Page 36 of Fangs
“Those scars on your back, are those whip marks?” Lee asked from beside me.
I nodded, my eyes painfully dry. Sable and Scar glanced sideways at Wolf so quickly I almost missed it. No one spoke for a few breaths.
“Who whipped you?” Wolf asked, and for a brief moment, genuine fury shone in his eyes.
“Madame.” My voice was shaking hard now. “Please, Wolf. Please don’t hurt them.”
“Weren’t you workin’ for her?” Wolf ignored my plea.
I nodded, swallowing hard.
“Were you torturing people in the dungeon?” he demanded.
I hesitated again, but then I nodded, shame flooding me.
“Why did Madame whip you then?”
I paused. He was askinga lotof questions. He’d said twenty minutes. Surely, he needed to go soon, but they all stood by the door, quietly watching me. Something was off. I scanned their faces again, and a chill washed over me.
“No one’s coming,” I guessed, nausea churning in my gut.
They didn’t answer, but they didn’t have to. This had been a trap forme,and I’d fallen for it.
Sable glanced at Wolf, and Wolf nodded. Sable slipped out the door, no doubt to tell Kai and Tuck they could stop pretending.
“Why did Madame whip you?” Wolf repeated, his voice dangerous.
Now,my eyes welled up, which only infuriated me further. I jerked my elbow free from Lee and sat back on the couch, pulling the blanket tightly around my body.
“We’re not done, Ember,” Wolf stalked forward to stand directly before me. “Answer the question.”
“Fuck you,” I snapped, attempting to blink the tears away.
Wolf leaned down into my space. “Maybe if you would just tell the godsdamned truth for once in your fucking life, I wouldn’t have to resort to tricks to get it out of you.”
“You wouldn’t know the truth if it slapped you in the face,” I hissed.
“No, I think that’d beyou,” he stated coldly. “It’s always a knife. Is that your preferred weapon?”
My hands were covered in blood, slipping off the handle of the knife as I plunged it into Juck’s chest again.
I bit the inside of my cheek hard.
Wolf leaned in even closer, making my heart rate pick up, and growled, “How many people have you killed since Dune, Ember?”
I stared at a spot on the floor and didn’t answer.
“How many, Ember? Was Dune even your first?”
Trey’s empty eyes surfaced in my mind, and pain stabbed through that empty hole in my chest.
“Ember! Answer me!” Wolf sounded furious.
I spit out the worst insult I’d ever heard the Reapers use, and the shock that flashed across his face was worth it. I didn’t have much time to enjoy it, though, because a second later, Wolf seized the front of my blanket and yanked me back to my feet. I flinched with a gasp, certain he was about to hit me.
“Wolf,” Lee grabbed my brother’s shoulder, and Wolf snapped.
He released me and spun, his fist connecting with Lee’s jaw. A sickeningcrackrang out, and Lee went down.
