Page 45 of Fate Awakened

Impossible situations still give choices, even if they aren’t always easy. He’s still choosing wrong.

“Will I be a slave?” I question, my voice dropping slightly as I let my fear leak out.

“No, they’ll trade you back for territory or another prisoner,” he answers quickly, waving off the question with his hand.

“You sound sure of that,” I respond, surprised.

“Leverage is power,” he says simply.

“And if they don’t think I’m worth the territory?”

“Then you will be sold to someone else or killed. So let's hope Cain cares about you like I think he does, or all of this is for nothing. My betrayal is for nothing,” his voice sounds tortured as he finishes.

“If they’re willing to trade for me, why wouldn’t they just trade for your parents?” I ask, my curiosity taking center stage. He turns his head to look at me for the first time today.

“I didn’t tell them. They don’t know. I was approached with a solution, and I took it. I’m giving up everything. It needs to work.” Desperation seeps into his words as his hands grip the chair.

Nodding, I turn back, heading inside with the conversation rolling around in my head. Before I get inside, I hear him say one more thing.

“I’m sorry.” It’s barely a whisper, but I know at my core he means it. The sincerity bleeds through, and for the first time, I feel sorry for him. Not enough to forgive him for his actions, but I understand his desperation to keep those he loves safe.

Knowing now that I’m wrong about Cain, I can only hope he’ll try to get me back despite me running away. Despite me bailing at the first sign of trouble. I didn’t believe in him. If I had, I wouldn’t be here.

This is my fault. This time I deserve this.

I may have jumped to conclusions, but I’m not going to let Cain, or Dante for that matter, give up something important to them for me. I’ll find a way out of this mess I created. With only a few hours until I’m face to face with the new threat, it’s time to come up with a plan.

Chapter 17

Cain

Myjawwilllikelyshatter soon with the number of times I’ve had to stop myself from responding, shifting, hell, speaking today. Holding back my wolf becomes increasingly difficult as I’m forced to listen to Keith argue that she belongs to him, that she’s his to protect.

The fuck she is. He can’t have her. She’s mine.

The moment he shouted at me that I didn’t give a shit about her, my wolf nearly broke through my grip. It made me all the more thankful that Jake was driving us to her complex. I may not have been able to retain control over the SUV while fighting off the shift.

I shouldn’t have revealed my true feelings to him, but my wolf needed him to know she belonged to us. She’s the only thing that matters, and I’ll kill him myself if he stands between us.

“Should I drop you at the compound?” Jake asks, his face saying what he won’t. He doesn’t trust me with Keith.

I don’t blame him.

“I’m fine,” I respond tersely, focusing my attention out the window as he pulls off the freeway.

“Yeah, but will Keith be fine?” he continues his questioning, not taking his eyes off the road.

I don’t respond, mostly because whatever I return with will be a lie. I can’t be sure how my wolf will react to anything Keith says. The only thing keeping me from eliminating him is knowing that Bri would never forgive me for killing one of her closest friends. However, if he thinks he has even the slightest chance of taking her from me...

“Your growling doesn’t breed much confidence,” Jake says, trying to hold back a smile.

“I’ll handle it,” I reply, releasing a deep breath while flexing and unflexing my fists to remove some tension.

“Great because we’re here,” he says, pulling into the apartment complex. My eyes scan the cars before I locate Keith next to his. I can tell he’s fuming.

His eyes land on our vehicle, and I can see the anger plastered all over his face.

“You manipulative asshole! Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” he begins shouting before I’m even out of the car. “I could’ve asked about her. I could’ve opened the damn papers and found a way to ask about her, and…”

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