Page 101 of Savage Torment

No.

Saying it places it in the hands of the universe, and I refuse to do that.

I saw the fear and panic in her eyes when our names were called for the next assembly. Not just my name alongside hers, but her friends’ too. No matter what, the chances of life being the same after this week is impossible. She doesn’t realize that yet, that’s the part my compulsion focused on the most, the anxiety, the impending doom of wondering ‘what if.’ She deserves more than that this week. I just hope I manage to be a part of it too before it’s all over. I’m trying my fucking hardest to make sure I don’t draw any more unnecessary attention her way.

Finch clears his throat, rocking back on his heels as he slips his hands into his pants pockets, staring me down. “There’s a vessel missing,” he grunts, and I cock a brow at him.

“Okay?”

“I don’t see him here,” he states, and I roll my eyes.

“I could have told you that.”

He runs his tongue over his teeth, making it look as though he’s containing his rage, but we both know by now that this is all just part of his show. He wants me to think I’ve got him where I want him, but that’s never the case.

Ever.

“The Crow is aware you aren’t fulfilling your end of the deal,” he states, changing the subject when he doesn’t get what he wants out of me, and my chest tightens.

Of course this is his angle.

I wish it wasn’t.

Maybe if I offered him Ben he would change the subject, but we both know that would never be the case. He loves making problems. Nothing is ever simple. I honestly don’t remember a time when it was.

“That’s nothing to do with you,” I mutter, and he sneers at me, making my gut clench. It’s like he wanted me to say that.

He’s in my face in the next breath, toe to toe as he seems to make himself taller so he can glare down his nose at me. “You’ve got seventy-two hours.”

He’s gone before I can object, the doorframe rattling from the force of slamming the door behind him. My nostrils flare, anger getting the better of me. If I stay here, Ben will have questions, and I’m not answering any of them. Not when I know I need to face this issue head on.

Seventy-two hours. That fucker knows it’s still before the assembly is due to be called. Which means I could be dead before my time is set to come.

Swinging the door open, I close it behind me with a lot more care than Finch did, making sure to lock it, despite the urgency I feel to get the fuck out of here.

My boots pound with every step I take, the sound vibrating through the corridor and down the stairs as I head for the exit. The late afternoon sun does nothing to ease the tension coiling through my body. It grows worse knowing I have to turn to them, to tell them what’s really going on. Otherwise, this is all going to shit whether I like it or not.

Trudging toward the wolf dorm, bile weighs heavy on my stomach. The last people in the world I want to help me are the ones I must turn to.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I roll my shoulders back, cracking my neck from side to side as I take the wood chip path down to the building. There are afew wolves in animal form running around the grass to my left, but they don’t stop me from entering the building. Thank God. The last thing I need is the blood of another wolf on my hands.

Letting the door swing closed behind me, I storm to the left, knowing exactly where I’m heading, but to my disappointment, when I enter the Alpha’s office, the door ricocheting off the wall, I find only one wolf present.

My chest heaves with every breath I take, and he darts to his feet, nostrils flaring as he takes me in.

“We need to talk,” I snap, and he gives me a pointed look.

“We knock around here,” he grunts, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and I shrug.

“Does it look like I have time for knocking?”

His tongue runs along his bottom lip as I imagine him assessing every way he can put an end to me, but to my surprise, he nods at the chair closest to me. “Take a seat.” I shake my head, too tense for that, and he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with defeat. “Do my words mean nothing around here?” he mutters under his breath. It seems like he’s talking to himself more than anything, so I ignore the question and focus on the situation at hand.

“Where are your friends?”

“Why?” he retorts immediately, and I raise my eyebrows at him.

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