Page 6

Chapter Five

" G o away," I mutter, but there’s no fire behind it.

No anger, or armor—just exhaustion. I’m empty, and he knows it. All I had to eat was a granola bar today and my hands are still trembling.

"Can’t do that," Sebastian says, grinning like the fucking devil. "You said it yourself, we’ve got things to do."

"I said I have things to do," I snap, barely glancing at him. "There was no we mentioned."

"That’s the part you keep forgetting," he says. "There's no you versus us anymore. We’re in this together whether you like it or not, Little Lamb."

Without warning, he slings an arm around my neck, pulling me against him like we're old buddies instead of enemies barely tolerating each other.

My stomach knots instantly, instinct screaming at me to pull away, but I know better. Showing weakness around Sebastian is like bleeding in shark-infested waters. If I move away, he'll only find a way to be closer.

"We sent the blood sample off," he says casually, like we’re discussing the weather. "The one on the arrow shaft. Should have something back soon. A name, maybe. A warning. If we're lucky, maybe a body."

I shake his arm off and grind my teeth. God, I hate needing them to help me figure this shitshow out. And I hate it even more that part of me knows they’re my best chance of making it out of this situation with all my body parts intact.

"Whatever," I grumble, punching the elevator button. "Just keep your bullshit accusations to yourself."

The elevator doors slide open and I step inside without looking back, praying he’ll stay put, but his footsteps are right behind mine.

"Is there something else you need?" I snap.

"Not really." He smiles wide. "But I’m not letting you out of my sight. I'm coming with you."

"Coming with me where?"

"Wherever you’re going," he says easily, like it’s already decided.

I sigh, turning as the doors close. "Fine. I’m going to the woods where I buried the box."

Sebastian’s brows lift, mildly impressed. "That so?"

"Someone’s gotta do the dirty work," I say with a shrug. "Maybe I’ll find something that'll give us a clue as to what's going on. Or I’ll find some evidence that will help me bury you and Aidric."

He chuckles under his breath. "That’s cute."

In an instant, he reaches over and slams his finger to the emergency stop button. The elevator jolts to a halt, and I stumble, catching myself on the railing.

"What the fuck, Sebastian?"

He moves fast. One hand fists the back of my hair, the other wraps around my waist, yanking me against the hard line of his body.

I feel every inch of him—the heat, the tension—and worse, the hunger. One minute he was grinning and laughing to himself, the next I feel like I just got caught by a special kind of hunter. Not one who searches for food to live, but one that kills for sport and smiles when they do it.

"Let’s get one thing straight, Little Lamb," he murmurs. "You don’t get to disappear. Not tonight. Not until we know what’s coming."

I swallow hard but keep my gaze level. "I’m not yours to track."

He barks a laugh in my face, startling me. "You are ours , have been since the minute you overheard something you shouldn’t have. The sooner you accept that, the easier this gets."

His hand slides higher along my ribs, stopping just shy of my breast, his thumb skimming beneath it as goosebumps erupt across my flesh.

"I’ll find something I can bury you with, you won’t own me forever." The confidence in my voice is lacking, even to me, but I hold his gaze, defiant until my last breath if that’s what it takes.

"You can dig all you want," he whispers. "But when you come up empty, you’ll be on your knees. You’ll swallow your apology, and my cock, like the good little lamb you are."

My heart pounds so hard it rattles my ribs, but I don’t let him see my fear. Instead, a slow smirk curves my lips. "Deal," I whisper.

He freezes. "You’re out of your mind," he says, almost disbelieving.

"You heard me," I purr. "If I don't find anything incriminating on you and Aidric, I’ll drop to my knees and give you your apology.

" My hand reaches out, cupping his balls before I squeeze just tight enough to be a warning.

"But when I’m right, you walk away. You leave Callan and me the hell alone. "

He laughs, dark and broken, like the sound scraped up from some place deep inside him. "You really think Callan will choose you over the brotherhood?"

"I don’t care what you think, Sebastian ," I snap. "I believe in him and the future we wanted to build together."

His smile twists. "Such a shame he doesn’t remember those perfect little plans."

I yank my arm free and shove past him, voice raw. "I truly fucking hate you, Sebastian."

His hand brushes my wrist and his voice drops. "You keep saying that." He turns me so that I have no choice but to face him as his finger brushes over my cheek. "I just don't believe that you mean it."

The air between us crackles like a live wire. I lean into his touch and I swear, for a moment, he softens between us. But I’m not the lamb he thinks I am, and I think I need to remind him of that.

I slam my knee up, hard, catching him off guard and right between the legs.

He stumbles back with a vicious grunt, pain flashing across his face. But even now, he’s smiling.

He's so freaking unhinged.

Before I can blink, he’s crowding me again, backing me against the elevator wall.

One of his hands grabs mine and forces it down until I feel him. My mouth falls open on a gasp and the pleasure he gains from that alone is written into every one of his features.

The hard, brutal evidence of just how much he likes this war we’re waging is just under my palm.

"You feel that?" he snarls, voice dripping with disgust and hunger. "That’s what your hatred does to me."

I yank my hand away like it burns, punching the button to restart the elevator, and it jerks back into motion.

"Good," I toss over my shoulder as the doors open again. "I hope I just gifted you the most agonizing case of blue balls in the history of mankind."

Sebastian stays frozen for a beat, then, like a storm breaking, he laughs like the maniac he is. "God, you’re fun when you’re feral," he says under his breath, stepping out of the elevator after me.

"Don’t follow me," I stammer, almost tripping over my own two feet.

He tilts his head, amused. "You really think I’m the kind of guy who listens?"

"I think you’re the kind of guy who pushes people until they snap. And one day, someone’s gonna snap on you . "

He grins. "Promises, promises."

I turn sharply and stalk down the hallway but I feel him trailing behind me. He's not too close, but he's close enough.

Once I’m through the hospital’s automatic doors, the chill of night air feels like a smack to the face, the spot where my tears fell drawing my attention back to what happened in the hallway.

"Wait up."

But I don’t stop. "Sebastian, go back inside," I shout over my shoulder. "I’m not in the mood."

"Yeah, well, I need a ride."

I spin around to find him jogging to catch up, hands in his pockets like he didn’t just pin me against an elevator wall and threaten me ten seconds ago.

"You need what?" My eyes nearly bug out of my head at him. There is no way he's getting into my car with me.

"I came with Aidric and he's staying with Callan. I’m not Ubering to the middle of the woods."

I shake my head, pulling out my keys. "Not my problem."

"Technically, you’re heading there anyway."

" Technically , I’d rather set myself on fire than be trapped in a car with you for ten minutes."

He smirks. "Romantic. Do I make you that hot?"

I glare at him. "You are not getting in my car, Sebastian."

But he’s already moving, brushing past me like the conversation’s over. "Shotgun," he calls as he yanks open the passenger side door and slides in like the seat was made just for him.

I stand there for a second, torn between leaving him and blowing up my own car out of spite. If I let him win, then he'll just keep pushing. But if I walk away now, the walk to the woods would be a nightmare and there is nothing stopping him from following me.

With a sharp, furious exhale, I shove down my pride, choke back the urge to strangle him with the seat belt, and slide into the car.

"I swear to God," I mutter, gripping the wheel until my knuckles turn white. "You so much as breathe wrong and I’m pushing you out the door and into oncoming traffic."

"You’d miss me," he says, his hand sliding over to squeeze my thigh. His touch sends an unwanted jolt through me. When he looks my way, I'm certain he felt it too.

I turn my body toward him and flutter my lashes. "Maybe I would," I say, running a finger over his hand. "Or maybe..." I grab his finger and pull it back as I twist his wrist. His body curls inward with a grunt, pinned and at my mercy. "Maybe I’d aim for you."

He laughs, head pinning against the seat as I throw his hand back at him. "You’re cute when you’re all homicidal."

Ignoring him, I reverse out of the parking space and take a sharp turn onto the road without another word.

For a few minutes, we drive in silence, the tension louder than either of us.

"You handled things better than I expected back there."

I don’t look at him. "Back where?"

"The hospital. Seeing Callan like that."

My hands tighten on the wheel. "Don’t."

"Fine," he says casually before his gaze flicks to me. "You don’t actually think Aidric and I are behind any of this, do you? You have to know we'd never hurt Callan like that."

"I think you’re exactly the kind of person who likes to play God with other people’s lives and I firmly believe none of this would have happened if you didn't pull Callan into your bullshit," I say point-blank. "So yeah. You’re on my list."

He lets that sink in. "And yet here we are, driving through the dark together."

I slam the brakes harder than necessary at a stop sign. "Do you want me to kick your ass out of this car?"

He doesn’t flinch, just tips his head toward me with that maddening glint in his eyes. "Not until we’re in the woods, Little Lamb."

I slam my foot on the gas and peel off down the road. He doesn't say another word. I think he knows better at this point.