Page 17 of Healer’s Reckoning (The Healer’s #3)

Ava

I sit in my chair and try to look relaxed.

“You know we control them, right?” I turn to Ajax, trying to look bored. “When they’re in this state, they are controlled one hundred percent by us. If I wanted to have your brother murder you, all I would have to do is input it into the computer, and it would be done like that.” He snaps his fingers, and I will my heart to stop thundering in my chest.

I’m unsure how to respond. “Uh, maybe please don’t.” My voice comes out stronger than I thought it would.

He laughs, and it almost makes him sound normal. Almost . He walks towards the door, and I breathe a sigh of relief. That is until he grabs another chair and comes and sits next to me. I hold myself stiffly. “Has Emma ever told you about our connection?” The reference to Garrett’s mate, Emma, takes me by surprise. He continues on without waiting for me. “Her brother, Alec, was my alpha.” I stay quiet. “You know what they did to him?” I do, but I’m not going to tell him that. “They killed him during the war between shifters and vampires. In a not very nice way, Ava. They killed him, even though he was her brother.”

“Is that why you’re working with the vampires?” I can’t stop the words.

He laughs. “Alec and I were working with the vampires even before the war.”

I ask the question I’ve been dying to ask. “Why? You’re a shifter.”

“Oh, that’s an easy one. Money. The vampires have lots and lots of money.”

“And they just share it with you, out of the goodness of their heart?”

He smirks. “You’ve got fire, don’t you?” I don’t answer him. “It started because of money, but that’s no longer the reason. Want to know what the reason is now?”

I don’t even have to ask. “Revenge.” There’s a bleakness to my voice.

“Oooo, you’re a smart one,” he mocks. But his face twists into a cruel expression. “Yes. Now it’s revenge. The wolves will get what’s coming to them. I am the sole survivor of my pack. The only reason I survived was because I had potent healer energy with me.” I bite my tongue, so I don’t say something I’m going to regret. “Why would they kill my entire pack? Who could be that cruel? We were the same.”

I can’t help it. I try to be quiet; I really do. “No, Ajax, you weren’t. You and your pack chose to fight on the other side in that war. You chose to fight with the vampires who were taking and still are taking humans and turning them into vampires, who took young girls and tried to drain them of their blood and killed them. All of them!” My voice is rising, but I can’t seem to stop. “You threatened Garrett’s mate and their baby. And you nearly beat Raechel, Max’s mate, to a bloody pulp. What did you think they were going to do? Roll over and let it continue?” I stop suddenly.

“Oh, please continue. You’re on a roll.” He fake applauds me, and I turn away in anger.

“You think you’re so self-righteous, Healer. But you’ve never watched somebody take away everything from you.”

“Yes, I have.” I meet his gaze without flinching. “The night the vampires came for me, I lost everything .”

“And you think every vampire should die because of what they put you through, don’t you?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say before I even think about it.

He smirks and stands up. “You may think you’re better than me, Healer; but you are no better.” He leans towards me. “Your heart is just as black and unforgiving as mine. We are one and the same. You want to destroy all vampires; I want to destroy all shifters, excluding myself of course. Oh, and one self-righteous girl who didn’t bat an eye when her brother was killed.” He leaves the room, and I close my eyes. When I open my eyes, my brother is watching me. I look over my shoulder quickly to make sure Alec is gone. Weariness descends so hard and fast, I feel like crying; but I force a smile.

“Hey, Brandon.” His eyebrows pinch together. “I’m okay.” I pat his arm.

“Time to go, Healer,” somebody says from behind me.

Brandon’s eyes are already closed. I pat his arm one last time and heave a heavy sigh before standing to my feet. The trip back to the house passes in a blur. I can’t stop thinking about Alec’s words. It’s silent as I close the door behind me and lean against it. Sherese enters the kitchen and breathes a sigh of relief. “Oh, good you’re here.”

"What’s wrong?”

“Oh nothing. Everything here is just peachy. I have not one but two uptight wolves under the same roof as me, a vampire...their enemy. Yeah, it’s great.”

I eye her warily. “What did they do?”

“The dark-haired one has to continually keep the blond one from ripping my heart out.”

She says the words so casually, it takes me a minute in my weakened state to work out what she’s saying. “Wait, Bryce is trying to kill you? And Hunter is trying to stop him?”

“Yes, I realize how shocking it is that the dark-haired one is trying to stop him. I’m thinking it’s that he wants to do the deed himself.”

“Where are the two of them now?”

She waves a dismissive hand. “Oh, who knows. Probably out planning the demise of every vampire here.”

Something about her flippancy triggers something inside me. “I won’t let them hurt you.”

She shrugs. “It is what it is; I’ve always known my days were numbered, ever since they turned me into this.”

My heart tugs but before I can say anything, I feel a presence. Somehow, I just know that Bryce is back. Sure enough, he steps into the kitchen seconds later. His eyes lock on my face for a moment before they drop to my neck. A fierce growl rattles the chairs. “Who did that to you?”

I stand to my feet and take the few steps over to put me in front of him. “I’m only going to say this once, Bryce. And you can tell Hunter too. Sherese is my friend. I don’t care that she’s a vampire. You will be good to her and protect her.” The world around me tilts a little. I feel a hand at my elbow.

“You know, it would be easier to take your threat seriously if you weren’t falling over when you said it,” he says in a gentler voice.

I take a deep breath and feel things settle around me. “I’m serious, Bryce.”

He meets my eyes. “I know.” He glances over at Sherese, and a scowl settles on his face.

“Bryce, that’s what I’m talking about.”

His eyes snap back to mine. “I can’t help it. She took you away from me, and that’s not something I can forgive easily.”

“I was trying to protect her,” Sherese snaps.

His eyes narrow dangerously. “Ava is mine to protect, and she doesn’t need protection from me.”

“Bryce.” He looks at me. “Chill.”

He cocks his head to the side. “Did you just tell me to chill?”

I nod. “Yeah. I did.” I don’t look away, so he can see just how serious I am. “Sherese is my friend,” I reiterate.

“You should really get better friends,” Hunter says, walking into the kitchen.

Sherese snorts. “Like you?”

“I’m not likely to rip into her in the middle of the night and drain her,” he returns in a low voice. I turn just in time to see my friend flinch.

“Hunter!” I snap. He walks over to the sink and leans against it and faces me. “I already told Bryce this, and I'm going to tell you. Sherese is my friend, and she’s risked herself for me plenty already. Leave her alone.” His eyes flick to Sherese for just a moment before he looks at me again. It almost looks like there’s a twinge of regret in his gaze, but it’s gone before I can tell for sure.

“Is she coming with when we get out of here?” The question comes from Bryce. On the surface, it sounds casual, but there’s an intensity in his gaze.

“Yes.”

“No.”

We say it at the same time. I turn to Sherese. “You’re going to come with us.”

She laughs. “It’s cute that you think I’m going to go with a bunch of wolves.”

I frown. “I’m not a wolf.”

“No, but they are,” she says, pointing at Hunter and Bryce.

I turn back to Bryce, but the world tilts again. This time, black dots line my vision. I’m a little foggy, but I can feel somebody, probably Bryce, helping me into a chair. “She needs to eat something. That's the only thing that helps,” I hear Sherese say, but her voice sounds far away. The world is still spinning, so I put my head down on my arms on the table.

“Here, Ava.” I feel Bryce’s hand on my back. “Can you try to get this down?” I lift my weary head and eye the bowl in front of me. “Just start with one bite,” he coaxes.

Knowing I have to eat, or I’ll be too weak to continue, I take a bite. I feel my nose start running, and I reach for a napkin. It comes away red. Again . I quickly fold it, hoping he doesn’t notice. “How long has that been happening?” Bryce asks in a quiet voice. So much for him not noticing.

I shrug and take another bite. “A little while.” It’s quiet, and I look up and notice the intensity between Hunter and Bryce. “No private conversations,” I say in between bites. “Whatever you have to say can be said in front of Sherese and me.”

Bryce turns his intense gaze on me. “We’re getting you out of here. Today.”

I’m already shaking my head. “No, not until we get my brother out.”

“I know.” I stop with the spoon halfway to my mouth and look at Bryce. “We’ve been working on a plan to get him out.”

“Really?” Stupidly, I feel my eyes tear up.

Bryce’s fierce expression softens. “I was never going to leave him here, Ava. I just wanted to get you out first, but we’ll make it work to get both of you out.”

“All three of us,” I correct.

He looks at Sherese and then back at me. “All three of you,” he reiterates with reluctance.

Gratitude fills me just as exhaustion slams into me. “Thank you.” My voice is still hoarse from Rizo choking me. I stand up and push my chair in and throw my bowl away. “I’m going to go crash before I have to go back.” I start towards my room and feel a presence behind me. I know without looking that it’s Bryce. I kick off my shoes and crawl into my bed. I’m too weary to even lift my arms to pull up the covers. Bryce does it for me.

“How long do you have before you have to go back?” he asks quietly as he pulls the blankets up and over me.

“Not long enough,” I mumble in a sleepy voice.

I feel a soft touch on my cheek, but I can’t open my heavy eyes. “I’m going to get you out of here.”

I wake to somebody shaking me gently. “Ava, they’re here.”

I blink in confusion because Bryce is standing over my bed. “Bryce?”

He frowns and squats down next to my bed. “The vampires are coming to get you.” His words are tight.

I frown in confusion. “Why are you here?”

He gives me a look that I can’t decipher. “I have to get out before they get here, but I won’t be far.” He disappears a moment later, leaving me staring after him in confusion. I stand up, and the world spins. I wait for it to settle and then slowly make my way towards the kitchen door. The vampires show up a minute later to take me. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion around me, and I count down the minutes until I can climb back into bed.