Chapter 234 234
Sabine POV
Maybe I was still asleep after all.
“What are you doing?” Damien asks, amusement edging his voice.
“Pinching myself.”
Ow. That actually hurt.
So I have to be dreaming… right? I mean, I’d know if I were a werewolf. I shave my legs every day this is hair, not fur.
“Trust me, you’re awake.” His tone sharpens. “Sabine, I need you to focus. Who helped you? Who helped you escape?”
He’s trying to sound patient, but he isn’t fooling me. There’s urgency underneath it, thick and pressing.
Oh. I get it now.
This is a cult. One of those off-grid ones that grows and smokes its own supply. Honestly, I’m a little disappointed it’s giving more forest survivalist than luxury yoga retreat.
“Sabine!”
He growls my name, and Maurice answers it with a growl of his own. Even Aurélie bristles.
“What?” I snap back. He’s annoying me now. I thought that was supposed to be the other way around.
“Who helped you”
“I don’t know.”
And I don’t. Not his name, at least. “He wouldn’t tell me.”
It isn’t a lie. And I can’t betray them. Not when I might still need their help. If I lose that lifeline, I have nothing to start over with.
“Damien,” Aurélie cuts in calmly, placing a hand on his arm, “that isn’t important right now.” She turns to me. “Sabine, do you understand what we’ve just told you… that you’re a werewolf?”
The moment her hand touches him, it’s like a switch flips. Damien relaxes instantly.
Werewolf?
Not this again.
“I don’t know what you all smoke out here,” I mutter, “but you really need to take a break.”
“Have you heard a voice in your head?” Maurice asks gently.
Maybe. Ever since I stopped taking the daily shots. A small voice at first. Growing stronger. Louder.
Maurice places his hand over mine, leaning closer.
I almost laugh. Is this some kind of elaborate prank? It’s not April Fool’s, is it?
I study each of them in turn. Every single pair of eyes is locked on me, unblinking.
How could he possibly know that?
Sab. Sab, I’m here. I’m really here…
The voice slips into my mind like a second presence separate, undeniable.
I lose it.
I shove back from the breakfast table, my breath coming too fast, my heart slamming violently against my ribs. I need air. Now. They must have put something unhinged in the eggs.
“Bee breathe.”
Maurice is in front of me in less than a second, concern threading his voice as he issues the command.
But I can’t. Something is blocking me. Trapping me.
A panic attack. That’s what this is.
“Bee…” His voice softens, melodic, like a birdcall but it’s drowned out by the rush of blood in my ears and the voice inside my head.
I back away, lifting my hand to stop him from coming closer.
“Breathe! You’re going to pass out!” Damien barks.
It doesn’t help. If anything, it makes it worse. Why is he being such a jerk?
“Bee, breathe.”
This time, it’s Maurice.
And it’s different.
There’s power behind it something invisible yet undeniable. An energy I’ve never felt before. Unlike Damien’s command…
This one pulls at me.
My body wants to obey.
I suck in a sharp breath, stumbling backward until my back hits the wall, nowhere left to retreat.
Maurice is there instantly, his hands cradling my face as my breathing steadies.
“Just relax,” he murmurs. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you. You’re mine to protect, kitty cat.”
His breath warms my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. His hands slide to my waist, where my shirt has ridden up slightly, his fingers brushing bare skin.
And my skin reacts.
The touch feels like butterfly wings soft, fluttering, warm. It tickles and burns all at once.
His lips hover near my neck, and without meaning to, I lean into him.
“Maurice!”
Damien’s roar splits the air as he lunges forward, ripping Maurice away from me.
Maurice’s eyes turn pitch black dark as a starless night.
His teeth flash. Fangs.
Was he about to bite me?
Damien snaps him out of it, but I’m left standing there, fingers brushing my untouched neck, a strange ache settling in my chest.
Sadness.
I don’t understand it, but it’s there.
Everything is spiralling.
I need to leave. As soon as possible.
My being here is only causing problems conflict I don’t belong in.
Later, I find myself being shown around the main site and its facilities.
I don’t know why I agreed.
I didn’t want to stay.
And I definitely hadn’t planned on still being here tonight.