Page 41 of Wolf.e
Wolfe smirks, and his eyes never leave mine as he grips the bottom of my chair with both hands and pulls me to him in one swift motion. My breath hitches when our knees touch.
He leans forward and places his broad hands into my lap over both of mine, without looking away from my gaze he separates them, leaving them to rest against each thigh all on their own. Without thought I take a deeper breath.
“Or…maybe with me, you simply aren’t afraid to be yourself, even if that looks a little different than everyone else expects.”
I look down feeling flustered, then back up at him.
“Okay…so? Even if you’re right, what’s in it for you if I am different from what people expect? Why do you care?” I ask, looking up at him then letting out what I really want to know.
“Whyme?”
He smiles like he knows a secret I don’t. It seems he’s just about to say something as Jake taps him on the shoulder, muttering something low in his ear.
Wolfe nods at Jake but says nothing. I watch as Jake stands and nods to the door at Kai and Robby.
Wolfe looks back at me as if he’s thinking through his next words carefully then leans in. My heart beats thunderously and I wonder if that will evernothappen when he’s this close. He replaces his hands over mine and my stomach drops.
“I want to find out who Brinley Rose Beaumont is when,for once, she choosesherself.I want to be there when she finally lets herself be as wicked as she craves.”
I blink and my mouth falls open, registering how he knows my full name, not that I should be surprised. He said he knows everything about everyone, obviously that includes me. Wolfe lets go of my hands and stands as the crowd’s chatter grows louder with the end of dinner. He looks down at me before leaving the room with most of his men.
Sean whispers something to Layla as the DJ starts some music up.
“He’ll be right back,” she says to me in explanation.
I nod, still processing that entire conversation.
Is he right?Am I not myself because I aim to make everyone else happy first?
Layla moves to pull me up to the dance floor, and instead of questioning my life’s existence, I pour myself another shot of whiskey from the bottle still in front of Wolfe’s seat, knock it back, and go with her. I wonder for a brief moment where half the club went in such a hurry. But just as quickly, I remind myself it’s not my business, this isn’t my world, I’m just visiting.
In order to force myself to forget how much I liked the thought of being called wicked, I start to dance with Layla and her girls and that’s how we spend the next two hours. The crowd is thick and Sean is in and out periodically to check on Layla and talk to guests. Dell even joins us as we dance to all our favorites.
I don’t see Wolfe or any of his men again aside from Sean, and by midnight I’m ready for some fresh air and some water. I grab a bottle from the bar and tell Layla I’ll be right back, just needing the cool breeze.
I exit the side door of the dance hall, crack my water andchug, lifting the hair off my neck. The cool ocean breeze feels incredible.
I look around. The moon is full and the sky clear. I watch the water lap the shore below and I swear I can hear dolphins. I begin to walk, just to clear my head. There isn’t a soul out here, but I hear a crew on the outdoor patio on the other side of the building and I smell their cigarette smoke and weed. I wonder if Wolfe is there, I haven’t seen him since dinner.
Before I even know where I’m heading, I’m moving aimlessly toward the water, thinking about the person I am, and Wolfe’s words telling me to be who Iwantto be. In truth, without Evan, I don’t even know who that is now, aside from who my parents trained me to be. Who Evan wanted. Even who, once upon a time, the church wanted.
The water lapping at the shore and the thousands of stars overhead call to me, and it seems this little path I’m on will lead me all the way down to the water’s edge.
I pass multiple cabins on my way, some have people partying in them. A woman’s moans sound through an open window as I pass by. I wonder if all the HOH members are the ones staying in these. The sounds finally fall silent as I make it all the way down the hill to a trail at the edge of the woods. It’s here, just before I bend to take off my shoes and walk barefoot in the sand, that I hear it.
The kind of blood curdling groan that instantly makes your stomach turn because you just know something is horribly wrong with the person it came from.
I snap my head to the left to see a flicker of light just beyond the first veil of trees. I wait, but hear nothing as the waves crash into the rocks and shore in the distance. The water retreats to the sea and I, once again, hear the muffledcry and voices. It was definitely a person and they’re hurt in that cabin. I begin to move toward it as fast as my sandal clad feet can carry me. Who would even be staying out here, way off the beaten path?
A sickening crack fills my ears as I approach and then that sound again and more voices. The cabin isn’t even elevated, I walk right up to the open screen door and my blood runs cold as I peer inside.
The stench of burning flesh fills my nose, making me gag.
I fall to my knees because there are just no words for what I see before me.
If I had to try, I would say… Carnage. Bloodlust. Torture.
Two men are on their knees, shirtless, one of them beaten beyond recognition, blood-filled saliva running out of his mouth as it pools on the wet, red tarp beneath his body. Both of them are missing fingers. Their faces are swollen, and someone’s teeth are on the ground. The bigger one is cut open in so many places that my mind can’t fully register all the wounds. He’s bleeding from his ears, his eyes…between his legs.Oh my fucking god.
