Chapter 24
Chapter 24
ADELINE
I didn’t know how long I stood there, frozen, staring at the window. The next moment, my body moved on its own. I grabbed the first bowl I could find, a sponge, and a bar of soap from the bathroom, and ran back to the window, scrubbing it furiously.
I scrubbed and scrubbed, trying to erase it–the blood, the message, the terrifying truth. Someone had been here. Someone had written this. Someone, only the Moon Goddess knows who, wanted me dead.
But no matter how hard I scrubbed, it wouldn’t go away. The words seemed burned into the glass, mocking me, reminding me that my life was no longer my own. My arms gave out, and I dropped the bowl and sponge, sinking to my knees as I clutched my head. I wanted to scream, but even that felt
useless.
Eventually, I stumbled to my phone. My hands trembled as I scrolled through my contacts, but a harsh realization hit me: I didn’t even know who to call. No one could fix this. No one could make me feel safe. The phone slipped from my hand as I sank to the floor. I don’t remember falling asleep, but when I woke up, my mind was set on one thing–telling Nicholas.
That decision brought me here, to this moment, trapped in the car with him, regretting every choice that led to it.
“I am not an animal. You cannot just lock me up,” I said, my voice shaking but steady enough to hold its ground.
For thirteen long minutes, I had sat silently, watching him grip the steering wheel like it was the only thing tethering him to sanity. He didn’t respond.
“Nicholas, I’m talking to you.”
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“And I have chosen not to answer you,” he snapped, his voice clipped and cold. “Now, keep quiet. Your voice is distracting from thinking.”
I rolled my eyes, muttering under my breath, “Thinking about how much of an asshole you are?”
His gaze flicked to me for a split second, and in that moment, the car swerved slightly before he steadied it.
“What the hell is your problem? Are you trying to kill us?” I yelled.
“Why are you so disrespectful?” he barked back. “I told you to shut up. Don’t say another word until we get there.”
I folded my arms, flopping back in the seat with an exaggerated sigh, glaring out the window. If the universe had any sense of humor, it would drop a meteor or crash a plane–just on his side of the car–to put me out of this misery.
“You’re breathing too loud.”
I whipped my head toward him, incredulous. “I’m breathing too loud?”
“I said no talking,” he growled.
I bit back a retort, grinding my teeth in frustration. Never in my life had I wanted to scream so badly. I hated him. No, I despised him. If there were a volcano nearby, I would push him into it and watch with glee as he suffered before bursting into flames.
The thought made me smile, and I shook my head, shocked at myself. Where had that come from?
Then his words from our first encounter crept into my mind–his accusation that I was hiding who I truly was, that I was evil. I clenched my fists. He was wrong. I wasn’t evil. He was just a cruel monster who projected his own darkness onto others to justify his actions.
I closed my eyes, trying to block him out, but unease settled over me like a heavy fog. My wolf stirred, growling in the back of my mind. I glanced around the car, scanning the road for anything unusual, but everything seemed normal
I shook my head, willing the thoughts away. I didn’t need to think about Nicholas or the looming danger or the fact that someone powerful enough to send a bloody message wanted me dead.
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Chapter 24
I reached for the radio, desperate for a distraction, but his hand shot out, grabbing mine. The contact sent an electric jolt through me, and I snatched my hand back, cradling it like he’d burned me.
“I just wanted to listen to some music,” I said through gritted teeth. “You won’t even let me have that?”
“What part of ‘I need to think‘ don’t you understand?”
“So you expect me to sit here in silence, counting down the seconds until you lock me up in some house like a caged animal? What about my family? My friends?”
“Your family?” He scoffed. “The parents who didn’t warn you about your sister and mate betraying you? Or the sister who betrayed you? And don’t even get me started on your so–called friends. They always leave when they see the real you, don’t they?”
He listed names–first and last–each one a knife twisting in my gut.
“You dug into my past?” I gasped. “How dare you? And I am not anything! Stop putting thoughts in my head!”
“Quiet, Adeline,” he said sharply.
My mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. What kind of demon was he? I leaned back, sighing–then stopped halfway, afraid he’d complain about that too.
That’s when I noticed we were leaving the city.
“You’re taking me out of the city?”
“No, Adeline,” he said with dry sarcasm. “I just decided to keep driving endlessly for fun.”
“Stop making me sound stupid. Turn the car around, Nicholas. I’m not going to some unknown place to be locked away wout a say.”
“You’re being emotional,” he replied, his tone dismissive. “Understandable, but completely unnecessary.”
“Sorry for being human and having emotions. Not all of us embody pure evil.”
That made him laugh–a deep, genuine chuckle that caught me off guard. “Embody pure evil? That’s a new one.”
I stared at him, baffled. How could someone so cold laugh so easily? His mood swings were exhausting, and I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
“Where are we going?” I asked, softer this time, trying to steady my voice.
“You’ll see,” he said, his tone final.
Panic clawed at my chest, but I bit it back, forcing myself to sit still. Whatever awaited me, I had to face it.
+forced myself to lean back in the seat and close my eyes, deciding it was best to just stay quiet. Arguing with Nicholas was like trying to move a mountain–pointless and exhausting. My chest still burned with frustration, but I focused on my breathing, willing sleep to come. If I could just shut everything out, maybe the journey wouldn’t feel so unbearable.
The hum of the car and the steady rhythm of the road beneath us were almost soothing. I let my mind drift, ignoring the tension hanging in the air.
But then, my wolf stirred again.
That uneasy feeling crept up my spine, sharp and unrelenting. It was like a whisper in the back of my mind, urging me to stay alert. I opened my eyes, glancing around the car. The road stretched endlessly ahead, empty except for the dim glow of the streetlights. The shadows of trees blurred as we sped past, and the moonlight bathed everything in a soft, eerie glow.
Nothing seemed off.
I shook my head, frustrated with myself. My mind was playing tricks on me, that’s all. I leaned back again, forcing myself to relax. “There’s nothing
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Chapter 24
wrong,” I muttered under my breath, trying to convince myself.
But my wolf growled low in my mind, unsettled.
Then, it all happened so fast.
A truck.
It came out of nowhere, headlights blazing like twin suns. My eyes widened in horror, and before I could process what was happening, I screamed. The sound tore from my throat, raw and piercing, but I wasn’t even sure it came from me.
“Nicholas!” I shrieked, my voice barely cutting through the chaos.
I saw his hands jerk on the steering wheel, trying to swerve. His movements were sharp and decisive, but the truck was too close, too fast.
The impact was deafening.
The car lurched violently, the metal groaning and twisting as it collided with the truck. My body slammed against the seatbelt, pain shooting through me like a bolt of lightning. Everything spun.
We were tumbling off the road.
The car flipped once, then twice, and I screamed again, my wolf snarling in my mind as if trying to shield me. My head hit something hard, the sharp pain cutting through the noise. I felt a warm trickle of blood on my forehead, but there was no time to think.
The world tilted, turned, and then everything went black.
