Page 25

ENDER

I didn’t feel or see anything at first. But then again, I had no idea what to expect. This sort of thing was only possible between mates, so it wasn’t as if I’d experienced it before.

Mates.

Just thinking the word had my entire body tightening, but my wolf howled in agreement of the word. He wanted Wren in every way possible. It was my human half that fought it.

A buzz lit my cheeks, in only the places Wren touched me. It was as if a foreign energy emanated from her and seeped into me, my entire form waking up and standing at attention.

Then it began.

The pain.

So much I could barely breathe. And the memories weren’t linear. Instead, they were a jumble of snapshots and didn’t always make complete sense. But they had a single through line.

Agony.

Blades cutting into Wren’s flesh. Whips slicing her open. Freezing cold and wearing nothing but shorts and a tank top as she screamed from the bottom of a dark pit. Branding irons pressed into her flesh. Vicious taunts. Hunger pains.

I was about to cry out for Wren to release me when I heard Bastian’s voice in her memory. Cruel and cold. No emotion at all.

“No one escapes me, Little Flower. No one. Look what happened to your mother.” A sick chuckle echoed in the dark pit. “Sliced her open in the most painful ways imaginable because she took from me. Tried to steal what was mine. I’ll do the same to you if you ever dream of trying to leave.”

But she had left. Wren had run despite the hovering fear of what might come. She was the strongest person I’d ever known.

I jerked back, the contact with Wren dropping away and taking the memories with it. I stared at the woman on my lap, a different sort of agony taking root now.

Regret.

After everything Wren had been through, I’d only put her through more. I wanted to rip out my heart and give myself all the torture she’d experienced.

I rose, unable to remain still for a single second more. Wren startled as I sat her back on the couch. I stared down at her beautiful face, twisted with what looked like another migraine. It made sense, the emotional overload, the shock of seeing her father. Just more pain I was responsible for.

“I’m sorry.” The words felt like barbed wire being yanked from my throat, but it was all I could give her as I turned to stalk out of the room. I nearly ran into Dina, who scowled at me.

“What’s going on?” she demanded.

“Stay with her,” I ordered. “Don’t let her out of your sight. She needs food and Locke’s headache tonic. Someone will be back in an hour to get her.”

I knew Bastian wouldn’t make a move right now. He’d executed his first play and would wait for our response, hoping we did something stupid. But I still wasn’t about to leave Wren alone.

Dina’s eyes narrowed. “You do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

“I will,” I growled. And for the first time, I truly meant it.

I stalked through the restaurant, patrons reading my mood and swiftly moving out of my way. As I stepped outside, I kept my head on a swivel. My gaze searched for any signs of Red River wolves as I prowled across the parking lots toward Crescent Kingdom.

In my mind? I was with Wren back in that pit. Reliving every ounce of torture she’d endured. I didn’t think it would ever stop. And that was exactly what I deserved.

Ripping open the door to the gym, music and the sounds of training hit my ears. I wanted to rip the speakers from the walls and the heavy bags from the ceiling. The urge to destroy was almost more than I could take.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Puck snarled. “You’re supposed to be watching Wren.”

“Dina’s with her,” I clipped.

“Dina might be good with a bat, but she won’t know what to do if a wolf shifter waltzes into the bar,” Puck accused, ripping off his training gloves as the rest of the guys moved in behind him.

King glared at him. “Keep your voices down.”

He was right to issue the warning. Plenty of humans were within hearing range.

“Bastian showed. Sat down at the fucking bar.”

Snarls surged around me, even with the guys trying to keep their voices low.

“He. Tried. To. Grab. Her?” King gritted out, his fingernails lengthening to claws.

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood. “He tried to force her to submit.”

More sounds of derision and anger filled the air. It was the lowest of the low to force a wolf’s submission. But it shouldn’t have shocked any of us that Bastian would stoop to that level.

“Tell me you got him,” Locke pleaded.

My jaw worked back and forth. “I couldn’t. The goddamned sheriff was right there, and Wren—she needed me.”

Brix’s eyes bled to silver. “What. Did. He. Do. To. Her?”

“Threatened her.” I couldn’t force my mouth to form the details. It was too much. “She got triggered. She…she showed me. Everything he did to her. I—it was so much worse than we could’ve imagined.”

A burn lit in my throat, and pressure built behind my eyes. I couldn’t take it. All she’d been through. Our fucking mate. And there was only one thing I knew to do right now. One action I could take to make things better. To atone.

I met each of their gazes. “We can’t wait any longer. We have to kill Bastian Boudreaux. Now.”