Page 205 of Blood Day

He couldn’t hear me. He’d blocked me out. He’d abandoned me to this fate. Hell, he might have even been the reason I was here.

No, that’s not true,a small voice inside me argued.You know him. You know his mind. He?—

I slammed the door on those thoughts, tired of this circular logic. Ifhecared so much, he… he would have found a way to contact me by now.

Unless he’s hurt.

I gritted my teeth and nearly shook my head. Could he be hurt? Yes. Maybe. And if he was, then I still only had myself to rely on. So regardless of the reason—hewasn’t coming for me.

Which meant I needed a plan.

A purpose.

Something.

Because this endless sea of depression was going to end up killing me.

You’re stronger than this,I told myself.Stop feeling sorry for yourself, and find a way to survive.

By what? Becoming a breeding slave?

I wanted to scream in frustration.Thiswasn’t the life I wanted. No, that life had been withhim.

Maybe I’ll survive and hunt him down,I mused.Wouldn’t that be a fun surprise?

I started imagining his shock at seeing me on his doorstep—not that I knew where to find him—only for the bell overhead to interrupt my daydream with abing.

Well, I have time to contemplate that idea,I decided, standingand eyeing the food again.But I don’t have a lot of time to make this decision.

I glanced around the room, noting the humans falling into line as we’d done the last however many days.Or has it been a week?I wondered, moving to join them all.

Regardless, it was all second nature now.

Step into line.

Walk back to the cages.

Find your temporary home.

Sit.

Stay.

That line went right by the remaining food.

And from what I could see, there were no lycans watching.

It’s too risky, I thought, only a few feet away from the bananas now.It could draw attention to me, which I don’t want. I’m not ready yet. I need a plan first.

Except I wasn’t sure if a plan existed.

Still…

I swallowed, my eyes falling shut for a long second.

No.

I continued past the bananas and the water. As much as I wanted to help Willow, I’d learned long ago that the only person I could truly look out for was myself.