My wolf had slipped into kill mode. It no longer needed my permission, Amelia shifting was all the reason it needed to smell the threat in the air, and her reaction was destructive.
I charged forward just as she did, my wolf slamming into hers. We fell to the floor, rolling through dirt and falling down a slope, out of view.
I scratched at her torso, biting into her neck. She let out a yelp and attempted to fight back, but I had her pinned to the ground, my wolf having the advantage unlike when we remained in our human forms, her wolf didn't hold as much power over mine.
Feat flashed in her wolf’s eyes for the first time, my sharp canine was pressed against the base of her throat holding her down, I could kill her now if I chose it. She remained still underneath me, the fear disappearing as soon as it materialized leaving behind a cold, blank look, but even without it, I could smell her panic. It was thick in the air and swirled through my nose — she was scared out of her senses, scared of dying, but she wouldn't give up still. Her pride was too strong.
“Kill me while you can,” she seemed to be saying, “because I will.”
And my teeth swiftly moved from her throat to her shoulder, yanking the skin covering it and pulling viciously eliciting a loud cry from her. Blood gushed out, trailing down my jaw.
I wouldn't kill her, but I could do damage instead. With that, I strolled off, leaving her howling in pain.
****
Something woke me up and it kept me on my bed staring blankly at the wall for the next few minutes, my heart was in my throat, cold sweat breaking out on my body, and I felt a trickle of it roll down my back.
Anxiety was a feeling I didn't understand or could properly infer, it seemed needless. It was still dark outside so what was it that had woken me up? Enough to immerse my subconsciousness into this panicked feeling.
I yearned for my mother once more, for the soft stroke of her touch, to savor the gentleness of her voice. I wanted to seek comfort in her arms and the familiar smell of her, one I could no longer recollect. I should be past these cravings, this longing for home but I couldn't help it, I couldn't help missing what I had once had despite it being so long ago I could barely remember much about what it was to have it.
It was almost like the feeling of missing what you never had.
“A song for you, Sophia, my darling girl.”
But despite how hard I tried, I was never able to remember anything about the songs she actually sang to me, not even a hum of any of them. I tucked my knees up against my chest and began to rock my body softly hoping it would help ease the feeling of anxiety.
Just outside my door, I heard a faint sound and it spiked the feeling causing me to jolt my terror spiking upward, maybe there really was a reason for me coming awake.
I set my feet on the floor quietly and headed towards the door, grabbing a small knife that lay on the table. With extreme cautiousness to remain as noiseless as possible, I twisted the doorknob, opening the door very slightly enough for me to peek through, and as soon as I did, my eyes met with…
Luther.
His gaze held mine steady, he stood just outside my door, leaning on the wall opposite it with his usual nothingness on his expression not even when our eyes met did it change.
“I apologize if I had woken you up,” he said in a calm, lazy voice.
Luther was someone whom I didn't think I could figure out. The big man was barely seen, slinking in and out of places, he rarely ever said anything even when I came across him, a simple bow to me to show respect and nothing else. It intrigued me, the sort of person he was and the things that run through his mind.
What was it he deduced from everything that was going on?
What did he know?
Beyond his silence, what would he say if he were to speak?
I pushed open the door further and stepped outside.
“Is there a reason you are here this late at night?” I asked.
“Doing my duty,” he said in a dry tone. “The Alpha has asked me to keep watch on you.”
“Oh,” I said. My eyes glanced through the empty hallway, he was the only one there. “Thank you, I guess.”
He stared at me blankly. “Like I said, doing my duty.”
I swallowed. He was a hard man to even converse with. I needed to know so much and I had no idea how to ask him when he was so standoffish toward me so much I almost shivered from the coldness he exuded.
We remained quiet, his eyes on me and mine on him until his lips curled into what I knew wasn't a humorous smile.
“Speak, Luna. I am only your subject after all.”
I watched him, inferring the undertone of his words. “Whose side are you on?”
“Sides? I didn't know they were sides to choose from.”
“You won't fool me with that dumb act, Luther. You seem to be smarter and much more perceptive than you let on,” I said.
At my utterance, one of his brows lifted in questioning. “You do not know me, Sophia,” he said quietly. “No one does.”
I had a feeling he was telling the truth. “Again, whose side are you on?”
He shrugged, his broad shoulders lifting nonchalantly. “The winning side. I am too much of a man who relishes the comfort of his position too much to jeopardize it for the ambitions of foolish men who live a bleak life void of contentment.”
His answer in indirect terms passed a message that satisfied me. He was on Callan’s side, he was on our side.
“What do you know about Radley and what he was planning?”
This time, his eyes lit up with emotions I couldn't properly comprehend. “It’s a lesson,” he replied.
Fear clutched my stomach, my panic returning so that when I spoke, my voice had a slight quaver to it. “What lesson is that?”
He approached me slowly, his huge form swallowing mine and arousing the right feelings of intimidation. Luther leaned, reaching me, his lips a stroke of a whisper against my ear.
“To never play with fire, Luna. The scars could scorch one for all of eternity.”
He pulled away, his words leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
“What do you know?”
He leaned back on the wall and crossed his arms across his chest. “Go back to sleep, your mating ceremony is later today.”
“Does Callan know what you know?”
How many more people had something to hide? Why were they hiding what it was they were hiding? Was it fear? Loyalty? Or something deeper than I could ever guess?
At the mention of Callan, Luther’s expression hardened. “Do not question my loyalty, Sophia, it is what makes me who I am.”
“Then what are you hiding?” I demanded angrily. I felt like tearing my own hair from the frustration at his silence, I could no longer keep up with these games of cryptic speeches they played.
“Perhaps you should visit Vaughn Thurlow in the dungeon, although I can't say he would be in any way accommodating to you considering his daughter is in the infirmary because of you.”
Amelia’s father? “Vaughn? What do… What do I ask of him?”
But when silence was the only response I got from Luther, lingering for the next few minutes. I deduced he was done speaking to me.
“Thank you, “ I whispered and slunk without another word back into my room.