Page 32 of Unhinged

I nod in response. “Of course. Is that all?” I ask.

She nods. “Yes, you can leave.”

I stand and turn to leave.

“Wait, Taren.” I turn to face her. “Give your mother a kiss.”

A shudder travels through me. Mother. She’s not a mother, and the idea of going that close to her willingly makes my skin crawl. A mother doesn’t treat their son like she has treated me all these years. It’s sick the things she’d done to me.

However, I force my reluctance away and numbly walk toward her, kissing her cheek. She grabs my hair and kisses me on the mouth, making vomit rise in my throat. Her constant blurring of the lines between us has always made me feel sick since I was old enough to understand it, but it feels even more disgusting after kissing Alice.

My salvation.

My light.

My little bird.

“You seem distracted.”

I shake my head. “Not at all. I’m tired from traveling.”

She looks irritated but nods. “Fine, get some rest.”

I walk toward the door.

“Taren.”

“Yes?” I ask, not looking back at her.

“Did you enjoy your prisoner?”

A shiver races down my spine. “The prisoner helped me blend in if that’s what you mean.”

She laughs, and it’s callous and cruel. “Don’t pretend you didn’t fuck her. I don’t care if you did. Just know she’ll be entering training tomorrow. At least you warmed her up.”

I don’t physically react to her taunts. “And I’ll be training her.”

“What?” she asks, eyes flashing with anger.

“I’m bored, as I told you. I intend to have some fun with the prisoners.” I glare back at her. “Do you have a problem with that,Mother?”

Her eyes narrow, but she shakes her head. “Of course not.”

I walk away without another word. The risk of insisting I’d help with training was high, but I’ve got no other way to keep Alice safe. I must always be present to keep the hungry wolves at bay.

Ileana can’t learn the truth about Alice, or she’ll tear her from me. Ileana is my nightmare. And it’s almost time for me to wake up.

13

ALICE

“Oh my God!” Luna rushes toward me and wraps me in a tight hug, a sob tearing from her lips. “I thought you were dead. When I woke and…” She trails off, looking at me and checking me for any injuries. “What happened?”

A complicated question with no easy answer.

Guilt overwhelms me as I’m glad to see Luna but not to be locked in a cage again. Taren brought me back down here quickly after a man called Matias told him Ileana needed to see him immediately.

He locked me in and didn’t say a word before leaving.

---