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Chapter Eight

Saylor

“Kitty Cat,” he says gently, his thumb ghosting over my cheek.

“No,” I say harshly, brushing his hand away and walking to stand in front of the fireplace. “What did you do?” I ask again.

“I found them. We escorted them to a safe place to guard them until I got answers.”

“Don’t bullshit me. Be honest,” I demand.

“Alright,” he says slowly. “We kidnapped them and took them to Ryker’s dungeon. We may have hurt them a bit.” He holds his fingers up, slightly apart.

“You have them?”

“We do.”

I stare at him, honestly not knowing what to do. I’m not sad he hurt them. I’m happy they aren’t out there following me. I don’t care how much blood he spilled of theirs. They deserve all that and more for what they have put me and many others through.

“Do you know where I spent most of my birthdays?” I ask. His head jerks back, not expecting the question.

“No,” he says slowly.

“In a car, at a park, or a sleazy motel.” I turn to look into the fire. “My mom would try to buy me something special. Most of the time, she would make me a card on notebook paper. But it meant so much because she would write what was in her heart-better than any store-bought card. Only a handful of times could she afford to get me a birthday cake. Candles were out—such a waste of money.” I close my eyes, my hand covering them. “Every birthday, she would get me Twinkies—at least one. That was such a treat. Even now, I have to find one on my birthday,” I whisper. “They're getting harder and harder to find.”

My arm falls back to my side. “She tried to make everything special. She would find whatever job she could to get gas in the tank, maybe a roof over our heads for a week, and enough food.”

“Where is she?” Elijah asks carefully.

“Dead,” I answer bleakly. “The only home I have known was with her. She was my home. I have been homeless almost my whole life.” The heat at my back tenses. “My parents were part of Grant's father's pack. He was also a horrible man. He abused the women of the pack. My dad defended one of the women. My mother watched them kill him. We took off that night. We have been running ever since.”

“What happened to her?” His rough voice came over my shoulder.

“We always had an escape plan. We would split up if we had to and meet at a pre-decided location. The pack got too close. We split up.” I cross my arms, the pain as fresh as if it was yesterday. “I got to the spot and found a note. She must have known how close they were and made a decision. She gave herself up for me. She begged me to forget about her and get somewhere safe. Theidea was they would back off for a while since they had her. I wasn’t willing to let her sacrifice herself.

“I followed her scent. I saw them slashing her to pieces. There was so much blood,” I sob. “I hid behind a building, watching them destroy the one good thing in my life.” I turn to him and pound my chest. “I hid. I watched the blood flow from her wounds. I decided to run. I didn’t want her sacrifice to be for nothing. I followed the plan. I did what she told me to do.”

“You’ve been running ever since,” he guesses.

“Yes,” I confirm. “Until now. Now, Grant will come. Now, he will know I am here. When his men don’t check in, he will follow. He won’t give me up,” I say, panicked.

“Let him come.”

“You don’t get to decide that. He will bring the whole pack. You may have vampires and dragons on your side, but his pack is ruthless,” I say desperately.

“You don’t know the people here well enough,” he says, cupping my chin. “They are the ruthless ones. He will not get near you. He will not lay one finger on you.”

“You can’t guarantee that.”

“I can,” he says, steel in his voice. “We have more than dragons and vampires. You haven’t met the panthers yet, the wolves, the bears, or the lion.”

“I don’t want anyone to be hurt.” Just imagining Elijah dying is agonizing. How can the bond already be so powerful?

“We won’t.” His palm comes to rest over my heart. “You will never live in fear again.”

“I don’t live in fear,” I deny, trying to jerk away. He wraps his arm around my waist, bringing me into his warmth.

“You have. You are. I see it in your eyes. Your scent is soaked in it.”