Page 26 of Wicked Pursuit

You’re so mean. I adore it. Welcome back, Ruby. Come out with us next weekend?

Sure. Text me the details later.

I want to be done, but if Wolf might hesitate to harm one of the other children of territory leaders, he seemed really determined for me not to fuck Tatiana in particular. I dig out the card she gave me.

I think I’ll hang onto that picture, but I just wanted to say thanks for the other night.

Is there a good way to ask her if she’s been menaced by a guy in a skull mask? I bite my bottom lip. She isn’t a friend or family member. I don’t want her to think I’m trying to manipulate her into seeing me again, but surely she’d appreciate a proper warning?

Also, this is really awkward, but I’ve acquired a bit of a stalker and he’s kind of possessive, so keep an eye out, okay?

Tatiana

It’s really sweet that you are worried about me, but I can take care of myself. Have a good night, Ruby.

Well, that’s a clear dismissal if I’ve ever read one. I shove my phone back into my purse and rise. I can’t dodge a conversation with my parents indefinitely, but I sure as fuck can do it right now. Maybe by the time they track me down, I’ll actually know what to say. There’s no avoiding disappointing them—that ship has long since sailed—but surely there’s something that will make this less catastrophic?

I really wish I believed that.

I duck out of my room and hurry down the hall to the guest bedroom that has a conveniently placed window. The old oak outside is a perfect climbing tree that stretches just close enough to the wall to climb over. There’s a camera on the other side, but by the time they see me on the screen, I’ll be gone. I’ve never snuck out before, but I’ve imagined it thousands of times, thought of what I would do if I weren’t so determined to be a daughter who makes my parents proud.

This is not the action of an adult who wants to be taken seriously, but I’m tired, my nerves are frayed, and the reckless feeling that got me into this mess in the first place is still riding me hard. I need time and space to get my head on straight, and that won’t happen in my childhood home.

I catch a taxi the next street over and go back to the apartment I share with Luke. At least for now.

By the time I unlock the door and stumble inside, my adrenaline has run its course, leaving only exhaustion. The feeling only gets more pronounced when I peek into the bedroom and find the bed empty and undisturbed. Luke spent the night somewhere else... maybewithsomeone else.

An ache takes up residence in my chest. I don’t know him anymore. I don’t knowmyselfanymore.

For reasons I’m not prepared to face, I pause only long enough to wash my face and change into a pair of cotton panties and one of Luke’s T-shirts before I walk back into the living room, grab the throw blanket, and lie down on the couch. Sleep takes me in seconds.

I wake sometime later,well before dawn, to the feeling of being watched. I open my eyes slowly to near-perfect darkness. What woke me?

I get my answer the moment I turn my head. He’s sitting on the coffee table, his elbows propped on his knees. The faint glow of the streetlights reflects on his leather gloves and the smooth material of his mask.

Wolf.

He’s in my apartment.

“I know you’re awake, baby.” His raspy voice feels like a stroke of a finger right over my pussy.

I turn onto my side to face him. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Shh.” He raises a gloved finger to the curve of the teeth on his mask. “Don’t wake the boyfriend.”

I shoot a glance at the closed bedroom door. Did Luke come home after I fell asleep? True fear spikes through me. I may not love Luke anymore, but I did for a very long time. We had two years of happiness together, two years of soft moments and vulnerability and memories that I’ll cherish, even if we no longer fit together. I don’t want him hurt. I don’t want himdead. Wolf is more than capable of doing both.

I swallow hard. “Why are you here?”

“Should have stayed safe behind those spiked walls, baby. Instead you defied your parents and snuck out. How was I to take that, but as an invitation?” He hooks the corner of the blanket and tugs it slowly off me.

I’m perversely glad that I didn’t put on pants. Even without seeing his eyes, I can feel the heat of them on my exposed skin. I feel possessed, and if I believed in magic, I’d think he put a spell on me in that first text message. That’s a cop-out, though. The reality is that I tasted the truth of myself when I walked into that bar and chose to cheat on my boyfriend. Everything that’s happened in the wake of that decision rests solely on my shoulders. I could have put a stop to this the first night; I chose not to.

Just like I’m choosing not to stop it now.

“I should hate you,” I find myself saying. Confessing into the shadows between us. Of everyone, he has the most possibility of understanding. “You’re a monster. You’ve killed people. Stalked me. Threatened me.”

“Only with the consequences of your own actions.” He drops the blanket on the floor and drags a single finger from my ankle to my knee. “But you’re right. I’m a monster. It takes one to know one.”

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