Page 34 of Hound

“No,” he stated, his gaze capturing mine. “I’m tired, brother, of being left in the shadows to fend for myself when all three of you have constantly thrown me into the pits of hell onceI escape. Either you explain why you’re holding a piece of obstruction, or I risk all of our lives.”

Never had he spoken to me in such a manner—notwithstanding, had spoken in such lengths. Though irritation ran through my veins, there, underneath the adrenaline, spiked a sense of respect at his intrepidity.

“Watch your tongue. I’m the eldest, and if you don’t obey my word, then you will be met with repercussions.”

He inhaled sharply.“I’d rather meet with repercussions on my own terms than yours or anyone else’s.”

“Then what do you ask for, Alek? An explanation in exchange for your silence?”

His consideration befell us. “In exchange for keeping the whereabouts of the book silent, you’re going to assist me with dismantling Kaleb’s authority over all of us.” Caution echoed within the fortified words. “If you don’t choose wisely, brother, then the first to discover your possession will be the Ministry.”

The weight of his threat amplified the self-imposing pressure, my grave more apparent by the second. Kaleb’s torment had once been miniscule. He’d inflict dirty tricks, and though our mother handled the majority, the few that slipped under her nose were the ones that heightened with time. After our mother’s death, his attention had slowly transferred over to the schemes. There were less whispers between the younger siblings and notifications from Sonia of Kaleb’s doings.

And as the burden of the marriage arrangement persisted after Anabella’s and I’s blood compatibility failed, I didn’t concern myself with Kaleb. In truth, it wasn’t a responsibility I could bear.

But now, as I took in the harsh lines along Alek’s pale flesh, guilt tugged at my chest. Had he been the only brother who Kaleb continued afflicting misery upon? Had it existed before the Ambrogio visit that left Mr. Amelle injured?

The damage stood before me with a fiery gaze, warning the very air of his pending incineration.

I couldn’t undo the damage that was done to him—the one I allowed with mere ignorance. Atonement was in my grasp.

I met him with what I knew best as I gripped the book: a silent agreement in which bestowed him the authority to subjugate my existence.

Chapter 11

LORENZO DEVON

Two and a half weeks away from Christopher shouldn’t have compelled me to take on more rounds across the grounds. Nearly eighteen days away from Christopher shouldn’t have exerted bone-tiring runs and gym sessions day in and out that wedged the already strained relationship between Nina and me. About four-hundred-twenty hours and thirty-nine minutes away from Christopher shouldn’t have me searching for a crumb of him in every corner like a madman.

But it had. Whatever I was fucking feeling—the blanketing rampant fever that seeped into my pores, pulled at the beast—was beyond hyper fixation. Past obsession. It was an addiction that sparked my veins to life, one I hadn’t known I needed but was damn happy to have obtained. Even if it tore me apart. Begged me to chase Christopher.

As a form to distance the thought of Christopher as much as I could, I forced myself to complete everyday tasks. The small chores that I wished I had more of. Shaving, for one, since my hair always rapidly grew back after transformations until it regressed to its normal stage.

And studying every map in existence day in and out thanks to Mallory’s damn note. Old. New. Fictional. Real. Silverman’sIsland was nonexistent. The coordination pinned the middle of the Labrador Sea, inching closer to Northern Canada than Southern Greenland. Nothing breathed there. No one visited that area.

If I’d known this devious fuck’s disappearance would create more homework than humanely possible, I would have hunted him down. But Lace thought I had accomplished the mission. If I went behind his back, I would prove the failure that I was. And. . .

My stomach constricted at the thought of Christopher. The homework and headache Mallory was causing was worth it all for my doll, but there was a sliver of frustration that wanted to hate Sylvester Reynard-Mallory more than I did.

“You are to tell no one.” My doll rang distantly in my mind. He’d imposed this promise during a time I had to follow his orders as his employee, as a way to keep the CEG safe. But now, I kept that promise because it was one Christopher expected of me—of us. I kept it because if I told Nina, she’d potentially put my doll at risk by slipping it to Lace. She’d already done so with her little theory of my “feelings” for our boss, my comrade and best friend.

The fear of losing Christopher was greater than the unease that I wasn’t the only lycan alive.

Eyes stumbled on the diary hidden in the bottom drawer. Somehow, Sophia Sephtis kept proving she had all the answers. I’d already looked once—why couldn’t I look again?

I carefully scanned through, a sliver of guilt crawling into my chest. It vanished when I found exactly what I needed.

Flimsy and debatable, but it was a start, and if all roads pointed the same direction, the answer was right in front of me.

An eerie chill crawled up my spine as I stared at the diary. Questions tugged at me as details pieced together.

That lycan—Ian—had called Mallory a fox, too. Maybe this was a coincidence, but what wasn’t was the repeated names within bookmarked sections. I hadn’t read the diary from page to page, but I didn’t have to in order to see the repeated pattern.

NWE. Sonia. Ms. Hoko. Mir. Mallory.

Three were obvious: Mallory, the missing person. Sonia, the Senior Guardian on the Sephtis grounds. And one that filtered the screens all across the CEG and even here, on the employee quarters, the Premier of the Vampire Ministry, Mir Sephtis.

Ms. Hoko was a faceless person who definitely existed. But what about the NWE? There were no specifics as I flipped through. My take? Sophia, Sonia, and Ms. Hoko were a part of an organization with their own agenda, similar to the CEG. Lace had mentioned one or two existed in the beginning. Whatever it was, it connected to Mallory and Mir Sephtis, and unlike the CEG, it seemed to go against the world.

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