Page 16 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

Wait for them to finish the job and hopefully kill me too.

I'd rather die than be forced into a relationship with the sole purpose of producing offspring. Could I even love children that came from a forced union? I was afraid the answer would be yes, which would mean that watching them grow up into horrible people would be the final torture my would-be kidnappers could bestow upon me.

"Dove?" Killian leaned over to look at the four guys, who turned and casually walked away.

My breathing hitched. They were walking away. I shook my head and sucked in the breath I so desperately needed.

The fog began to clear as I blinked. If they were my attackers, they wouldn't have walked away like that. The people chasing me had been bound and determined to get me. They would've struck immediately.

I was being paranoid. Surely there was more than one redhead in the world who wore a goatee.

As my body sagged, the truck pulled forward.

Killian touched my arm softly, but his voice contained an edge. "Did those guys do something to you?"

"No." If he hadn't thought I'd lost my marbles by now, he would after this. "But the one that walked out first reminded me of one of the attackers. I thought—" My voice failed me, and I sat there with my mouth hanging open.

"Hey, you're going to see their faces and probably your packs’ faces sporadically." Pain laced his words. "Believe me. It's part of the denial process, or maybe the trauma of it all. And I wasn't the one who found my family dead. You're going to have it so much worse than me."

"So that was normal?" I grimaced. I didn't want that to be normal for me—a trauma survivor. But no one would ever choose this road.

Dad used to say our trials made us stronger. I always believed him... until now. How did my pack being decimated make any of us stronger?

They were dead.

There was no reason for what happened other than brutality. Something that made my blood boil more than the moonlight ever had.

"Yeah, it's normal." He placed both hands back on the steering wheel. "It fucking sucks. It's one reason that Griffin tries not to go back to Shadow City. There are so many memories of his dad there and all the plans they made together for the packs."

"Griffin?" Wait... That was who he was talking with last night. "Your best friend."

"The very one." Killian chuckled. "His dad died shortly after my parents, leaving him with a whole lot of responsibility, like me. Despite us meeting only a few years ago when Shadow City opened back up, our losses bonded us together quickly.”

"Then why do you feel responsible for helping me?"

"I don't feel responsible." He tilted his head toward me. "I want to help you. There's a huge difference. Besides." He leaned back in his seat and placed a wrist over the steering wheel."You're helping me in return, so it's mutually beneficial." He waggled his eyebrows.

And I laughed. So odd. Ten seconds ago, I was on the brink of a breakdown, and now he had me smiling. Maybe I was certifiable. "No waggling eyebrows at me. This is completely platonic dating that so happens to be exclusive."

He huffed and rolled his eyes. "You're no fun."

"No, I'm not." And just like that, the sadness took hold of my chest again. "I've lost too much to be fun." Add in the fact that Dad had been grooming me since birth to be the perfect alpha. He'd repeat that, if I were a boy, it would be so much easier. Times were changing, with more women leading packs, but, not fast enough. For me to not get challenged, I had to be even stronger and more poised.

Because of that, no one had ever approached me for a date. Everyone my age had thought I was too perfect, or they were intimidated. Zoe had been my one and only true friend, able to see past most of the act. Though not all.

"Hey, it'll be okay." His hand tightened on the steering wheel, making his knuckles turn white. "It has to be."

Silence descended between us, leaving both of us lost in our own thoughts. Ones that I didn't want to have but didn't have the strength to push away. Arian and Cassie Knight had been amazing parents, even when they were hard on me. Mom had a way of making things better whenever I grew too overwhelmed with expectations or training. And Dad made me feel stronger and taught me to believe in myself. Because of them, I hadn’t been captured and had found the strength to get away even when the enemy got too close to catching me.

As we turned toward the woods and the flowing river, several large brick buildings about a mile away popped into view. They looked brand new.

"That's the university." Killian answered my unspoken question.

It was picturesque with enough acreage that my wolf could happily run for miles. The lawn in front almost looked artificial with healthy green grass. “This place is gorgeous.”

He smiled. "It really is. All the buildings were constructed at one time so the campus has a cohesive feel and branding."

"Do humans go here too?" From the little bit I’d heard about it, I’d assumed Shadow City was populated only by supernaturals, but I wasn't sure about the surrounding towns.

---