Moon Tortured (Sky Brooks Series Book 1) (47 page)

“Who do you think gave him the gem? I couldn’t use it, but I made sure I would benefit from it.”

Somewhere in the crowded space between his anger and craziness, he found peace because he had calmed down as he studied the key pad. “I suppose you think you will control the Midwest Pack when Sebastian and Ethan are gone.” Looking up briefly, his gaze roved over me, but he ignored my question.

He smiled; it was dark and ominous. I tried not to show fear as his fingers worked anxiously punching in numbers. “Demetrius may kill everyone who will challenge your power, not for you but just for the hell of it. Then he’ll kill you just because you’ll be a nuisance. All of this will be for nothing,” I reminded him.

The gold ringlets of his eyes were sharp and intense as they focused on me. His gaze was lingering as he studied me. Inch by inch his eyes roved over me. His voice was soft, cynical and eerily calm. “We all have weaknesses. Michaela is his. She’s passionate, gregarious and intrepid. She has a thirst like no other. A thirst that has led her to commit murders that she shouldn’t have, murders that, if ever exposed, will cause a war between them, the elves and faes. With my help, he’s covered them. If he betrays me, everything comes to light. Don’t worry, my little wolf; I am protected.”

The crazy, frantic, belligerent Owen was far less scary than the calm psychopath he had turned into. He returned his attention to the keypad, staring at it deep in thought. Now, I really couldn’t let him in here. “Betrayal of your pack, abetting murders, alliances with vampires—

the trifecta. Are you proud?”

As though he had taken a sedative, he couldn’t be riled. I needed him upset, unfocused, hysterical—in that state of mind he was ineffective.

There was a long discouraging silence. I know he could hear the panic in my heartbeat and my paced breathing. “No matter who intervened, you would have been found. You haven’t lived as unnoticed as you believe. You wear the daily struggle of you existence on your face—a tortured soul. It could very well be art if it weren’t so tragic.” He stopped fiddling with the key pad and stared at me. “You lay trapped between the world of the lifeless—which you cannot share in; the wolf—which you don’t want any part of; the unknown—which you fear; and humanity—which doesn’t want you,” he admitted serenely. “Now that the pack has gone through such extremes to keep you alive—you think you deserve to exist. You don’t. If not the vampires, it would be someone else. Your life is an abomination. Don’t ever think you deserve to live.”

I refused to let this psychopath, with a grudge solely based on a woman and his hurt pride, get to me. I refused. But saying it was harder than actually doing it. On so many levels, he was right. Dark magic clung to me as though it sensed a kindred spirit, I had a terait that linked me to the vampires and I was a were-animal that hosted a spirit shade. My death was my birth. “I am no more of an abomination than you. I didn’t have a choice in what I am. You did.”

There was a look of resolve on his face—acceptance of what he was—what he had become, and he didn’t care. Quietly he punched in the code and snatched open the cage door. Before he could step in, I charged at him, trying to knock him down as I left the cage. Instead, he crashed to the ground pulling me down with him. We struggled and eventually he held the advantage. After pulling me from the cage, he hovered; rage distorted his face. The predator in him lurked, ready to inflict violence and pain.

“I hope your death is painful,” he snapped, catching his breath as he licked the blood from his lips. His lips were busted, nail marks covered a great deal of his face and neck and bruising was starting to shadow along his left eye. Infuriated, he hung over me, clasping my arms across my body and clenching my legs together with his.

An aggressive feline rumble radiated within the large room. Owen stiffened. His hold on me loosened. In an open space, my ears may not have continued to ring from the sound as it did at the moment. He stood up and looked in the direction of the sound. The jaguar slowly padded toward us. When it was close enough, the full power of its presence was felt. It growled, baring its teeth and periodically licking its lips.

When I stood, my ankle gave and I collapsed to the floor. I crawled over to the wall and sunk into the corner, hoping to go unnoticed. I didn’t know this animal and wasn’t sure if it were a good thing that it was here.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out? I gave you time, hoping you would choose loyalty for your pack over your hatred for Ethan. You’ve held this vendetta against Ethan for too long and now I must end it.” Joan’s voice emanated from the feline’s mouth. If I weren’t so damned terrified, I would have been impressed by her unique ability to speak while in her animal form. I inhaled a ragged breath; ,there was nothing about the creature that stood before us that held the same warmth and kindness that I had come to know and adore in Joan.

“You don’t like pack life either; you just accept it. You detest the rules and unwillingly follow their ways. We are cut from the same cloth. It is a life we chose but by no means enjoy it. Help me, and I promise the life that you want can be ours. We can change the pack to function the way we see fit. Joan, you want this. I know you do,” he assured, attempting to persuade her. Somehow, that honey-sweet Southern drawl had returned.

“We are not the same. I may not always like the rules, but I respect them and understand why we have them. I stand by pack honor and commitment in ways you will never understand. Your deceit and disloyalty is nothing less than appalling. The debt for your betrayal must be paid with your life. I am here to claim payment,” she stated as she soared toward him.

Owen started to change, but before he finished his transformation, the jaguar’s claws ripped into him, tearing his upper torso from the midchanged lion’s body. She tore into the remains, viciously hurling pieces of him throughout the room. When her wrath was finished, her eyes still contained the fire of anger that she tried to extinguish. She tracked back and forth closely in front of me as deep rumbles escaped from her. I kept my eyes on her, avoiding the gruesome display of severed flesh that surrounded me. The aggressive sounds were eventually reduced to gentle purrs as she calmed herself. Finally, she languidly stretched at my feet, gently purring while licking her paws.

I hadn’t moved from my spot when Sebastian walked down the stairs, followed by Ethan, Winter and Steven. Sebastian surveyed the area and then looked down at Joan, who purred, releasing a stifled roar. Sebastian nodded, I wasn’t sure to what, but he seemed to get its meaning.

Joan returned to her human form and Steven rushed past Sebastian, taking off his t-shirt and handing it to her. Her human eyes showed no signs of the viciousness her animal displayed. As she looked over the area, it was in fact sorrow that covered her face.

“Pack betrayal,” she finally stated hoarsely. “It was an error on my part to convince my Alpha to take him in,” she admitted regretfully.

“There is no shame in trying to save a pack member’s life when possible,” Sebastian stated.

Joan shook her head, looked at the results of her actions again and left the room. Pack life was hard for her. I sensed her pain and sorrow. If she were a solitary creature, her only obligation would be to herself. And at this moment, I didn’t doubt that she longed for that life.

Steven followed her up the stairs. “Mom,” I heard him whisper. She turned, smiling at him. She rested her hand on his cheek; his returning smile exposed those mesmerizing dimples.

Her face relaxed some as she hugged him. She accepted violence as part of their lives, but she didn’t have the same adoration for it as the others had.

After Steven and Joan left, I looked around for Josh. I inhaled the air and couldn’t pick up his scent. I heard Josh’s voice as he emerged next to me. I jumped, bumping into him and nearly falling to the ground. I nearly growled at him. I had been on edge all day, and the last thing I needed was him popping up without notice. “Not cool, Josh!”

He grinned. “Peace offering,” he stated, holding the Gem of Levage in front of me. I took it gingerly; it seemed so much smaller than I imagined it. The very thing that changed my life as I knew it fit neatly in my hand. A palm-sized menace that may not have destroyed my life but changed it beyond repair.

“How do we destroy it?” I asked Josh, my eyes still fixed on the gem.

“A simple spell, I can do in my sleep,” he responded confidently.

But the Gem of Levage had no intention of being destroyed. It drew me in, strengthening the bond that we shared. The imprint on my back began to sting. I clenched my teeth and took in a deep breath suppressing the pain.
Protect me
, it demanded. I felt the need to do so at all cost.

Josh reached for it; I closed it into my hand and pulled it close to my chest.

“Skylar, give it back to me,” he ordered in a low voice.

“No,” I snarled. “You can’t destroy it.” I yelled, inching toward the stairs.

His hands opened as his eyes changed into an abyss of darkness commanding the gem to him. I could feel the pull of his magic, willing it toward him. My fingers clenched around it. “No!” I yelled, feeling the gem’s power take over me. A cataclysm of power shook the house, bringing Sebastian, Winter and Ethan to their knees.

“Skylar, you cannot protect it. It needs to be returned. As long as it exists, you will always be in danger; others will be in danger,” he attempted to reason with me. But it needed to exist because it had not served its purpose. It desired to cause chaos and needed to do so at all cost. It had no intention of being destroyed and was forcing me to protect it. He stepped closer and I pushed him, knocking him into the cage. He came to his feet quickly, waving his hand in front of him, throwing me back with such force, I barely missed hitting the wall.

The gem adhered to me, refusing to leave, forcing its protection, appealing for its existence. “It doesn’t want to be destroyed. We need to keep it," I appealed to him. Josh of all people had to understand that certain magic had to exist. It had to be here in this world. It had a purpose that needed to be fulfilled.

“No.” His lips moved quickly, reciting incantations in an attempt to release me from my binding to the gem. Words, foreign to me, were expelled from my mouth as though they were my own, countering his demands. The bond continued to strengthen, filling me with power, controlling me, forcing me to meet Josh’s challenge.

Protect me
. I felt the need to do so. To defend its existence as though it were my life. Ignoring the throbbing pain of my ankle and foot, I started up the stairs. Ethan grabbed me and pulled me from the third stair onto the ground holding me firmly against it. Josh walked toward me his lips moving more feverishly; extending his hand, he reached out for the gem. His commands were strong; my fingers trembled around the gem, but it wouldn’t let my fingers extend to release my hold. Instead, it pushed Josh back; my lips moved just as quickly, invoking spells to counter his demands.

Standing over me, he extended his hand, reaching out for the gem. His face—a gentle plea that I was forced to ignore. “Skylar, please,” Josh urged.

“No.”

Josh’s lips, which were moving quickly, performing spell after spell came to a deescalating stop. He looked at Ethan, remorse shadowing his face. He nodded once toward Ethan. In one swift move, Ethan pulled out a knife and plunged it into my chest, keeping a firm hold around my neck to halt my breathing. The pain was shrilling at first, then slowly it receded as I accepted what was happening to me.