Page 63 of Wolf Tamer

I’m still on the ground and struggle to lift myself to a standing position. Everything hurts.

“Seriously? It’s none of my business?”

“Just stay out of my way.” I head for the door. He may not want to check on his brother, but I’m itching to get back to his side. I need to make sure he’s okay.

Julius slaps his hand on the doorjamb, snapping my attention back to him.

“Let me through,” I demand.

“So you can finish what you started? I don’t think so. He’ll come around eventually, but I’m not going to let you anywhere near him.”

“Oh, you’ve suddenly developed a conscience?” My hands go right to my hips, adrenaline still coursing through my body so that it feels like I’m teetering on the point of a knife, ready to topple at any second. I steel my back and put on a mask of indifference. “Like you actually give a shit about what happens here?”

Or to Reid.

I keep the last thought to myself but watch as Julius grows rigid. His face darkens, and the rest of him seems to expand in size until he’s towering over me.

“You don’t know shit about what goes on within these walls, witch. You’ve got no fucking clue.”

“Care to enlighten me?”

Damn, my voice is shaking too. I press my hand to my head now, pinching my eyes closed and hoping against hope I’ll be able to save this situation before anything else happens.

“No, I don’t,” Julius says. “In yourownwords, it’s none of your fucking business. You’re just a sacrifice who has ingratiated herself with the most powerful person in the room.” He stops, lets out a coughing laugh, then shrugs. “Although I’m starting to suspect there is a whole lot more going on here. More than sex, anyway.”

“You’re figuring that out now?” I say, purposely baiting him. “It’s taken you some time to catch up.”

Julius snarls. “It doesn’t matter what I think. All that matters is keeping Reid safe. Whatever game you’re playing, whatever you think you’re doing together, it can’t last. This isn’t your place and this isn’t your world. Sooner or later, you’re going to disappear. Just like all the others.”

“I’m not the only one hiding secrets. You’re so full of them yourself that you’re practically coming apart at the seams.” I gesture toward him. “Look at you. You’re a wreck, and you’re going to stand there and lecture me? There’s a word for that.Hypocrite.”

“There you go again. Thinking you know more than you do,” he says, arching a single brow at me.

We’re very close, too close. The alcohol on his breath is sharp and pungent, making me wince.

I can’t put my finger on this guy, and that bothers me more than anything because my instincts are what keep me alive. They’ve been going haywire since Mae showed up in my room to offer me that contract. It’s hard to figure out what way is up.

“Let me through,” I tell him again through clenched teeth. “I’m going to check on Reid whether you like it or not.”

“Go to your room, sacrifice. Or better yet, get the hell out of this house, and don’t look back. You’ve caused enough trouble.”

Neither one of us will budge, holding our ground and refusing to give the other even an inch. I think again about the note Reid found in Julius’s room, the one from their father and the cryptic words scrawled across it.

Julius definitely knows more than he’s letting on.

More about what, I’m still not sure.

A weird skittering feeling bursts to life between my shoulder blades—the searing sensation of eyes on me when there are none around. I shake it off, focused entirely on Julius. Distraction will only allow him to get the upper hand in this fucked-up game we like to play, and I’ll be damned if I let him win.

“What?” he asks me abruptly from my staring.

“You don’t need to tell me anything really. I can read you like an open book.”

Throwing his head back, he laughs. “Oh yeah? This will be fun. Come on. Humor me.”

“Are you kidding? I can practically tell your entire life story just by standing in front of you now,” I boast, hoping he’ll do something other than stand there and block my way.

“Well, then do it.”

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