Page 10 of Fangs
“Then where the fuck did you go?” he challenged.
“I wasexiled.”My control was slipping. This had to be a nightmare. “Ihada fuckin trial.”
“Language, Em.”
As soon as the familiar words left his mouth, a funny look crossed his face like he’d said them without thinking, but I saw red.Language?
“I am not a fuckingchild, Wolf.”
He glared but pushed past it. “Don’t lie to me, Ember. I know you manipulated a guard to let you out, and then you ran. We searched the hold fordays.How did you get outside the wall?
Something icy cold was overtaking the anger. “I didn’t! Pa took me outside the wall and told me I was exiled!"
Wolf’s body tensed at my words, his eyes narrowing sharply on my face. “Oh, and what? Then he came back and lied to the council, the Ministry, the whole hold, andmeabout it? If I’m gonna trust anyone, it’s gonna be Pa and not amurderer.”
My eyes burned, and I struggled to keep from crying. “I’m not… I’m not lyin’!” I could tell he believed what he was saying—sincerity was written all over his face. So what did that mean? That Pahadlied? Why would he do that? Why would he tell us two different things? None of this made any fucking sense.
“I’m not arguing with you about this,” Wolf said sternly. “You’re wanted for murder, and I’m turning you in.”
Panic swelled. I’d been prepared to die. I’d made my peace with that, but this was worse than death.
“Wolf, I swear. I’m not lyin’.” I tried to calm my voice, but it shook. “I can’t go back. I wasexiled.”
“Ember, I don’t wanna hear your lies.” Wolf ran a hand through his hair, weariness deepening the lines of his face.
“I’m not!” I cried, desperate, but I knew I couldn’t convince him. He was dead set, and nothing could move him when Wolf dug in his heels. He was going to drag me back to Carth, and Pa would kill me. Or the Ministry would?—
I felt like I was going to be sick.
“If you already think I’m guilty, why don’tyoujust kill me?”
The fury that roared to life in his eyes made them look like green fire. “BecauseI’mnot a kinslayer.”
That horrible word hit its mark just like he meant it to. I couldn’t breathe for a moment as I tried to choke everything back. The awful sound of Dune’s frantic dying cries rose like a ghost from my memory, and I furiously struck back.
“No, you’re just a fuckingcoward,”I hissed.
Something in him seemed to snap. He shoved me back by the shoulders, and my head smacked into the wall. Wolf’s jaw flexed, but for a long moment, he didn’t say anything. We’d always butted heads, but now there was an entire chasm between us—a chasm haunted with memories of Dune.
“Watch your mouth, Ember Cutler,” he bit out.
He released me and stood, stalking past where Sable and Kai were now standing in front of the couch to the front door and slamming it behind him. In the sudden silence, I could feel everyone looking at me, and I ducked my head as my eyes flooded with tears. Scar followed Wolf outside, and after a moment, Sable went outside, too. Kai moved into the kitchen, speaking to Lee in a low voice. Tuck stayed in the chair, watching me.
I pulled my knees tighter against my chest and didn’t move, reciting medical text inside my head at a frantic pace and trying to hold the broken pieces of myself together.
When someone tapped my boot several minutes later, I jerked upright again. Lee crouched in front of me this time. I’d been awake, but I hadn’t heard him approaching. They were all so quiet it made it impossible to track them around the cabin, and it unnerved me. How the fuck were they doing that?
“You remember me?” he asked.
He knew I did, so I didn’t answer, my stomach churning. No one else was in the room, and I wondered if anyone would even come if I screamed. Strands of his black hair fell across his face, escaping the bun on top of his head, and the firelight made long shadows under his high cheekbones. His almond-shaped eyes were dark, almost black, and something about them reminded me of a hawk—intelligent and missing nothing. Everything about him was sharp, from his cheekbones to his eyes to his jawline. I wasn’t blind—he was handsome. All my brother’s friends were attractive, which I found fucking annoying. Would it kill Wolf to find some ugly friends?
“You and your brother could be twins if you were closer in age,” he finally said, “Especially with those damn eyes.”
I dropped my gaze to the floor. Wolf and I both had our mom’s unusual green eyes. Every so often, Juck loved to casually mention how a man had been asking around about a girl with green eyes. He’d use it as a threat to get me to cooperate, but he never asked who was hunting me or why. Somehow, that was worse. I hated not knowing how much or how little he knew. As I got older, I realized he liked reminding me I depended on him and needed him to keep me safe. He liked to work me up so he could comfort me, but I was so pathetic and starved for comfort I let him keep doing it. What I didn’t understand was why none of the Reapers ever turned me in.
“You got quite the reputation in the cells,” Lee continued. “Madame’s Grim Reaper.”
I couldn’t hide the way my breath caught in my chest. His sharp eyes narrowed, sending a bolt of fear through me, but fuck, that hurt. He waited like he was expecting me to say something, and when I didn’t, he looked almost disappointed.
