Page 203 of The Curse Trilogy

Chapter 6

Savaged and Ravaged

Brazen’s car pulls up, and the knots in my stomach tighten all the more. I haven’t spoken to Hale since yesterday, and I’ve kept myself busy jumping from interrogation room to interrogation room. The others from the United have all started arriving, and now Brazen has come unwittingly into a mess he can’t even begin to fathom.

When he left, I was his. I was considering marriage again. Now, I’m the fornicating slut who can’t cipher her own heart. There’s no way he will understand what I had to do with Hale. There’s no way I could ever ask him to either.

Clay greets him to update him on the situation, and his face shows his shock. I can see the confused stare Clay is giving him. I’m sure he thought I was filling Brazen in, but I’ve been dodging his calls. I’ve been far too ashamed of myself and the terrible news I have to deliver to him.

Brazen takes off sprinting inside the compound, and I take a sip of my whiskey before turning away from the window. I sit down on the couch as I wait for the door to open. It almost bursts off its hinges seconds later, and Brazen’s ashen face still bears his fear mixed with a touch of anger as he steps in.

“Why the hell didn’t you call me or answer when I called you? Araya, you should have told me there was an attack, and you should have told me about the hybrid you interrogated,” he scolds.

“We need to talk,” I mumble, my whiskey sloshing in my hand as I shift in my seat.

His eyes shift to fear, and his body freezes in place.

“I really don’t like the way you just said that,” he murmurs in a near whisper, and he walks over to pull me into his arms. “And I should have done this as soon as I walked in instead of barking at you,” he murmurs while bringing his lips to mine.

My tears flow instantly to carry their guilty flavor to our kiss, and I gently push him back while turning away.

“Brazen, we can’t be together anymore.”

He goes silent. I can’t even hear his lungs sucking in a breath. I know it’s because I’ve just knocked the wind out of him, and I feel like the world’s biggest bitch right now. I keep my back turned to him so I don’t have to stare into the pale eyes I know are destroyed. I’m such a coward.

“Can you tell me why?” he almost whispers.

“I fucked Hale. You should hate me, and you should go,” I sob out, and I hear the tension rather than see it as his teeth grind together.

“No. I’m not going. His scent isn’t in here, and last time I rushed to a decision before getting the facts. Were you dying? Did he blood fuck you to save you?” he asks hopefully, and more tears pour out.

He’s trying to be understanding, and it just makes me feel all the worse.

“No. He was savage, and I had to inject him with olophine.”

I hear some air enter his lungs once he hears there is a reason, but he’s uncertain of how to proceed. He steps to be in front of me, and I promptly look away to avoid eye contact.

“You had to inject him? He couldn’t do it himself? You couldn’t use your gift to do it?” he mutters very softly, and I sit down on the couch to take in a painful breath.

“I always have to. It’s rare he can do it himself. His savage is different than mine because it went free for so long before he found me. It almost always requires the sacrifice of my body and then the mixture of his thirst for me quenched and the medicine brings him back. Using my gifts on him wouldn’t have done any good; it would have only pissed him off. A savage Hale is not one to be pissed off because he can level a compound this small within a blink. His power is so much stronger, and he wasn’t far from level three.”

He takes another deep breath before sitting down beside me.

“I don’t understand the savage stuff yet because it’s still a little new, but why did he use his gift without injecting himself first? I thought that was how he went savage.”

“They launched energy lashers at me, and he used his gift to keep me from being struck. He reacted before he could think.”

“Okay… why are you leaving me if this was unavoidable?” he asks while forcing my face up so my eyes have to meet his.

“Because I don’t want you to have to deal with this. This could happen for as long as I live. He could need me, or I could need him. It’s never going to be over, and you deserve so much more than that,” I sob out wildly, and my voice is barely understandable at this point.

“So you don’t want to be with him, you just don’t want to hurt me?” he asks as if he’s trying desperately to understand.

“I don’t want to keep explaining myself. You shouldn’t be with me. I’m terrible for you, and I’ve told you that before. I want you to be happy, and you’ll always have Hale’s fucking cloud looming over you.”

His lips purse as he sits back on the seat beside me. He takes in a deep breath as if he’s hoping it will have the words he needs lined in the air.

“I’m not overly fond of Hale’s fucking cloud looming over me, but I’m never going to be happy without you, Araya. I mean damn, you’ve saved my life over and over. You’ve introduced me to the food I’ve always longed to be able to try. You opened me up for the sun’s unobstructed touch. I have never been happier in all my life than I have been any day with you. I can’t go back to being without you, baby. I hate that arrogant, hooks-in son of a bitch for having such a connection with you, but I love you more than enough to move past it. I don’t know how I’ll handle it, but I know there’s nothing that’s going to stop me from being with you. I know you love me, and I know he has fucked you over enough to keep you from going back. I also know our world happens to be terribly fucked up as well. I’ll figure this shit out.”