Page 50 of Ash and Roses

For one glorious second, I’m free, but then the agony of a boot to the side has me smashing against the ground. The taste of dirt melds with the metallic tang still coating my teeth. When my lungs finally work well enough to pull in a full breath of air without gasping, I lift my head to find Morgan crouching in front of me.

He pinches my chin between his fingers and thumb, forcing me to meet his stare through blurry eyes. “How unladylike.”

I pull away from him and reach for the knife tucked into my pants. I swipe for him, still blinded by tears and dirt, but feel no connection.

His laugh confirms it. “She has claws.” His hand wraps around my wrist and squeezes hard enough to force a gasp through my lips and have my hand opening. The knife bounces between them and he snatches it before releasing me. “I think we’ve gone far enough. It’s time we rectify a mistake.”

He’s going to kill me.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

QUINN

“You may as well say it.” Ruben has been giving me that look for some time now, and if I don’t let him unburden himself, then he might just explode. I’d asked him to lock me in a room again—just as I had once five years ago. I can acknowledge that this isn’t easy for him, but I can’t see any other options. If Abby is going to stay, then this is the only way I can keep her safe.

“You’re a fool.”

I actually laugh, because never once has Ruben been so brutally honest. It’s a pleasant change. For far too long, I’ve wanted him to treat me as a man rather than a prince, and this might just be the first time he’s done so. “Is that all?”

“What did you tell her?”

“That I’m going away for a while. I know I don’t have the right to ask this of you, but can you do your best to keep her and everyone else out of the tower? I’d rather her not hear me.”

He shakes his head. “You really think she won’t find out? Tess thinks you two are mates.” My eyes flick to his at the mention of the word and it’s confirmation enough. “Does she know?”

“Of course not.”

“You have to tell her. Now, before you shift. Do you know where she is?”

I always know where she is.

“I can’t.” Maybe that makes me a coward, but I don’t care. She’s going to find out I’m a monster eventually, but I can’t bear the thought of it being today. It would break me to have the knowledge of her hatred towards me being the last thing in my mind before I leave behind the man and embrace the beast.

He puts a firm hand on my shoulder, a pleading desperation just behind his eyes. “You’re like a son to me. Don’t make me lock you up again.”

I want to embrace him, but instead feel myself pulling away, just as I always do when warmth and kindness is offered. When I don’t answer, he lets out a heavy sigh. “I’ll check on you every day.”

He turns to go, but I call after him. “Ruben? Don’t open the door unless you’re sure. Promise me.”

“I swear it.” He shuts the door behind him and slides the thick metal rod into place.

It’s unnecessary, but I lock the five interior locks as well. At the very least, that will keep Abby out if she finds out I’m here. She’ll be furious, of course, but I’ll deal with that when the time comes. So long as she lives, I’ll gladly take her fury. Too many times I’ve awoken to find the people I care about torn apart by the creature I will soon become.

Not again.Never again.

The change is close. I can feel it building within me, slow and beginning in the pit of my stomach. It radiates outwards, tensing and contracting the muscles and sending occasional jolts through my extremities. My neck arches and I think I might shift, but it settles again.

I pace the floor of my small, round room and wait in anxious frustration for consciousness to melt away. There’s no telling how this time will be. I was human for an entire week, and I fear the monster will retaliate.

Another jolt hits me, but this one comes with something else. What was that? An emotion—but it wasn’t mine. I focus on it, fighting to hold off the monster just a little longer when it hits me again.

Fear.

A vision comes just seconds later, an image seen through Abby’s eyes. She’s in the forest with three men—Morgan and his two pathetic followers. In Morgan’s hand is a dagger.Abby’s dagger.

‘He’s going to kill me.’Her ghostly voice hits me with enough force to knock the air from my lungs. He can’t be that stupid! If he so much as touches her, I’ll rip out his fucking throat!

“Abby!”

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