Purity

by Claire Farrell

He caught my gaze and nodded. We were definitely on the same page. “I need to call people. Tell them something. Her grandmother, and I think her mother’s on her way back here. I can’t deal with them all.”

  “You should call Erin,” Amelia said. “She could help you.”

  “Yeah. I really should.” He nodded. “I’ll go do what I have to do, and I’ll be back. Don’t leave without me.”

  “We won’t,” I promised.

  Once Stephen had driven away, Opa exploded. “Have you all lost your minds?”

  “What’s the point in letting the man suffer?” Byron asked. “Don’t you remember what it was like with Louis? How not knowing was worse than… worse than knowing.”

  “He has no business with us. We need to fight. We need to face Vin and rip out his throat.”

  I knew Opa’s anger had nothing to do with Perdita.

  “If we can, we will,” Byron said. “But there won’t be a challenge unless I say so. Does everyone understand that?” But it was me he looked at.

  “Fine,” I said. “If we can’t take her safely, then we won’t take her. Yet.”

  Ryan was strangely silent, and that worried me.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Perdy

  Something was happening. Everyone was moving and nervous. I felt as though every bone in my body might crack with the pressure.

  An unwanted thought popped into my head. Today could be the day I die.

  I heard a constant ebb and flow of voices outside, and I waited for someone to come to us. We hadn’t been fed, hadn’t seen anyone since the morning. Something was rumbling under the surface, and I itched to know what was going on. I exhausted myself by fretting over it, and eventually, I sat in the corner, closing my eyes.

  Finally, the door was opened. Micah walked in, and Rachel’s day was made. They gazed at each other longingly, Rachel blushing prettily under Micah’s stare, and my heart grew cold.

  “How can you stare at her like that, knowing you’re forcing her to stay here to be murdered?” I spat, and he took a couple of steps backward. “You like her, don’t you? But you’ll let them kill her. My mate would rather die than let somebody hurt me. What kind of wolf are you?”

  His eyes grew hot, just as I wanted, and I knew he would think of my words later. His expression turned stony, all wolf and anger, and it took everything I had to keep regarding him with such scorn.

  “You’re all wanted by the alpha,” he said in a low voice, beckoning for us to follow as he turned to leave.

  “What are you doing?” Rachel whispered as we trailed after Micah.

  “Hopefully, saving your life,” I replied under my breath. “Something big is happening. You need to be aware.”

  We were led into Vin’s barn, pushed into the dusty darkness as Micah retreated in a hurry. Vin appeared as on edge as everyone else, pacing the room and clutching at his throat. Had the Evans family found us? Were we running?

  Rachel and Meg huddled behind me, and I held their hands, hoping that if I stayed strong, the girls wouldn’t lose it. They were kids. They shouldn’t have to go through this kind of thing over a problem some unstable adults had with each other.

  I watched Vin stride before us, unable to look away. He remained constantly on edge, like a live wire that had been cut, ready to spring and burn at any second. He could kill us whenever he liked. But he hadn’t, which meant he needed us alive. But for what?

  He glanced in our direction and came to an abrupt stop as if he had just noticed us standing there. He sniffed the air, seeming more canine than man, and moved toward us in that way of his, making it seem as though he were about to pounce. He didn’t, but the feeling never quite went away. Waiting to be attacked was infinitely worse than anything else.

  “We’ll see your mate today,” Vin whispered to me, circling around us. It killed me to let him out of my sight. “Do you think he’s gone as mad as I yet?”

  I swallowed my fears and held up my chin. I refused to look afraid, no matter what happened. I would not let them have that. I couldn’t fight back, but the stubborn part of me refused to let them win everything.

  Vin didn’t appear as cocky as he sounded. His fingers constantly moved, fidgeting and twitching, and I realised what it was about him that made me jumpy. He didn’t seem entirely comfortable in his own skin. It was the werewolf equivalent of reluctantly wearing a tie but constantly pulling it away from the throat. He hated to be human. Wolf was the one usually in control.

  He made us stand there while he muttered under his breath. Sometimes I picked up a few words I understood, either in English or even a little French, but most of it was a stream of murmuring sounds. Too harsh to be lilting, too terrifying to be comforting, Vin’s voice never quite sounded human.

  “When are we leaving?” I asked, bolstering my nerves.

  Vin exploded. “Do not interrupt! Get out. Get out! Martha! Martha!”

  In no hurry, Martha sauntered into the barn, and I wondered if she had driven him even more demented than he would have naturally become. She shoved at us soundlessly, acting as though Vin wasn’t there. We had only taken a few steps when the muttering began again. I took one last glimpse at Vin before we went outside. He had curled up in the corner, rubbing his forehead.

  Outside, Martha made us stand together right next to the barn. I listened to gossip and got the gist of what was going on.

  Nathan’s family were coming.

  “We’re going to see your dad,” I murmured to Meg and Rachel. “Don’t make him worry for you, okay? Be strong. Know that he’s nearby. We won’t be here long.”

  Vin’s mate slapped my face, and I stumbled to the ground. A couple of people laughed nervously, but I had been counting werewolves in the dark eyes I provoked. There were a lot more non-wolves than anything else. Those people were in danger, and they probably knew it.

  In fact, as I observed the people running around us, I realised that what I saw in their eyes wasn’t anger. It was tension, fear, and wariness of the unknown. Maybe that was why so many of them hated me. They knew my presence was bringing trouble their way. They knew I was calling the Evans werewolves to them, and there was no running from that.

  We all knew something was happening, that something would soon change, and an unsettling fear licked my insides. There was a pattern in the movements of the people. Everyone had their own job, and when it was finished, when everyone stopped rushing around and the nervousness stank in the air, they stood near us, ready to leave, probably. Most weren’t fighters. I was certain of that. They were thin and haggard, mostly, or else too young to be of any use. Nathan had told me once that if he didn’t have a mate, he would somehow be a lesser wolf, that finding me had made him the wolf equivalent of a man. How many of these werewolves had a mate?

  We were soon surrounded by the beefiest-looking werewolves, and I knew nobody was getting near us without them knowing it. I tried to work out how many were with us. As I glanced around, I noticed a bloodied woman being dragged by a leash to the front of the crowd before us.

  I gasped aloud. “Willow?”

  She turned her head slightly, gnashing her teeth. Her arms were tied tightly, the skin turning blue. Although her neck was heavily bruised, the collar hung loose around her throat. I looked away, horrified. I hated Willow, but that wasn’t what I wanted. Pity ricocheted through me. Her eyes… she was lost. She was ready for oblivion. For the first time, I truly feared for my life, for what might happen before death came.

  We were thrown into the back of one truck, Willow in another.

  “Did you see her?” I barely made out Meg’s shell-shocked words.

  “She must have turned wolf with the collar on,” Rachel whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. “That’s why they tied her arms so tight. So she couldn’t do it again. Did you see her? What they did to her? That’s why we can’t run.”

  “That’s exactly why we have to,” I replied, my eyes dry despite the lump in my throat.

  We drove f
or what felt like an eternity, rocking against each other whenever the vehicle turned a corner. Meg cried every now and then, but nobody spoke. We sat uncomfortably in complete darkness. I had no idea where we were, but I was comforted to know I would soon see Nathan. Maybe I could figure something out. Maybe they were going to give us back.

  Wishful thinking.

  When the truck stopped for the last time, we sat for a long time before the doors were pulled open. A couple of men, Dar being one of them, gazed in at us, laughing and joking amongst themselves.

  “Why let them be comfortable?” was Dar’s parting shot in English as they dragged us out of the truck.

  I blinked rapidly, my eyes adjusting to the sudden light as I glanced around me, desperate to find something familiar. We were surrounded by grass, at least a couple of acres. Further out were trees, but there was nothing I could pinpoint or identify, nothing that would help me say, “Ah, I am here.”

  Dar pushed me onward, and I glared at him without meaning to. He slapped my cheek, not hard by a werewolf’s standard, but my legs were so cramped by the journey that I tripped and fell. Micah helped me to my feet, coming out of nowhere it seemed. His Adam’s apple shook as he addressed Dar.

  “Vin warned us not to hurt them. No marks,” he said.

  Dar growled before pulling Micah toward him, and I sucked in an anxious breath, expecting violence. Dar held him by the scruff of the neck, but he ruffled Micah’s hair. “Get on, you.”

  Micah fled, and I gave him a grateful smile as he passed. He glared at me in return. Maybe my plan wasn’t working out so well.

  Dar made the three of us stand in the middle of the grass alone. He and his friends watched us, but kept their distance.

  “What’s going on?” Meg whispered, her eyes darting around nervously.

  “Maybe they’ll give us back,” I said hopefully. I stamped my feet a couple of times, trying to get some feeling back into my legs. “Stay calm, though. Don’t provoke anyone today.”

  “You mean like you’ve been doing all day,” Rachel snapped.

  “Rach,” Meg said reproachfully, “don’t be mean.”

  “I’m not. I’m just… I’m scared.”

  “You’ve made it this long,” I said. “If anything was going to happen to you, it would have already.” I hoped I was right.

  We stood there for at least an hour. My feet had gone numb again. A group of werewolves covered the view in front of us, discussing something under their breaths. Soon the men moved in on us again.

  Each of us had two werewolves shouldering us, and I wondered what would happen if anyone came close. Would they attack, would they protect, or would they kill? I couldn’t imagine what their orders were, or if they would obey them.

  My stomach growled. I was about to ask for some food, but a howl rose up in the distance, and then another, somewhat closer. The werewolves shifted uneasily, and I lost my appetite.

  Vin stepped forward with a confident stride, a direct contrast to his earlier behaviour. A massive contrast to the behaviour of everyone else. The fear in the air remained ever-present. Vin walked past us, closely followed by his mate. Martha turned back to look at me, and a wolfish grin lit up her features.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I said out loud, hoping Meg and Rachel heard me. “It’s going to be fine.”

  The werewolf to my left hushed me, but he trembled. These people, these scary enemies, were all terrified themselves. It gave me a moment of relief until I remembered that people made crazy, disastrous decisions out of fear. This was a bloodbath waiting to happen. All it took was the wrong word, the wrong signal, and everything could end in a sea of blood and pain and anguish.

  Two vehicles drove up and parked half a mile away. As figures got out of the cars and approached us, I counted an extra one. Then I noticed the limp. Then I spotted the walking stick.

  “No,” I whispered, wanting to cry all of a sudden. Dad. It couldn’t be.

  “Close enough,” Vin called out.

  My father, Ryan, and the Evans family stopped walking.

  Vin took a couple of steps forward, asserting his authority. He held out his arms. “Well, here we are. How nice of you to visit.”

  Byron stepped forward, the same way Vin had, as if he had no concerns. He didn’t even look my way. Not one of his family had shifted into a werewolf, and I grew uncomfortable at the number of wolf forms surrounding Vin.

  “What do you want?” Byron called back.

  Vin motioned with his hands. I was led forward first, and I saw Nathan and my father move as if surprised. I was close enough to see the relief on their expressions until Vin began to talk.

  “I’d like to make an exchange,” he said. “This one for that one.” He nodded in Amelia’s direction.

  Nathan pressed his fists against his eyes, and I sensed his pain as if I felt it myself.

  “No!” I shouted, pulling away from the werewolf behind me. Martha walloped me in the face, knocking me down. Nathan tried to run, but Jeremy swung him back around, and Amelia rested her hands on his shoulders as if holding him there. I was lifted back to my feet by a muscular werewolf.

  Vin motioned again. “We could always add to the pot,” he said, and Ryan’s daughters were led to my side.

  I heard Ryan’s mournful cry as he saw his daughters again for the first time, but I had a bad feeling about how the day was going to go.

  “Three for one,” Vin said, sounding ecstatic.

  Byron stared at him scornfully. “We don’t trade in people here.”

  But Ryan shifted restlessly, and again, that ominous feeling stabbed at my gut.

  “Really?” Vin asked. “How about I add this one to the mix?”

  Willow was led to Vin’s right. She lifted her head, but her eyes were blank. She saw nobody.

  Byron shook his head, swallowing hard. Martha whispered rapidly into Vin’s ear. I couldn’t make out the words, but his easygoing expression hardened into something terrible before my eyes.

  “No deal?” he asked. He shrugged, took a step to the right, and snapped Willow’s neck before anyone could move.

  A scream pierced my ears, and I tried to reach Willow—I wasn’t even sure why—but a hand clutched my throat, choking me to a stop. The werewolf leaned against my back, forcing me to still, making sure my father and Nathan could see the hand on my head and the one covering my throat, a hint of how close I was to Willow’s fate.

  Dad was white with shock, and Ryan was on his knees, holding his head in his hands. Nathan was wild. His face had turned purple with rage, and I knew he would lose control if he wasn’t careful. I tried to shake my head as I caught his eye, and he took a couple of ragged breaths.

  “Oh, don’t come any closer,” Vin warned. “You had your chance. Now the deal is pick one, or they all die. Take one more step, and I’ll rip out their throats right here, right now. They’ll be dead before you reach my first line of wolves, and trust me, these girls are more precious to you than anyone here is to me. You’re the only ones with something to lose. Make your choice.”

  I heard shouts of alarm, and from Ryan’s strangled cry, I guessed his daughters were being threatened by a werewolf. But I couldn’t move, couldn’t look around, couldn’t do anything more than take a guess.

  “You have twenty-four hours to make a choice,” Vin said gleefully. “The werewolf, the daughters, or the mate. Tick tock, my friends. Leave now, unless you want to see how pretty their blood will look sprayed all over you.”

  The wolf holding me—Dar, I realised—squeezed my throat a little too tight, and my eyes watered. I could barely see straight, but I heard my father’s yells, heard arguments and shouting from the people I knew. Vin had just pitted them all against each other, and that was his plan, working out perfectly.

  They dragged Ryan’s daughters and me back, and I desperately tried to catch my father’s eye to see if I could tell what he thought was happening. I couldn’t imagine he knew the truth, couldn’t imagine one reaso
n why he would believe in any of what had happened, but if he knew, then he knew what I had done. We were whisked into the truck before anyone could make a move—or a mistake.

  Even from inside the truck, we heard voices shouting and pleading, accusing and begging. I didn’t recognise all of the voices, so some of the pleas for mercy were coming from Vin’s own wolves. Both Rachel and Meg sobbed as we listened. Eventually, my father and the others all must have left because silence fell over us. Vin’s wolves got us out of there in a hurry after that.

  Again, we drove for hours, but we must have been going faster than the previous trip because the shaking and rocking worsened, and I knew we would be covered in bruises before the truck stopped. When we returned to the camp, Vin made the girls and me sit on the floor in his room as he brooded.

  “Do you think I upset him?” Vin asked. “Who shall they choose? That’s what interests me. Obviously, they’ll want to keep their little wolf-bitch, but will they fight each other? Will the boy come alone? Will Ryan beg for his daughters’ lives? I can’t wait to see how this turns out.”

  “Will you live that long?” I spat, and he glared at me. “You said it yourself: werewolves without their mates go crazy. Insane. They’ll do anything, anything at all. I’d say you’re the one who’s screwed right now. You just provoked the strongest werewolves in existence. I feel sorry for you.”

  His glare transformed into some kind of acceptance, some acknowledgement that I was right. My lips trembled at the idea that he had no hope, that he never had, but I refused to cry, even when Martha dragged me back out to the shed by the hair. The girls were soon ushered in after me, clinging together and weeping about what they had seen and about their own uncertain futures.

  I glared at them. “No crying.” I hardened my heart. “We have to survive this, and I need you to be strong. You saw what he did to Willow. I can’t let that happen to us. Vin doesn’t care anymore. Not about his wolves, not about survival. He doesn’t want us walking out of this. This isn’t a negotiation. It’s a suicide attempt. I know that now. So we have to get out of here ourselves. And I need your help with that.”