Looking at April, though, she isn’t as strong as Evelyn; she just might. There are worse things than death. The mind can make you wish for it; make you want it. The mind is a form of torture on its own, nothing worse than toxic thoughts. Nothing worse than losing your will to live.
* * *
Evelyn
Waiting is torture in itself. Thaddeus has been down there for ages, and I haven’t heard a sound from the house. My hands are trembling as we wait, when suddenly, Ryland comes tearing through the trees surrounding the property.
Trampling over the gardens as he rushes over, shifting mid-stride, his feet skid on the grass as he stops next to us in front of the porch. “Thank God,” he breathes, hands on his knees as he drops to the ground, exhausted.
Orion growls at him when Ryland reaches for me, pulling me away from Ryland, which confuses me. Didn’t Ryland tell him that he said I could go? I reach out for him, and Ryland grasps my fingertips. Orion’s anger hits me along with Ryland’s guilt.
Yet, Thaddeus, I can’t quite feel him. He’s calm? It feels like when you hit the eye of a storm, and everything goes silent and peaceful before the hurricane hits again. That is the vibe I am getting.
I try to move off Orion’s lap, but he grips my hips and pulls me down on his lap. “Don’t,” is all he says to me, but that simple word’s venom makes me freeze. Suddenly, the front door opens, hitting the wall and splintering everywhere from the force.
Thaddeus growls, so menacing that birds flee the trees, and I cringe away from him. His eyes are on Ryland as he stalks toward him, and fear and guilt consume me. Thaddeus is one minute behind me, and within a blink of an eye, he has Ryland by the throat.
“It’s not his fault! I didn’t go where I said I was going!” I blurt out, just as he raises his fist.
Thaddeus freezes, his fist still raised as he looks over his shoulder at me. I shrink back under his gaze, leaning into Orion. “I didn’t know, I thought….” I can’t finish; they tried to warn me there was something wrong with her, something off, and I stupidly fell into her trap.
“Did Ryland say you could leave the house without him?” Thaddeus asks. I look frantically at Ryland, worried, and he just nods. Thaddeus growls and turns back to him.
“He said I could meet Lana at the park; I got a message telling me to come here. I didn’t tell him,” I confess, worried Thaddeus will seriously hurt him.
Ryland instantly shakes his head, telling me to stop speaking. I bite my tongue, wondering how much trouble I am in; he wants to kill me by the look on his face.
“She could have fucking died!” he screams, and Ryland hangs his head as Thaddeus shoves him away, ripping me to my feet and crushing me against his chest. His bunched muscles instantly relax as he inhales my scent. “You are in so much trouble when we get home,” he hums below my ear, making me shiver.
“What did you do to April?” I whisper, worried because she hasn’t come out of the house.
“She is alive. For now,” he says as he grips my chin, forcing me to look up and meet his stormy gaze. “Derrick is alive,” he states, and I nod.
A cruel smile spreads across his lips, and I feel a sadistic feeling come through the bond. Thaddeus rummages through my back pocket, pulls out his mother’s car keys, and unlocks the car. His grip on my arm tightens as he drags me to the car, opening the back door and shoving me in. Orion remains silent, and I can feel he is seething through the bond between Ryland and me; he says nothing the entire drive back to Thaddeus’ parents’ house.
I don’t dare say a word, not wanting to get in any more trouble, and I am still trying to wrap my head around what happened and the fact I am still alive.
Shock hits me now that I have time to think. My mind is racing, and I see Thaddeus glance at me through the mirror a few times. His burning anger toward me makes my stomach drop. Ryland slides across the seat, moving closer to me.
“Don’t fucking touch her,” Thaddeus growls, and he instantly moves back onto his seat away from me.
Imogen is waiting out front when we pull in, and she rushes over, opening the door, crushing me in a hug. “Thank God you’re okay; I was so worried when Thaddeus called,” she says, pulling away and giving me a once-over. When she sees I am drenched in blood, her face falls. “Well, thank God for the healing properties of blood. I better tell your fathers to come home; they have been searching for her for hours,” Imogen says, walking inside.
“I’m not staying, mom. I am taking my mates home where I can watch them,” Thaddeus tells her.
Imogen looks back at him and nods. “Can you at least say goodbye to your fathers?”
Thaddeus nods, grabs my hand, and tugs me inside. I am shivering, and I don’t know if it is cold or shock. Imogen races upstairs and returns with some clothes. She points to the bathroom, and I nod just as her mates answer the phone and she starts talking.
Walking in, I place the clothes on the sink. My clothes stick to my skin from the dried blood, and my hair is all matted. Peeling my clothes off, I turn the shower on when Thaddeus walks in with Orion. Thaddeus and Orion strip their clothes off and step into the shower behind me.
“Where is Ryland?” I ask; the only answer I get is a growl.
My hair is coated in blood. I wash it once before Orion takes over. I am exhausted mentally and honestly can’t care less about what I look like. All I can think about is April and how I didn’t notice what she had planned. Then my thoughts drift to Lana. What will come of her now? Thaddeus said April is alive still, but that means little. I know there are worse ways than death, so what did he do that he could walk away, leaving her alive? I can feel how much he wants to kill her. He wants to inflict the same thing I endured on her, yet he gives nothing away. I try asking a few times, but all he will tell me is she is alive.
Orion washes my hair, getting all the blood out. I barely even register their hands on my body. I am numb, completely numb. Yet, I welcome that feeling; it is better than feeling anything. Thaddeus washes my body while Orion is brushing my hair with his fingers. He is a little rough, but I don’t care; the pain is my least worry.
My thoughts are eating away at me. I am pulled out of my head by the water being turned off. I feel like I am on autopilot; I can see everything going on around me, yet I feel nothing. The night goes by in a blur, and the next thing I remember is Thaddeus, stopping the car.
I look around, confused. I don’t even remember leaving the house or saying goodbye to his parents. Don’t remember anything about the trip. I do remember fog, though, yet I can’t remember when it started, only realizing its absence when it suddenly lifts as Thaddeus opens my car door. The cool breeze of the night sweeps over my skin. We are home. Everything comes back to me startlingly clear.
“I should call Lana,” I tell Thaddeus.
He shakes his head. “Not tonight,” he says.
“I don’t even know if she got home.”
“She is home with April, Evelyn. She is fine, I promise,” Thaddeus tells me. Yet, how does he know that? Confusion hits me; I don’t remember him calling her; maybe he did because I don’t remember anything since getting out of the shower. I feel disorientated.
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