by Ellis Marie
I don’t think opposite ends of the planet would be far enough away.
Out of all the boys, he still looks the most like himself. His slicked back hair is still perfectly in place and he’s the only one to be clean-shaven. Of course, he still looks polished; it fits him and his slimeball personality.
“Well, while Luke and I were trying to catch up to her car to bring her back here for a little . . .” He glances over to Matt. “Talk. We were interrupted by these things that came out of nowhere and protected her, so we had to turn back rather quickly.”
My heart stops. Things.
“You mean werewolves,” I correct, my lips already twitching with excitement. “Werewolves came out and stopped you, didn’t they?”
Carter’s glower deepens at my—clearly correct—assumption, and he continues to unpack the bag in front of him.
“They were in their human form, but yes, it was those disgusting things.”
My mind begins to race; Tracey is with werewolves, but which ones? Could it honestly be the pack and Trent? What other wolves are near here?
“How did they even know where she was?” Luke asks Matt under his breath, crossing the room. “I thought you said you were listening to her phone—”
“I was!” Matt snaps back, his voice a bubbling volcano of emotions. “She didn’t make a single call from her phone, I would have known.”
Her phone.
I look over to Kristie in astonishment, the parts all clicking together as I try to nod and get her to understand what I’m thinking, but she just frowns at me and shakes hers in return.
“My phone,” I mouth for the third time, pointing to Matt and Luke, their backs facing us. “She used my phone.”
If I’m right, then it means that Tracey could be with Trent right now; he could be coming for us. He’s coming for me.
Kristie still looks confused, but it quickly changes to panic as a hand latches onto my arm and spins me around, knocking me against a broad chest and cutting off my charade like explanation.
“What are you saying?” Carter seethes, his eyes full of suspicion as his breath hits my face.
“N-nothing,” I stutter out, the feeling of his fingers on my skin and the stench from his mouth bringing back the memories of the last time he had touched me. It’s something I’d rather forget.
His green eyes are like slime as they slide down to my chest, focusing on where our bodies are flush against each other, and I know that he’s also thinking about the same thing.
“I wouldn’t get your hopes up on getting out of here,” Carter muses, trailing his finger down my cheek. I try to jerk away from his touch, but I’m stuck like a fly in a spiderweb, his arm locked behind my back. “I don’t think you’ll be getting rescued quite as soon as you think. We’re still going to have plenty of time together.”
I can see the pictures in his eyes; the intentions that he has with me, and the underlying promise of what he wants. It makes my stomach churn and my anger boil. He isn’t going to touch me.
I spit at him, watching as it hits his cheek with an almost perfect aim, causing him to pull back and release me from his grasp. He wipes his skin and his jaw tightens as he flicks it off, his glare narrowing while my chest rises and falls rapidly.
“You can’t beat werewolves,” I state smugly, looking over to Matt who’s watching me over his shoulder while listening in. “Especially Trent.”
Matt scoffs at my words and turns away from me, waving his hand at Carter and Luke as he continues to stare outside.
“I think you’ll find we can.”
My confusion at his confidence soon turns to horror as Carter begins to pull something out of the duffle bag, the unmistakable sound of metal halting any more words that are hoping to come out of my mouth.
“We’re not exactly defenseless,” Carter hums happily, turning to show me the full extent of the weapon in his hands.
It’s a large dagger, the engravings on it beautiful and ancient looking but the weapon seems deadly, like it’s made for killing monsters.
Werewolves.
“One bigger than average knife for a supernatural beast?” Kristie laughs uneasily, stepping up beside me. “I think you might need a little more than that.”
I know that she’s trying to psych them out, to make them weary of their actions and what they’re planning on doing, but by the hard look in Carter’s eyes, I know that there’s no convincing him.
“I’m so glad you said that,” Carter sighs, pulling a small pouch out from the bag that he stands over. “We also have some of this.”
As he holds up the item, the breath gets knocked out of my lungs. My figure keels over like someone has punched me straight in the gut. My blood runs cold, and I hear alarm bells beginning to ring in my ears. It seems the more I panic, the more Carter seems to grin.
“And what is that?” Kristie asks unbothered. “Holy water?” She snorts a laugh and looks at me for support, expecting me to smile or join in with her demeaning tactic, but my mind has gone numb. My words are stuck in my throat and her grin drops when she sees my expression.
“No,” I whisper shakily, my eyes unable to move from the glistening vial. The slight yellow tinge to it is like a warning label that squeezes the last drops of hope from my soul.
Carter’s grin is wicked.
“It’s wolfsbane.”
“Don’t look so confident now, do you?” Carter sneers, wiggling the glass between his fingers. His laughter makes my skin crawl.
“You think that’s going to be enough for the whole pack?” I point out, praying that my voice doesn’t sound as shaky as I feel.
In all honesty, I don’t know how much of the plant is needed to kill someone. For all I know, they could have had enough there to wipe out every single werewolf left on the planet, but acting confident will at least make them second guess themselves a little . . . won’t it?
Carter’s smile slips at my words, and he growls something under his breath.
“Unfortunately,” Matt chimes in, turning to face us as he moves away from the spot he was previously glued to. “No, this wouldn’t be enough for the pack.”
“If Andy hadn’t smashed the other ones, then maybe—” Matt cuts off Carter’s rambling with a quick and deadly glare that makes his mouth snap shut in a second. Andy had gotten rid of the wolfsbane.
“That’s why you killed him?” I state, watching how Carter’s eyes turn downcast and his fists clench. “Because he trashed your supply.”
Between the two of them, Matt looks to be the one who’s trying to control himself while Carter seems to be in silent anger, his eyes attempting to make a hole on the wooden floor. He’s on edge.
“You didn’t mean to kill him, did you?”
It’s so obvious now; the way Matt looks almost ashamed of what he’s done but also furious. There’s sadness in his eyes that he seems to not allow himself to feel; he lashed out in anger when he found Andy. and once the rage subsided . . . he was dead.
Matt chooses to ignore my question. Instead, he moves back to the window, pulling his phone out and clearly avoiding thinking about what he has done and the implications of it.
“Anyway . . .” He sighs. “Your father has gone to sort out that problem, and hopefully, we’ll be getting a new supply soon.”
So that’s where he went.
“Then what’s your plan?” Kristie snorts, drawing a circle around us. Her smirk seems to grow as she focuses on the large windows and worn-down furniture. “Just wait in here until the rest of your squad gets back? Like good, obedient dogs?”
“That was the plan.” Carter sighs, putting the items in his hand down on to the table. “Unfortunately, Tracey has ruined that idea so we’re going to have to improvise.”
Luke comes back into the room from behind us, knocking us out the way as he storms over to Matt and hands him something. The whispers between them are too quiet for me to make out.
They’re planning something.
“You’ve still not explained how you think you can actually win against the pack?” I say loudly, hoping to entice Matt into talking about himself. “I mean, I don’t know about you but I think that it’s going to be harder than one tiny knife and some weeds?”
Kristie joins in with my mocking chortle when she sees my eyes, her own widening with realisation. We quickly relax our bodies, knocking our elbows against each other.
“Yeah. I mean, come on,” Kristie adds, guffawing lightly. “Do you think you can recreate Game of Thrones or something?”
From the corner, Matt stops his discussion with Luke and they both turn and glare at us, Carter doing the same from the other direction. I furrow my brows at Carter, scanning him from head to toe slowly. “Have you been taking fencing lessons that we don’t know about?”
He steps forward in a warning, the stamp of his foot making me flinch. I quickly grasp onto the confidence that’s dwindling inside of me, desperate to not show them how scared I really am.
“As always, Anna,” Matt says pointedly. “You miss the big picture.”
Turning from Luke, he walks over to the table with Carter. His hands skim along the blade that’s lying there, the silence dragging out dramatically. I wink at Kristie.
Thank god for his self-obsession. I always knew he would be one of those villains that monologues.
“Do you know what happens to a hive if the queen bee gets killed?” Matt asks, his voice high enough that I know he’s enjoying every second of this.
“They die?” Kristie guesses, and it’s hard for me to tell if her bored expression is real or fake. Probably both.
“Sometimes.” Matt smirks. “But if they can, they try to make a new one to replace her. It’s a chemical reaction really, they notice a lack of a pheromone that she produces and they quickly make chambers for rearing queens, often between ten to twenty of them.”
“Is this your retirement plan?” Kristie mutters, shaking her head. “Because I’m sorry to say that I really don’t see you as a beekeeper.”
Matt stands silently for a moment, his deep breath an indication to his simmering annoyance. When he finally clicks his tongue, it’s with a nod to Luke who grins as he storms over to us, yanking Kristie’s arms behind her forcefully.
“Hey!” I shout, reaching for her while she thrashes in his arms, trying to yank herself free. “Don’t touch her!”
Just as my hands almost grab her, I’m pulled back as a concrete-like arm, across my chest and shoulders, locks me in place. I curl my fingers around the wrist and try to latch on to it in an attempt to pull it off me, but when his other hand winds itself into my hair and stretches my head back, I’m completely powerless to do anything.
I feel Carter’s hot breath on my neck and his skin rubbing against mine. I let out a whimper, my body shaking with the feeling.
He makes me sick.
“Let go!”
I look forward to see Kristie stamping on to Luke’s foot, releasing her in response. She turns to face him, seething anger and adrenaline. Her fists are clenched and ready to keep fighting, but as Matt gives Luke an affirming nod, he shoots out his hand and hits her across the cheek, her head flying to the side.
“Kristie!” I scream, trying to leap forward, but my head barely moves and the pain in my scalp is like fire as Carter’s grip tightens.
“Now,” Matt basically sings, watching Kristie getting lifted to her shaking feet as she holds her jaw. “That should keep you quiet.”
For the first time, Kristie stays silent. The tears in my eyes blur my vision as I try to control my breath, holding in the sounds of pain that threaten to pour from my mouth as I stand shaking. Kristie looks over to me and offers a tiny nod, letting me know that she’s okay.
“As I was saying,” Matt announces, bringing our attention back to him. “Out of the eggs that are grown as replacement queens, only one of them will be successful. After all, there is only one in a hive.”
Matt casually saunters over to me, his eyes drifting over my shaking chest and strained expression as I try to twist myself out of Carter’s hold. The way he peers down at me makes me feel as though I’m a bug under his foot, ready to be squashed at the earliest convenience.
“Do you know what happens to the other ‘could-be queens’?”Matt asks, staring at the spot on my cheek where my tears have left streaks while carefully wetting his finger with the next one that drops. “As soon as the first one is born, she kills them all before they can hatch, taking out anyone that could threaten her throne.”
A chill sweeps over me as his eyes sparkle with amusement, the low hum in his voice a warning. When he speaks again, his voice is even lower, moving his head to me until I can feel his nose tickling the side of my mouth.
“Now, see, that got me thinking. Why should I waste my time trying to kill those wolves one by one, something that I’m sure would require a lot of effort and energy, when I could just . . .” He pauses, pulling back just enough that I can see his satisfied grin. “Take out their queen and watch them deal with each other.”
My heart slams.
“But they’re not bees,” I growl back, my neck beginning to ache with the pressure pulling it down as I try to lunge forward. “And they don’t have a queen. They have an alpha, and he’s stronger than you’ll ever be.”
“Right again!” Matt cheers, leaping back from me as he goes back over to the bag, waving his arms wildly as he chuckles and motions for Carter to bring me forward to him, his excitement unnerving. “But a little birdy told me that there was a bit of unrest in the pack, especially after a rogue infiltrated and betrayed them.”
The pout he throws me feels like it knocks me in the lungs, panic beginning to settle in as I realise that he knows far more about the pack than I originally thought. He’s planned all of this.
“And so, I don’t think that picking a new leader is going to be very easy for them. There’s probably going to be quite a lot of disagreements and fights, that’s the only way to find the next alpha.” He winks. “And while they’re busy fighting each other, we will be getting geared up behind the scenes, ready to attack them at their most vulnerable.”
If he shrugs one more time, I’m going to rip his shoulders off.
“You still haven’t explained how you plan on getting past the guy who could murder you in one breath,” Kristie grumbles, her voice shaking but still strong. A relief flies through me at her voice, even though I can’t turn my head to see her.
Thank god she’s okay.
“I knew your big mouth would come in handy someday, thank you for reminding me.” Matt laughs, spinning around to face me with glee coating his skin, like a child on Christmas morning. “You’re right in saying that they have an alpha and he is their leader, but—”
Carter laughs from behind me, moving his lips in until I can feel them on my neck. “You’re wrong when you say that they don’t have a queen.”
He means me.
“But my father said for you not to touch me,” I bubble, the hysteria in my voice rising as Matt turns, holding the dagger in his hand and my body begs me to get away. “Killing me won’t do anything to the pack. I—”
“Of course I’m not going to kill you.” Matt laughs, balancing the dagger in one hand while his other cups my chin. “What a waste that would be.”
He must see the confusion in my face because he tuts under his breath like he’s disappointed that I haven’t caught on to his plan yet.
“Oh, Annabelle, as usual, you don’t realise the power you have over people,” he murmurs with a hunger in his eyes growing as his thumb lines my lips. “People would lay down their lives for you if you asked them to.”
The realisation hits me like a brick wall. I’m the bait.
“The pack won’t,” I stammer as he steps away from me, his and Carter’s amusement ringing in my ears. “They don’t know me well enough. They won’t do anything you say.”
“Have you not been listening!” Matt yells, slamming his hand
on to the table while his other grabs the dagger, holding it above him. The room seems to shake with his anger, his voice shutting me up in one breath as my bones begin to rattle and my stomach curls. He shakes away the fury, clearing his throat as he flexes his shoulders and stands up tall.
“It doesn’t matter if they wouldn’t save you. I don’t need to attack the entire pack; I just need to cut off the head.” He turns to look at me with a glint in his eye that is so vile that I feel the bile begin to rise in my throat, the ringing in my ears starting as he flashes his teeth.
“Tell me, Elle,” he spits the word like it causes a bad taste in his mouth. “Do you think Trent would die to save you?”
I know he would. I feel as though my whole world is crumbling. The thought of losing him tears me apart; knowing that if it comes down to it, yes. he will sacrifice himself for me. Of course he will. It’s Trent.
“So what?” I choke out, grinding my teeth as I stare at the blond boy whose aim in life, it seems, is to ruin mine. “You’re going to try and trap him? Outsmart him, even?”
“Oh, no!” Matt laughs, holding up the blade to me. “Take a closer look at this.”
I want to refuse him, to turn away and ignore anything he has to say and the plans he has to kill Trent, but I can’t. I need to know; I need to see if there’s a way I can stop it.
Obeying his orders, I pull my head forward, relieved when Carter actually lets the grip on me loosen enough that I can move my head freely.
I’m going to feel that in the morning.
In silence, I peer at the dagger, trying to see what it is that has made Matt so confident when coming up against a creature ten times his strength.
I was right when I said that the blade looked old; the symbols carved into it are twists and turns of something archaic, like something you would see in a fantasy film or in a book of the gods. The metal that it’s made of seems to be normal, but when I look closer,I begin to see what’s underneath.