Page 72 of Wolf Cursed
Everyone looked at me.
Idrissa’s eyes were wide. “Ash, no,” she hissed.
It was stupid; even I knew that. But if I was going to die, I’d do it on my own terms. Not theirs. And if, by some miracle, I survived, at least, I’d have some shred of protection against them doing shit like this to me in the future. Not to mention Vorack—should he ever find me.
“Just tell me when and where,” I said, exhaustion creeping in to take over the adrenaline that had kept me going before.
“We’ll let you know,” Silas said.
He looked satisfied. For now.
Turning, he sauntered back toward the exit.
“Come on, let’s go string ourselves up a spook,” he called over his shoulder.
With one last look at me, Drake and Presley fell into step behind him.
Kai stood staring at me, his expression hardened into something completely unreadable.
“That was a mistake,” he said simply.
And then he turned and followed his asshole friends out.
Chapter Fifteen
After Kai was gone, Idrissa and Isaac rushed at me, pulling me into a hug that I was quickly beginning to consider my lifeline to normal human experience.
“Ash, you’re insane,” Idrissa said, squeezing me tight.
“You’re going to get yourself killed,” Isaac added.
“No, she’s not.” Idrissa drew back and looked at me then Isaac. “We’ll help. And we’ll figure it out.”
Isaac nodded. “We won’t let anything happen to you,” he said to me.
“Thanks,” I said, my voice cracking now that the assholes were all gone. “Both of you. I can’t—I mean, I should have told you about my dad, but—”
“Don’t worry about it,” Idrissa said firmly.
“Yeah, please.” Isaac rolled his eyes. “I mean, we all have daddy issues.”
“Okay, I’ll take it from here.”
The sound of Oscar’s voice snapped me back to reality, and I stepped away from the twins, my heart thundering. Part of me wondered if Oscar would kick me out for good now. After all of that, maybe he agreed with Silas. Maybe he thought I was some kind of spy or infiltrator.
Idrissa and Isaac squeezed my hand and then left with a promise to talk soon. Oscar waited until they were gone and then simply said, “Let’s talk upstairs.”
I followed him up in resigned silence. If this was it, I wasn’t going to beg. Oscar might be my only family left, but if he was going to toss me out when I needed him most, that would break the ties that bound us in a way that would never be repaired.
I braced myself for just that.
In the small apartment, Oscar closed the door behind us and gestured to the kitchen table.
“You want to sit?” he asked.
“No thanks.”
He’d yet to meet my eyes, and rather than lose it, I crossed my arms and let my temper cover my fear. Leaning against the counter, I stared across the space at him.
