – a song I didn’t recognize. I wondered if it was just obscure music, or if it was only something that people in the werewolf world listened to.
The groomsmen began to make their way down the aisle. At least two of them were from the group Jax had been talking to earlier.
As the last groomsman made his way down the aisle, all I could do was stare at him. He cleaned up really well – as in, he didn’t look like he’d been stuck in a hole only an hour earlier.
Rafael’s golden brown eyes flicked over to meet mine as he walked past us, a mischievous smile on his face.
Anger rose to my cheeks.
I knew we couldn’t trust him. He’d said that he didn’t know how anyone could want to be married to Sal – basically crap-talking to him – yet he was his groomsman? That must’ve meant that the two of them were friends... which meant that he’d probably wanted my sister to go through with this.
Suddenly, my stomach began to twist into nervous knots. What if Rafael hadn’t been telling us the truth at all? What if there weren’t any doors that led the way out of the compound? He might’ve only told us that to stall us and make sure we didn’t go anywhere, so that his friend still got the chance to marry Zoe.
Ugh. Not knowing Zoe’s whereabouts was the worst feeling at the moment.
Jax must’ve sensed my tension, because he squeezed my hand.
If only he knew everything that had happened since we’d parted. Not that it would’ve meant a whole lot to him right now, considering he didn’t even remember everything that had happened between us.
At that moment, the music grew a little louder, and I knew that meant the groom was about to walk down the aisle.
I glanced up at him.
There was no doubt that Sal LaTorre was attractive. He had black hair, which he wore slicked back, and a tall, muscular build. As he came closer to me, I could see the dim lighting reflect in his chocolate brown eyes, which weren’t focused on anyone in particular.
I understood what Zoe meant, though. He may have been attractive, but the arrogance just seemed to permeate the air around him. Just judging from the way he carried himself, it was safe to say that Sal LaTorre thought he was hot shit.
As he stood next to the altar, I suddenly began to feel nauseous. I wasn’t really sure how Demetrius would react once he realized that Zoe wasn’t going to be here on time – or at all, for that matter. I was sure he would be angry that she’d be a no-show, but who would he take his anger out on? Would he take it on me? Or would he simply say that I needed to fill my sister’s shoes, since she’d bailed?
I didn’t know, but I really didn’t want to find out, either.
Suddenly, this whole plan – if you could even call it a plan – felt like a bad idea. Maybe we should’ve just gone with Zoe’s original idea and set the whole compound to ashes. That was crazy and dangerous, but at least it was a plan – a plan that likely would’ve gotten us all out of here in time. I could’ve kicked myself for not going along with it.
I glanced over at Demetrius, who stood at the back of the patio. He looked anxious... and like he somehow knew my sister wasn’t going to show up. I saw him say something to one of the security guards. He began to walk around the side of the manor, and my stomach sunk.
He was going to look for Zoe. I was sure of it. And even though I knew my sister wasn’t stupid, I was worried. I hoped that, even if she hadn’t been able to find a way out of the compound, she’d found a good enough place to hide until we could get her out.
But what if she hadn’t? What if something bad had happened to her, or she’d fallen into another booby trap and the security guards found her there?
I didn’t like not knowing what was going on with her. I didn’t like it one bit.
Demetrius glanced over in my direction, but I quickly glanced away. I knew I could be pretty transparent at times, but I hoped this wasn’t one of them. The last thing I needed was for my father to know I was aware of Zoe’s plans.
Jax must’ve noticed how tense I was, because he whispered to me, “Are you okay?”
I didn’t have time to answer him when I heard the familiar sound of “Canon in D” by Pachelbel begin to play. Everyone rose to their feet, and a nauseous feeling overtook me.
This was it. Demetrius would find out my sister had bailed. He’d send out a search party. There wouldn’t be enough time for me to escape.
I watched, completely horrified, as Zoe began to walk down the aisle. She stared ahead, a faint smile on her lips.
My stomach clenched. I wasn’t sure why, but for some reason, my sister was actually going to go through with this.