Page 24 of Marked by the Pack (Crooked Point #2)

Tuesday

Zoey

I couldn’t shake Emma’s question. Was I in love with Otto?

I thought I knew him. But I didn’t. Not even close.

“I didn’t see it,” I said. “When you told me they were dangerous…I couldn’t picture Otto ever hurting anyone. But he…did he…” I couldn’t even say the words. I took a deep breath. “Did he kill someone in that hay maze?”

Emma pressed her lips together.

“Tell me.”

“I don’t know if it was him,” she said.

“What does that mean?”

“All I know is that it was one of them. Bennett told me.”

I put my hand over my mouth. They were murderers. This was so much freaking worse than a serial killer loose in town. There were five murderous werecats strolling along the sidewalks of Crooked Point.

“What the heck?” Emma grabbed my hand and looked at my palm. She grabbed the other and did the same. “They didn’t make you take the blood oath? That shit hurt.” She lifted her palm that had been wrapped in a bandage for a week.

“No they just…it just all ha ppened so fast.”

“I can’t believe them,” she said.

“This seems like a weird thing to focus on when I just found out my boyfriend might have killed someone. Boyfriends . God, what is happening?”

“Callum hurt a lot of people and I…”

“That’s not the same,” I said. “It wasn’t recently. Callum has control. Those guys don’t. They could have killed me.”

“But they didn’t.”

“Because Otto threw me into his vault and locked me up!”

“You didn’t see Otto change?”

I shook my head. “No, it was Titan. And then Bennett. And then Huxley.” I wasn’t sure where Ace had gone. He’d probably lost control too.

“Well, isn’t that a good thing? Otto just proved that he can control himself. Enough to protect you.”

I thought back to what happened. Titan had shifted.

And then Bennett became a beast and stepped in front of me.

Titan probably would have sliced me in two if Huxley hadn’t intervened and shifted into a werecat.

And Ace was bold enough to kick Titan’s leg to distract him.

They’d all been trying to protect me. Well, except Titan. Seriously, what was that guy’s deal?

“Otto was the first to shift when they showed me,” Emma said. “He lost control the fastest. Maybe his feelings for you help him somehow.”

His feelings for me. I hugged my pillow tighter.

“Bennett told me that since Otto’s the youngest he has the least control. I think he just proved that all wrong.”

I shook my head. “He didn’t hurt me tonight. But he could hurt me tomorrow. Or the next day. That watch didn’t seem to help anything.” It had only worked on me. Bennett used it to get me to stay. Until his fingers convinced me to stay instead.

“Yeah.” Emma sighed. “I thought that too. Bennett swears the watch helps though. It eventually got them under control tonight. Everyone was locked in their vaults but Otto. He used it and held it together for you.”

“This is why you don’t think Callum is dangerous, right? Because you saw the real monsters?”

“It’s not that simple.”

I stared at her. “Isn’t it, though?”

“I wasn’t in love with Bennett,” Emma said. “I’ve always loved Callum.”

“Love doesn’t change the fact that Otto and his friends are monsters.” Or Callum.

“I think it does. I don’t see Callum that way. Honestly, I don’t even see Bennett and his friends that way. They’re hurting. They don’t want this.”

I pictured Otto’s face when he’d told me he was cursed.

“Callum and I had a long discussion about what a relationship with him would be like. He let me in. Even about some of the bits I’d rather not really know.” Emma gave me a sad smile. “But I think the only reason I can see what he is beneath the vampire is because I love him.”

I felt tears welling in my eyes again.

“So if you love Otto…I think you could work it out.”

“My head’s all confused. Everything just hurts.” I pictured Titan’s bared teeth and claws. I wasn’t sure if love was enough here. I wasn’t sure it could possibly be .

“I know.” She put her arm around me and pulled me in close.

Laughter sounded downstairs.

Emma turned toward the door, but didn’t move from her spot.

Seriously…what were Kebe and Callum doing down there? “I think I just need some sleep,” I said.

“Okay.” Emma pulled back the comforter and started to climb in.

She knew what I needed. Her. But I think she was needed elsewhere too. I wasn’t the only important person in her life anymore. I could share her with Callum.

“I just need a few hours alone,” I said. “Go hang out with Callum and Kebe.”

“Are you sure?”

I wasn’t. But I also knew I wasn’t really tired. And I had other people that could help calm me down. I nodded.

More laughter flitted into the room.

“Go,” I said and shooed her. Callum was used to protecting her, but right now she needed to protect him from Kebe’s flirtations.

“Let me know if you need anything,” she said before closing the door behind her.

Part of me did just want to curl up in a ball and cry. But I needed another perspective on all this. From someone who wasn’t dating a vampire. I quickly changed, fixed my makeup, and pulled on my wig and bunny mask.

I was live within a few minutes. I didn’t bother to look that sexy for my livestream. I just immediately went into a private chat with Grudge .

“Jesus, Zoey, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all night. Elias is missing!”

“I know. He found a vampire too. And he freaked and ran.”

Grudge just stared at me. “No.”

No…what? “I just talked to Elias last night. He told me…”

“What time was that?” He started typing something into his computer.

“Around 10 I think?”

“Did he look off to you?”

“Um…he looked spooked. He was really scared. He thought he was going to be killed.”

Grudge stopped typing to stare at me. “You’re sure that’s how he looked? Like he was about to be killed?”

I nodded. That was a weird way to say that sentence. “Yeah. He was packing up all his stuff and skipping town.”

Grudge sighed and put his elbows on his desk. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days again. But he looked more concerned than strung out on energy drinks.

“What are you not telling me?” I asked.

“First of all, that shady guy’s name is not Elias. I told you he was up to something. But no…you didn’t believe me.”

“I did believe you. I always said he was shady.”

“I mean…who wouldn’t want to see your tits?” Grudge asked. “In fact, let’s see ‘em. I’m paying good money for this.”

“Focus.”

“Right. Sorry. And he wasn’t running away because he was worried about someone killing him. He was running away from the cops. ”

Oh God. “Why exactly would he be running from the cops?”

“His apartment was covered in blood, Zoey.”

Fuck. I swallowed hard. “Like…his blood?”

“No.”

“So…other people’s blood?”

“He’s a fucking vampire, Zoey!”

What the fuck?! “That’s not possible, Grudge. He was scared. He…”

“You talked to him at 10 yesterday. That blood had been in his apartment for days. He’s either a serial killer or a vampire. And I would have guessed the first thing a week ago, but now I’m pretty sure it’s the latter.”

Was this my fault? Maybe Elias’ story had been partially true… He had met a female vampire. But he just happened to leave off the fact that he’d been turned by her. It would explain why he’d been missing for so long from MyFanatics. I’m sure changing into a vampire took time…

“You look pale. Are you okay, hot stuff?”

“No I’m not okay! Elias is a vampire and my boyfriend is a werecat!”

“Wait, back up. Since when do you have a boyfriend?”

Boyfriends plural, kind of. Not that any of that mattered now. “That’s seriously your question?! I saw his friends change right in front of me. And he’s one too. God, I can’t breathe.” I leaned over and clutched my stomach.

“When you say boyfriend…is it like serious? Or…”

“Grudge!” I groaned .

“Fine. So your boyfriend and his friends…they’re all like werewolves only they’re cats? Sounds kind of lame if you ask me.”

“They’re huge. Like twice the size of a lion.”

“That’s a big pussy.”

“Grudge!” I started laughing. I couldn’t help it.

“There. All better,” he said. “Now stop dating that pussy and come move in with me.”

“You’re not funny.”

He smiled. “I actually am though. Because you’re smiling.”

“Ass face.”

His smile just grew. “Okay, since you’re dating someone…what’s the deal with that new girl that just moved in?”

“Grudge.”

“Zoey.”

“I need to go.” I needed to talk to King. I’d been so concerned about curing Callum, I hadn’t realized that I’d need a different cure.

“But if she’s single…”

“Bye, Grudge.” I was pretty sure Kebe liked unavailable men. I exited the session and breathed a sigh of relief that King was waiting for me. I went into a private session with him.

“Stressed?” King asked. He was in his office again, the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up, and his eyes looked angry through his mask.

“Very,” I said. “I just…”

“Me too,” he said, cutting me off. “Because you left our video the other day before you could de -stress me.”

Shit. I’d forgotten about that. I knew he’d be pissed, but he looked really angry. And if I was being completely honest…I hadn’t been thinking of him wanting to fuck me tonight. My mind was stuck on a million other things and I just really needed to talk.

“Take it off,” he said. “All of it. Now.”

“King, I…”

“Now.”

Damn it. I unclasped my bra and pushed my thong down my legs. But I didn’t stand up for him to see me. “King, you were right…”

“Go over to your bed and spread your legs for me.”

God, he wasn’t going to talk to me until I did this. I stood up out of my chair and sat down on the edge of my bed.

“Touch yourself. Now.”

I slid my fingers inside of me. And I pictured standing in the bank. Looking at Otto as Bennett fucked me with his fingers.

“Faster,” King said. “I only have five minutes before my next meeting.”

This felt…wrong. But somehow right. Just like it had felt a little wrong when Bennett had touched me in front of Otto, Ace, and Huxley. So why did I love it so much?

I came in under two minutes. And I wasn’t sure if it was because I was still terrified, or still turned on from what happened at the bank.

“Fuck, Zoey.” King groaned as he came into his tissue.

“King…”

He held up his freehand to stop me. He tossed his tissue in the trash and then I heard the zip of his pants. “You have one minute, Zoey. ”

“You were right. About all of it. There’s something else in this town…”

“How do you know?”

“They showed me. They…”

“They?”

I nodded. “I don’t just need a cure for Callum anymore. I need a cure for werecats too. There has to be something, right?”

“Werecats?” He didn’t look all that surprised, even though I’d just told him the craziest thing ever.

“Please tell me you know of a cure for them. Something like that coin you mentioned…”

“Actually…” He rubbed his chin. “That’ll work.”

“Wait, the same coin will work for both of them?”

He nodded. “Yeah. It should take care of both problems. Zoey, I’m sorry, but I really have to go. Everything will be fine. Let me know once you’ve found that coin.” He signed off.

I took a deep breath. King said it was going to be fine.

But the black screen and silence made my stomach churn.

If it was going to be fine…why did my chest still hurt?

I logged out of my camming session and pulled out my phone. I wanted to text Otto. I wanted to ask him if he’d heard of the coin with the Anubis head. I wanted to tell him that I was pretty sure I was in love with him too.

I buried my face in my hands. What was I going to do? I pictured curling up next to Otto on the couch downstairs. I’d felt so safe falling asleep in his arms. But now when I thought about him, I pictured his friends’ vicious claws and sharp teeth.

Something hit my window. I lifted my face out of my hands and stared at the glass. Another rock lightly hit the window.

My heart started racing.

Otto was here.