Page 41

CHAPTER 41

REDLEY

“Wolf?” a deep male voice asks, but it’s muffled with the two doors between us. A loud knock follows.

The man who created my nightmares is closer than he’s been to me since that night. Wolf drags me over to the door and unlocks it, and then there’s only one door between me and the man who killed my parents and brother. I’m suddenly ten years old again, and I’ve never been so afraid.

“Yeah?” Wolf shouts back, quick and sharp.

“What was that?” his father asks.

“I don’t know. I didn’t hear anything.”

Both his hands tighten, and my eyes start to flutter backward at the lack of oxygen to my brain. He presses his lips to my ear and shushes me one more time before loosening his hand and allowing me to breathe again. “Go back to my room and be quiet,” he whispers.

I shake my head hard.

His eyes beg me. “I don’t want to watch you die. Please.”

I shake my head again. If I could get the gun, a decent shot at the closed door could take him out, and then I’d open it and shoot him again for good measure. He growls in my ear, tightening his fingers as punishment.

“There’s a problem in the woods,” his father says, his voice reeking of someone who thinks he’s important. “Open the door so we can discuss it.”

What the hell does that mean?

“I just got out of the shower. It can be handled later,” Wolf says.

A long pause follows.

“I’ll take care of it myself. I’ve been bored lately anyway. Haven’t had a good night out since last summer.”

What the hell does “take care of it” mean?

“Fine, Father, but remember, we hide them better now.” I’ve never heard Wolf use that tone before. Is he trying to be agreeable? He’s bad at it.

“Don’t think you can tell me what to do. It won’t go well for you.” A shiver runs down my own spine at the threat. Why am I suddenly worried for Wolf? I shouldn’t care what happens to him.

“Just a reminder, Father.”

“Mmm.” Even if I didn’t have good reason to want his head, I’d hate him. “Perhaps, I’ll take care of your Little problem while I’m out too.”

“She’s not in town today, but I promise I’ll take care of it. Trust me, she’ll come around.”

He’s not seriously talking about me right now, is he? I shake in his arms, wanting to fight my way free, but his fingers tighten hard enough to draw tears, and I can’t. He’s going to die, and I’m going to kill him, I swear on my family's memory.

“Who was at the door before? Hilda said you answered it.”

“Traveling salesman. I told him to fuck off.”

“Good. I’ll be back when I’m done.”

His footsteps echo as he walks away. Wolf doesn’t loosen his grip at all, and the pain is growing unbearable. He shoves me back into his room, pushes me roughly into it, and then locks the door behind us. My face burns like hell and so does my dignity.

“What is he going to take care of ?” I whisper this time, finally as scared as he asked me to be. Now that his father is leaving, all I can think about is getting the hell out of here. Am I just supposed to sit here while he commits a murder?

“That’s not a question you actually want the answer to, Muffin.”

“Don’t tell me what I want. I am so sick of you deciding what I want for me. Is he going to kill someone right now?” My hysteria builds, my voice rising again, and tears gather in the corner of my eyes. “You have to stop him!”

He stares at me like he thinks it’s sad I even asked.

“Why would I do that when he’s saving me from doing it myself? I get to stay here with you now. I love killing, and still, I’d rather be with you. He’s doing me a favor.”

My mouth falls open, and I don’t know why I’m shocked by his cruelty. All he’s ever been is cruel, except for the other night when he bathed me and made love to me in a way I didn’t imagine possible. Why did I start to see that as the truth of him when years of actions prove he’s something completely different, and I sure as hell don’t want to be with him?

“Why are you still living with your dad like some kid, Wolf? Which is apparently your real name?” Venom spews out of my mouth along with my words. “You can kill people, but you can’t decide for yourself? You can leave me all the fuck alone in the world while you’re living at home with your daddy?” My voice rises as I speak, but I keep it down. “Your name shouldn’t be Wolf. It should be Pup.”

His expression hardens, his lip raising as he sneers at me.

“Well, you’re my bitch then, so how are you any better?” he asks.

My anger is like a demon, growing inside me and threatening to take me over. “At least I’m not a coward.” But on some level, I know that I am. I never could kill him, could I?

His hand shoots out and wraps around my neck. If he’s going to kill me, let him kill me. I don’t think I’m suicidal like he said, but I’ve been fighting for my cause too long not to be willing to die for it.

“The inner workings of my family are not for you to understand , and as far as why I live here, why do you still live in that awful cabin? You live on top of crusty bloodstains like a savage , and you want to try to judge me?”

I reach out and dig my nails into his side, but he doesn’t even flinch.

“I’ve been afraid of you, and you’re not even a man. You’re a boy.” I laugh in his face. “You’re a joke, your daddy’s puppet.”

“That isn’t funny.”

“It wasn’t meant to be. You asked me to marry you, and you wanted me to believe that was a serious proposal?”

“It was,” he growls as his fingers dig deeper into the side of my throat. His yellow eyes flash as his pupils narrow.

“Then how the hell am I not entitled to the inner workings of your family?” My words come out strangled by his hand. “Do you want a wife or a pet, Wolf? Either way, I’m not really interested in being either anymore.”

He towers over me, baring his teeth and shaking in his rage. He looks like he wants to hurt me, and I don’t really care. I want to hurt him back. I’ve revered him as something next to a god, and this is reality.

“It doesn’t matter what you’re interested in, Red.”

“I think it does.”

He laughs this time.

“You walked into my house, and I have you exactly where I want you. My daddy’s house? I’m going to fuck you in it, and maybe next time, you’ll think better of walking into a wolf’s den.”

I raise my hand and slap him hard across the face.