Chapter 22 Doubt
Malach
Oh, you. My sweet, stupid, stubborn girl.
The bond hummed with the dream. You couldn't feel it like I could, but I knew. I knew the second your body clenched around my fingers, the second your mind shattered. It was the first thread, the one that would pull you back to me, no matter how far you ran. You’re thinking of me right now. I can feel it.
I broke into your apartment to bring back your things, but when you dreamt about me, my cock ached. I was tempted to get in that bed with you. I almost did. But I waited.
Patience. I have so much of it. So I waited for you to wake up. For you to scream. For you to run.
You’re so predictable, Eva. It’s one of the things I love about you.
But things are starting to get complicated, baby. Jed informed me about the buyer. The one you tried to double-cross. He’s not just a collector. He's a wolf from a rival pack in Nashville. A nasty piece of work named Ronan, who likes to play with ancient things he doesn't understand. He thinks the torc will give him power over my pack.
He doesn't want just to own the torc, Eva. He wants to own the story.
The question is, does he know what you are? I don't think so.
But he's hunting you. And he's not the type to offer coffee and a story. He’ll try to take what he thinks is mine.
Let him try. Let’s see how far he will go.
The moon is in its third quarter. You know by now what that means, right, Eva? I can feel as you sit in that diner, trying to convince yourself you're safe.
You're not. You're not safe from Ronan. And you're sure as hell not safe from me.
Because the dream was just a taste. A preview. The main event is coming. And the hunger is growing.
I pulled my hair back into a low ponytail as I stared at the cage, the lights above bathing me in an unholy light. The preacher was preaching louder. My knuckles were already split, my jaw clenched. I will spill more blood for you tonight.
The crowd roared. I walked into the cage. My opponent tonight was a big son of a bitch, a grizzly shifter from the northern packs. He thought he had a chance.
He was wrong.
The bell rang, and I didn't even wait. I went straight for him, a blur of motion and rage. I wasn't fighting him. I was fighting every man who'd ever touched you in every lifetime. I was fighting the memory of them, the ghost of their hands on your skin, their lips on your mouth.
I broke his nose with the first punch. I shattered his jaw with the second. The third punch I held back. I wanted to make this last. I wanted to make him bleed for you.
I could feel you, Eva. I could feel your confusion, your fear, and your unwanted desire, all mixed into a heady cocktail that was driving me insane.
The fight was over in less than a minute. The grizzly shifter lay on the ground, covered in blood. The crowd was going nuts, their cheers loud and deafening. But I didn't hear any of it. All I could focus on was the frantic beating of your heart, miles away but as close as my own.
I left the cage without saying a word, the blood and sweat of my opponent clinging to me like a second skin.
Jed met me in the tunnel. "Ronan's making noise," he said, his expression grim. "He knows she was here. He knows she has the torc."
"He thinks she has the torc," I corrected, my voice a low growl. "And he's wrong."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to let him come," I said, a slow smile spreading across my face. "I'm going to let him get close enough to think he can win."
"And Eva?"
"Eva will come back to me," I said. "She always does."
But even as I said the words, a flicker of doubt, a feeling I hadn't felt in centuries, coursed through me. What if she didn't? What if this was the lifetime she finally broke the cycle for good? The thought was a cold knot in my stomach.
I pushed it aside. I couldn't afford doubt. Not now.
I went to my room, stripping off my bloody jeans and stepping into the shower. The hot water washed over me, but it couldn't wash away the ache in my chest, the hunger in my soul.
I leaned my head against the tile, my eyes closed.
I could still taste you on my tongue, Eva. I could feel you on that bike, wind in your hair, pretending the road was ever going to let you go. I could feel your thoughts, a whirlwind of fear and defiance. I could feel your denial.
And I could feel Ronan's men closing in.