Page 42 of Cursed to Be Mine
My shoulders cave in. The gun drops to my side as I rasp, “Daniel?”
His experience is a light to my terror, and I stumble through the woods towards him.
Heavy footsteps hurry behind me as I bolt out onto the road.
“Jesus Christ. Are you okay?” he asks as he heads towards me, slinging his assault rifle across his body as a silhouette behind him stands guard. His hands grab my hips, stilling me as he looks me over. “Is this –”
“It’s not a bite,” I blurt. “We’re both okay.”
Trembling, I sag against him, and he catches me with a small step back. “They killed Henry,” I mutter, the whole thing finally crashing onto my shoulders.
It gets harder to breathe.
Harder to hear as my senses become a pinpoint, my brain desperate to shut off. To sleep. To wake from this nightmare tomorrow. To let someone else take care of it.
The silhouette moves to the side of the van, lugging a jerry can, and I realize it’s Derek.
Cold, efficient Derek who’s never failed to make me wet. His touch is the one I’ve always craved, feeding off his strength, but now I cling to the comfort of his son. The warmth.
My fingers dig into his jacket. “They killed everyone.”
“I know,” he says gently. “We saw the footage. Butright now, we need to get you –”
“Daniel?” Scarlett nearly screeches his name, and I jerk away from him, suddenly recalling their history. “Thisis why you haven’t been returning my texts? Because you’re fucking myma?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Derek growls as he steps in front of her, his gun raised. “Any louder, and I’ll shoot.”
He has a silencer, never takes it off, and I watch my daughter tremble under his warning. I want to tell him to back the fuck off, but no one stands up to Derek. He isn’t empty threats and a teddy bear beneath his armor of trauma. He’s the real deal. A psycho with a cause.
And he’ll kill her if it means living another day to fight this war between the sups.
“Now everyone get in the fucking car.”
She doesn’t respond, but the hatred in her eyes as she looks at me speaks enough to not need words. Marching past, she heads towards the passenger door of the black SUV, clearly not wanting to have to sit beside either one of us.
I open my mouth to say something, but the energy to comfort her is robbed from me as soon as Daniel pulls me back into a quick hug.
“It’s going to be okay,” he murmurs before kissing my head and ushering me into the backseat. He stands guard at the door, his gun raised as his dad walks back over to the van. Derek pulls something out of his pocket, and a flicker of light breaks the darkness. Tossing the match into the vehicle, he pauses a moment to watch it catch fire, then turns and strides over.
He glances at his son as he gets behind the wheel, and as he starts the engine, Daniel sweeps the surrounding area with his rifle.
My blood rushing beneath my skin, I look around too.
The feeling of being watched doesn’t dissipate, and I jump when I see eyes glaring at me from the darkness. But on second glance, it’s just the moonlight glistening through the leaves.
Not that my heart knows the difference.
Perched on needles, it waits for death to come even after Daniel gets in and the car starts to pull away. I don’t dare speak, no one does. My thrumming heart rocks me. The only sounds are the crunch of the tires and the roar of the engine, and with each passing second, they seem to grow in volume.Here we are. Come kill us.
Swiveling in my seat, holding my gun tight in my hand despite its heavy emptiness, I peer out the window. My pulse vibrates through my body, keeping me on edge. The darkness is impenetrable, but a shadow darts between the trees, keeping up with us.
“Derek!” I blink, and the shadow is gone. Just a trick of my paranoia.
My tight nerves.
“What?” he snaps as I move my lips wordlessly before shaking my head. Grasping for something to say, I blurt, “One of the werewolves caught a bullet with his fucking hand. Is that normal?”
“Fuck no,” Daniel says from beside me. “Are you sure you –”
