After The I Do (Meeting At The Fault Line Book 1)

by Autumn Breeze

  “Have you figured it out?” Evaline sneers and my gaze moves back to her. I don’t know all the details, but I know enough. Some things are obvious. The last thing I need or want from her is a long, drawn out monologue.

  “This means war; you know that, right?” I speak to Everett, ignoring Evaline, who refuses to meet my gaze.

  “A war we can win now,” Evaline sneers, speaking because it’s clear Everett isn’t going to. “With you out of the way, the tide will slowly turn.” Evaline reaches for her brother. Her fingers curl around his shoulder and she must have applied pressure because he winces and curls into himself in a way that is instantly familiar and yet, so foreign.

  “Good job, Everett; I didn’t think you had it in you but I’ve been wrong before.” She kisses his temple and he squeezes his eyes closed.

  This . . . betrayal was planned, maybe from the start.

  How have I missed all the signs? What made me so blind to . . . this?

  I know what, though. My husband—my love for him.

  “Good job, Everett,” I sneer. He draws his bottom lip between his teeth. I shake my head as I inspect him. Evaline laughs, this high crackle that makes the hairs at the nape of my neck rise. When her phone rings, she immediately stops and reaches into her pocket. I reach into my own pockets but everything I had in my possession is gone.

  “Hello?” She turns and walks away.

  Everett doesn’t follow. Instead, he shifts from one foot to another.

  Does he not realize what he is doing? What his sister is doing?

  How can he not realize what this means for all of us?

  It’s not just war. People are going to die.

  His family will kill me. They will kill my mother, my father, and my siblings. Slowly, with the ease that will be afforded them because our—my family will lack strong leadership, they will kill everyone I love, everyone in my family who loves Everett because they don’t know what he truly is—a traitor.

  “When they have killed my family—” I start to speak slowly, my voice cold because it is the only way I know how to be when I look at him and truly see him as he is, “—exterminate all of us like cockroaches, you’ll be next.”

  Does he know that already? Does he think he is safe? He has never been safe with his family. They have never loved and accepted him and that isn’t going to change just because he has served me and mine up on a silver platter.

  “These mutts you think of as pack, you call family, don’t give a shit about you,” I sneer. “You are nothing to them. You are less than nothing to them. They will never accept you. You will spend your days as nothing more than the pack punching bag.”

  I shake my head and feel nothing but pity for him. But that isn’t true. I don’t feel only pity for him. He is my husband and as I look at him staring at the floor, I feel a great sadness for the pair of us. Does he not realize that I really love him? Does he not realize what he is giving up?

  “Look at me,” I hiss when he still refuses to lift his head. “God damn you, Everett!” Evaline looks our way but I am caged and she is unconcerned. Why would she be? “Look at me!”

  Slowly, Everett lifts his head. His eyes are broken. Whatever love I saw in his expression so many times before is gone. Now, there is only a dark emptiness that seems to consume him. My heart squeezes and I close my eyes for a moment.

  I love him, even now, with death looming over my head and his betrayal still a fresh wound on my soul, I love him. It’s foolish; the one thing in my life I can regret because loving him as I have is going to get me killed, it is going to get everyone I love killed.

  “When you are old,” I whisper, the softness I so often use when I speak to him leaking into my voice as my heart breaks, “if you live to be such a thing, and the nights are cold because you are alone, remember I loved you, my family loved you, accepted you, treated you as if you were of our own blood. You betrayed us all.”

  Everett opens his mouth as if he is going to speak then thinks better of it. I approach the cage bars, my fingers curling around them. They are hot, almost heated enough by the sunlamps above to burn my palms when I grasp them.

  “That will haunt you, Everett,” I whisper. “We will haunt you.” I will haunt him.

  34

  Night has fallen. By now, I know Benjamin has called my father. He will be worried but will wait ‘til morning to panic. I cannot be sure I will survive until then. It is a sobering thought. The last thing I expected was to be lured into a trap by my own husband. I should have expected it, seen the cage door coming from miles off, but my love for Everett blinded me.

  It will be the death of me, too.

  It will be the death of us all.

  Closing my eyes, I think of all the people I love who in turn love me.

  Father.

  Mother.

  Lilith

  Mason.

  Sophia.

  Duke.

  Benjamin.

  The list goes on and on. There are so many names.

  For every name, I imagine a grave because if David—or is it Evaline who is really in control because David has been strangely absent—has his way, we will all be dead. The only mercy is I will be dead by the time those I treasure are targeted and in death, I will not know how they suffer. Still, the very thought of what is going to befall us all breaks my heart, even more than it has already broken.

  Bowing my head, my chin touches my chest. A sweat bead rolls down my jaw and plummets toward my shirt. The lights are turned up on full blast. They are strong enough to cook me to a crisp in just a handful of minutes. If I was any other creature, I could have strolled through them and received a nice tan. Instead, if I dare, I will die painfully.

  My only option is to huddle under the protective barrier created by the cage roof and wait.

  For the first time in my life, I am truly powerless.

  “Thanos.” Jerking awake, I look around wildly. It is impossible to forget where I am, what is most likely to happen sooner rather than later. Evaline isn’t the one who has drawn me from my restless slumber, though. Everett is on the outside of the cage bars, standing in the near dark. I frown at the lack of lights and his presence here.

  What could he possibly want?

  We have nothing to say to one another.

  “Have you come to gawk? It’ll serve you no purpose. I won’t beg.” If I thought it would help I would have, but I know better. If the months we spent together aren’t enough to convince him not to betray me, begging for my life won’t convince him to spare me.

  My only chance is to escape and with the lights off, I have a chance. Unless they expect that, know I will leave their cage. If I dare, in the middle of a mad dash for the door, they could flip them on and I’ll have fallen into their trap, a second time—lured by my husband to my own death, for a second time.

  “I know you’re angry—” I slam against the bars in an instant, moving with the speed that benefits my kind; the noise of my impact reverberates around the warehouse. Reaching through them, Everett is just close enough for me to curl my fingers around his neck.

  His eyes widen and he reaches for my wrist. It would be nothing to snap his neck, to watch the light leave his eyes but even as I squeeze, I know I can’t kill him. My love for him runs too deep. His betrayal cuts to the bone but it doesn’t sever the bond I’ve formed with him through the feedings we regularly engaged in.

  “They . . . are my . . . family,” he struggles to say. “Evaline . . . my . . . alpha.” I shake my head, rattling him through the bars. I’ve never been so angry and so disappointed by anyone or anything in my thirty-one years.

  “You’re nothing more than their lapdog, a good little bitch boy so desperate to be a member of their pack you betray the one family that accepts you, that you actually belong to.” Everett’s mouth opens and closes but no sound emerges. His chest shakes as he struggles to breath.

  “Please, Athanasios.” Digging in his pocket, Everett pulls a keycard out and extends
it. Releasing him, I snatch it from his outstretched hand and slide it through the reader. The door silently springs open as Everett rubs his throat. I’d rather take my chances with a second betrayal than wait around to die locked in a cage like some kind of animal.

  “You’re pathetic,” I sneer. “But I’m worse for ever believing in peace, in us.” I shake my head, looking him over. “I can’t believe I actually cared for you. You’re nothing more than a mutt loyal to a weak alpha. I should have known better.”

  Everett’s eyes cloud over. He’s hurt but I can’t begin to care, to believe I should apologize.

  “Thanos, it’s not like that; let me explain.”

  “No.” Nothing he says will have any value. There is no time to listen to him anyway. “Where are my keys?” If this isn’t a trick, if he is really releasing me, shouldn’t he have them? “And my phone?” Everett digs in his pocket again.

  I pocket my keys. Taking my phone from him, I power it on. Now is not the time but I have to take my chances because the most important thing is protecting my family. I can only protect them by delaying my escape to notify someone of what has happened.

  Looking at the phone screen, there are a dozen missed calls. Most of them are from my father. Some of them are from Duke. Of course my father called him. No doubt my best friend is worried as well. They probably tried to contact Everett to no avail.

  Had they called the Dawson home only to be lied to?

  “What are you going to do?” Everett mutters as I look for Duke’s number. I am going to do what is necessary, what my father was never able to do. I am going to exterminate the Vârcolaci and ensure Necropolis lives in peace, as was promised by my sham of a marriage.

  “Evaline—” she is alpha, and probably has been for some time. David is just a proxy, a sham leader to keep the truth from my father, from me, “—sold you like a common whore—” Everett flinches as I swipe on Duke’s number. It starts to ring and I lift the phone to my ear. “—because the Vârcolaci are weak. Peace is the only way your kind survived. Betrayal is the only way mine would die.”

  “Thanos,” Duke’s speaks, his voice high.

  “I’m in the warehouse district,” I tell him before rattling off an address. “The Vârcolaci have kidnapped me.” Duke inhales sharply. A door in the distance rattles. I am running out of time. “Protec—”

  “Hey!” I don’t recognize the voice but the tearing of clothes, the sudden fall of four feet, is familiar. Lunging forward, I collide with the overgrown, untrained wolf as he leaps into the air. My arms curl around his waist as if I am giving a lover a hug.

  It’s putrid hot breath washes over my cheek. Pain radiates down my arm as teeth sink through my shirt and into my flesh. Groaning, I close my eyes and squeeze. The spine under my arms collapses, snapping inward from the force of my grasp. The Vârcolac’s jaw goes slack. Releasing the mutt, the body crashes against the concrete.

  Unable to move, the pathetic creature peers up at me through fearful black eyes.

  “I’m going to kill everyone you love,” I sneer. Drawing my foot back, I swing it forward. The wolf’s head snaps to the side and his gaze darkens. Turning toward Everett, he is holding my phone. His eyes are wide and he shakes.

  “Thanos.” Snatching my phone from him, I look down. The screen is broken.

  “Give me your phone,” I demand.

  “Please.” Grabbing his shoulder, I hold him in place and shove my other hand into his pocket. He doesn’t fight as I find and extract the device. Using his thumb, I unlock it and find the keypad. It takes a second to remember Duke’s number but once I do, I dial again.

  “Duke—”

  “I’m coming,” he says.

  “I’m already leaving.” It isn’t a good idea to stay here any longer. Nor is it a good idea for Duke to come here either. Evaline won’t have a problem killing him. Duke would fight to the bloody end but he wouldn’t win simply because he is human—undeniably, tragically human.

  “I’m going to call dispatch—”

  “No,” I interrupt, moving toward the door I used earlier. Everett is following and I frown. What the hell does he think he is doing? He needs to get out of the Zone, find a new place to stay far away from everything he knows if he expects to live to old age.

  “Not everything can be handled by the police, Duke. This . . . this is an in-house operation. If you aren’t willing to break the law . . . get out of town.”

  Blood is going to soak the streets as it did a hundred years ago during one of the bloodiest weeks of war the Vârcolaci and Moroii have endured. No one who isn’t us, who isn’t on our side and doesn’t believe in our cause, will be safe.

  We will suffer casualties but it will be worth it, if peace is the result.

  Valentine Knight will make it her personal mission to imprison everyone involved, including Duke if she suspects he is in any way connected to what is going to transpire. Anyone who isn’t willing to forfeit everything they hold dear doesn’t need to be involved in what is coming.

  Loss is guaranteed.

  “What do you need me to do?” Duke asks after a moment of silence. I sigh. He will protect my family, attempt to lead in my absence if something should happen. As Lilith’s husband, he will have some power; some respect of the Moroii.

  “Get everyone to the estate.” My home is the safest place. Evaline would be foolish to attempt to attack the place. Benjamin won’t take kindly to an invasion.

  “What about you?” he asks as I push out of the warehouse. A Vârcolac is slumped against the side of the building, bleeding from a shallow head wound. My car is sitting where I parked it earlier in the day. I don’t know if Evaline was stupid enough to leave it in plain sight or if Everett drove it back to the warehouse.

  “I’ve got a ride.” Hanging up, I draw my keys from my pocket.

  “Athanasios.” Everett looks scared as he stands with fingers curled in the side of his pants. There is a shame in his expression I can’t stand to see any more than I can stand to see his face right now. I love him and that love hurts more than anything I have ever experienced. He betrayed me. Because of him, I could have died; my whole family could have died.

  How can he say my name without choking on it? What makes him so brave?

  “I won’t thank you.” He may have released me from his sister’s cage but I never would have been in it if not for him.

  “No, I know. I just . . . I’m—”

  “I don’t care,” I snap, yanking my car door open. Hot fingers curl around my forearm.

  “Thanos, please; let me explain.” Everett’s eyes are wide as tears fill them. He is desperate. Maybe because he knows Evaline will kill him for helping me escape. I doubt it will be pleasant.

  It isn’t my problem. Everett deserves whatever is coming to him.

  He made his bed and he can sleep in it.

  “You have nothing to say I want to hear.” Yanking my arm from him, I turn back to the car.

  “Please.” Everett reaches for me again.

  “No!” Planting my hand in his chest, I shove him away. He gasps, maybe surprised because I have never been so forceful with him, the tears finally falling. It is not the first time I have seen him cry but it tugs at my heart all the same.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispers, his voice a shadow of what it had been. He is sorry; not apologetic, but honestly just a sorry, pitiful excuse for a man. “I’m so sorry.”

  “You’re pathetic,” I snap. Anger like lightning boils through my blood. I have no time to stand here, to discuss his betrayal and how it will paint the rest of my life in the colors of distrust. “You are . . . ” I can’t think of the words to describe what he is. “You . . . ”

  Before I can think, before I even realize my actions, my arm is moving. Everett has a moment, just a second when he realizes what is happening but in the next, my fist slams into his temple. He peers at me dazed for a second before he sways and drops onto the rocks like a discarded potato sack. Looking down at him
, I feel no better but he deserved it.

  But he doesn’t deserve to die—not like this; not by his own sister’s hands.

  I sigh before scooping him up; I put him in the passenger seat and buckle him up before climbing into the car, too. When the engine turns, I exhale.

  Evaline Dawson was counting on Everett betraying me—my family.

  She should have been counting on Everett betraying her—his family, too.

  35

  Rubbing my temples is doing nothing to alleviate my growing headache. At this point in the day, I’m not even sure an entire bottle of my father’s best whisky can help with the throbbing. Maybe if I get some whisky in the twenty-five bickering district heads around me, it will help. Most of them are teetotalers and haven’t had a drop to drink in years—if ever—so the chances of getting them to take a shot of whisky and calm down is nonexistent.

  “…stupid,” one of the district heads, the one who oversees operations in zone J—the tenth district—finishes speaking. I don’t know where the conversation has strayed to. He could be calling anything, anyone, stupid.

  “We can’t exp—”

  “Of course we can,” the head from Zone W, the twenty-third district, interrupts P, the sixteenth district zone head, with an angry slam of his hand on the table. Those who were starting to doze off jerk awake and look around wildly, probably wondering much like I am, what the hell is going on.

  We all should be paying more attention. This gathering is important—not to just one of us, but all of us. The future is to be determined in this room before the week is over.

  “We can torture information from the boy,” the head from district C monotones. A dozen of the other heads start to nod in agreement. A mutter runs along the table and everyone relaxes as if the matter is settled.

  “No,” I sneer at the lanky pale man before he can open his mouth to further his agenda. “If I find you or any of your men in the stables, Vârcolac won’t be the only blood I spill.” My gaze moves around the table, taking a second to meet every set of eyes that dare to meet my glare. “That goes for all of you.”