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But the rest. He sent them into the woods ... and followed.

Amazing the lies we can tell ourselves. Amazing the lies we tell those around us.

Certainly, he convinced himself he had changed. That he’d slaked his bloodlust. That Brockville would be his salvation.

Never trust the ones who tell you how pure their hearts, how good their intentions. They insist they are servants to the world. There are lies in their words. They say they are servants to the greater good? They are servants to their own urges alone.

Forgive me. I’ve gotten off track.

When my father forced me to leave, that was the moment. My moment. I died, and I was reborn.

Being cast out of my family, sent into that abyss alone, gave me the freedom to become the monster I am. And when I returned, when the mirror image of his darkest soul appeared, he caved. Of course he did. Brought me back to life, back to the fold. No one could know, naturally. We made a deal. I stayed in the shadows. I brought him his dessert. Bring, still.

What? You want to know where we first met?

In the wilderness camp, of course. The day she came, I was entranced. She was so young. Delectable. Broken, and so frightened. Arguing with those ridiculous voices. She did not belong in the woods, she belonged in a straitjacket. But she was wily, my little kitten cat. Nine lives and then some.

It was her own fault for coming back. I knew better than to hunt at home, yes. Those rules were inviolate. I broke them once and swore to never do it again.

But it was my Cat. I made her. She was mine. She came back to me. Maybe she thought she could end me. What a mistake.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.

Oh, stop already. Don’t cry. I know it’s dark. The darkest, emptiest place you will ever experience. The deprivation of senses will drive you mad if you’re not careful. That blackness will overwhelm you and your mind will shatter. It’s not a pleasant thing to experience. I should know.

Now, on with the show.

Do try to hold yourself together.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Halley

“We have to leave.” Noah bounds from the room, gathering things in his arms. “We have to leave now.”

“Is this why Cameron was telling you to get rid of me?” Halley asks. His movement is making her dizzy. “Does he know about Ian?”

“He must. Or at least he suspects. Shit. Seriously, we need to go. I can’t stay here. Not knowing he’s alive. Not knowing he might be here.”

He sounds like a child, panicked by a nightmare. Halley doesn’t know how to help him; she is as deeply afraid as she has ever been.

“What did he do to you?”

“You don’t want to know. My brother was cruel, and he was mentally ill. My father sent him off to a camp to straighten him out, but it only made him worse. Please, Halley. We need to leave.”

Bells are ringing. Her sister was sent to a wilderness camp to work on her behavioral issues, too.

“You really don’t remember me, do you?”

Why? Why should she know him?

“Okay, yes. We’ll go to Nashville. We’ll figure it out from there.”

Noah throws her a grateful glance, then stops, halting dead. The meager color in his face drains, and his eyes go wild. He takes three steps back.

“Where do you think you’ll get to, little brother? Do you think you can go anywhere without me finding you?”

She whirls, and a man stands between them and the front door of the cottage.