Chapter 34 Chapter 34
A chill consumed her. “Didn’t mean for who to die?”
“That family. I-It wasn’t me, I didn’t,” he sighed, “just let me explain the full story.”
Suki blinked, and a tear streamed down her face. “No… Tell me that’s not true. Tell me you’re not the reason his parents are dead?”
Furrowing his brows, he questioned, “Whose parents?”
“Reynard’s.”
Brendan’s eyes widened, “What?”
“At first, we thought those visions were nothing related to me and the bonds I have with you two, until Rey noticed similarities to the youngling who watched his family get brutally murdered in front of them. That vision was about him.”
Shaking his head. “Wait, wait, just give me a second to wrap my head around this–”
“He told me what happened, Brendan,” she snarled, “and I felt his pain and suffering through our bond. I could see how much he was reliving that nightmare all over again. Please… Please tell me this isn’t true and that this is just one of your sick jokes.”
“Love, let me explain,” he said, stepping closer, taking her hands.
“Don’t call me that!” Suki flinched back, pulling her hands away, tears welling up in her eyes. “Was it really your fault? Are you the reason his parents are dead?”
Brendan stood still, and a pain lingered in his eyes. Grinding his teeth together, holding back his own heartbreak. His shoulders dropped in defeat as he spoke slowly, “Yes.”
She stepped back cautiously, fear painted across her face. “Stay away from me…”
“Please, just let me explain–”
Wind boomed as Suki tapped into her wolf speed and ran away from him. Her speed was great; it was something she was immensely proud of, being able to outrun even the most skilled werewolves.
Yet she never had to run for her life before.
Tears blurred her vision, but she could see and sense enough to aid in her sprint away from her mate, until a coldness seemed to begin to surround her. Blinking to clear her vision, a wall of darkness was chasing her, creating a border around her.
In a panic, she pushed harder to get out, but the shadows moved faster than her. Suki skidded to a halt as the two walls of shadows met to close the prison in front of her. She searched her surroundings and saw no one approaching. “Where are you?” she asked angrily. “Let me out.”
“Come on, just hear me out, love,” Brendan’s voice echoed and rippled through the shadows, making it even harder for her to pinpoint where his voice was coming from.
“I said stop calling me that!”
‘Rey!’ Suki cried out down the bond. ‘Rey, please, I need you!’
“I can feel you trying to call out to him. You can’t reach out to others when you’re in the shadows, and they can’t reach out to you either. He won’t be able to sense your presence either,” he said, emerging from behind a tree. “The shadows block all of that kind of magic. To the shadows, all that exists is what is within them; if you try to get out, you’ll still end up within the walls.”
She stepped back and whimpered, “Please, just let me go.”
“Suki…” Brendan’s face softened, and he stepped forward. “I’m not going to–”
Suki tried to force herself through the shadowy shield. It’s just a shadow, she thought. Surely she would be able to break through a prison made of shadows. Her body slumped to the ground as she tried to catch her breath. Looking up, she was in a different part of the forest, but still confined within the darkness.
‘I told you,’ Brendan pushed his words down the bond. ‘The shadows will keep you confined within them.’
“Let me out!” Suki yelled. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
‘But I want to talk to you.’ His voice was stern, almost laced with anger.
Her breathing stuttered as she searched her surroundings again. She was in his element, a power that he had mastered for years and years. He had the advantage, not her. For the first time, being around the Rogue, she realised how much danger she was truly in.
Suki swallowed thickly. “Just… Just tell me where you are.”
‘Close.’ His voice echoed down the bond. ‘Closer than you think.’
“Talk,” she demanded, “use your words.”
‘You sound worried.’ His voice felt distant and sounded almost monotonous.
What the hell had she just gotten herself into?
Her lip quivered as she frantically searched, looking over her shoulder and in every crevice of darkness to find some movement. “Please…” Another tear streamed down her face. “You’re scaring me.”
‘That’s the problem, Suki…’
A hand wrapped around her mouth and nose, blocking her breathing. Suki tried to scream, but he held onto her tightly, as if the shadows were making him stronger, or making her weaker.
Brendan brushed his mouth across her ear and whispered, “You should have always been scared of me from the very beginning.”
Suki’s eyes fluttered shut as the lack of oxygen forced her body to fall limp.
✧ ✧ ✧
Returning to reality, Suki groaned as she awakened. Her head felt weighed down; it was like she was hungover all over again. She blinked slowly and repeatedly, squinting her eyes as her vision began to return.
An unlit room, she struggled to see in her flustered and weakened state, but she could make out enough to tell she was in someone’s bedroom. Besides, the softness of the bed she lay on was a helpful giveaway.
What happened? She thought to herself, whining as she tried to sit up. Then, images of the moments before she blacked out flashed before–running from Brendan, after finding out the dark truth about him, being consumed in darkness and…
She gasped as she fully sat up, adrenaline pumping through her veins as her strength slowly returned. Vision clearing to see within the dark, she was definitely in a bedroom – Brendan’s bedroom?
There were no pictures or posters, or any kind of personalised decoration to confirm her suspicions. It looked like a model display you would see when browsing for items for your house. It didn’t look like or feel like a home.
The door swung open, presenting Brendan at the door with a tray holding a teapot, a couple of cups and a plate of biscuits. “Oh, good, you’re awake,” he spoke calmly, walking over to the bedside table and placing the tray down. “How are you feeling?” he asked, bringing the back of his hand to check her forehead temperature.
Suki slapped his hand away and shuffled quickly to the other side of the bed. “How am I feeling? You suffocated me until I passed out,” she snarled.
“I know,” he sighed, “but you were freaking out, and I needed you to listen to me.”
“I don’t want to hear anything from you,” she yelled and sped towards the door, but an invisible wall stopped her. “No… What is this?” Holding out palms, she pressed them against the invisible wall, feeling the force push against her own. Then, she noticed, around her wrists were shackles made of smokey shadows, swirling around her wrists. “What the hell?”
Brendan cleared his throat, “That’s, uh, a new trick of mine that I discovered recently. Instead of concealing an area in complete shadows, I can form these handcuffs from the shadows and confine someone to whatever room I want.”
“Maybe if I weren’t so angry at you right now, I would find that impressive,” she huffed, flaring her nostrils.
He shut his eyes, breathing in slowly, then exhaling, “Sit down, please.”
“Screw you.”
In the blink of an eye, he towered over her, growling. “Don’t make me say it again. Sit. Down.”
She didn’t move. She held her ground and kept her furious gaze locked on his.
Shaking his head, Brendan broke their locked eyes first and softened his posture. “Please.”
The softness of his aura radiated to Suki. Unintentionally, she opened herself up to him through their bond, but in doing so, she could feel his desperation, his desire to talk to her and explain. She realised that all the rage and fear he was pushing on her was all a front, his own barrier.
Her temper lessened, and her gaze lightened. She took a deep breath before holding herself tall and walking back to sit on the edge of the bed.
Grabbing a chair in the corner, Brendan brought it over to the bed and placed it opposite Suki, beside the side table. He spoke slowly, “I’ll tell you everything, okay? I won’t hold anything back, and when I’m done, I’ll set you free. If you still want to run – hell – if you want to break the bond, I won’t stop you.”
Suki held out her shackled wrists.
He groaned.
“Don’t you trust me to stay?”
“Once you hear my story, you’ll understand why I don’t trust anyone.”
She placed her hands down and nodded. “Alright, I’m listening.”