Page 50 of Howling
It’s been years since we stopped dreaming.
When did we give up and cease fighting?
Even with my mind in turmoil, I don’t allow a hint of emotion to show. Shifters are notorious for sniffing out weaknesses, andI don’t want to draw any more attention to myself. When I shift my foot, I spy the tarnished golden necklace coiled on the floor, and I stare at it like a Naga ready to strike.
The collars were designed to be tamperproof. Anyone who tries to remove them is shocked mercilessly. After two attempts to remove the collar, you don’t get a third chance. The metal will heat to such a degree that it will melt into your skin and basically behead you in under a minute.
I’ve seen it happen firsthand.
What should be a quick death is stretched so you feel every inch of your head being removed.
It’s a gruesome end.
So how the hell was she able to remove it without even trying?
More and more suspicions pile up in my head, leaving me to conclude that the necklace was preventing me from sensing any gaps in my memories.
My brain feels a bit like a black hole.
It would also explain why I couldn’t sense the block in my mind before now.
It was another way for them to keep me under their heel.
Not wanting to reveal anything has changed, I force myself to retrieve the necklace and shove it into my pocket. Some part of me expected my touch might activate it again, and I would find it looped around my neck once more.
Evil radiates from the metal, a certain malevolence that makes my skin crawl, and I curl my hands into fists to resist the urge to toss the necklace out the window.
I have no doubt the council is aware that I no longer bear their mark. The question is, will they know that I’m now free, or will they assume I’m dead?
Worse, what if there is a tracking spell on it that will lead them right to me?
I refuse to go back, not now that I’m free after so long.
Though the necklace weighs no more than a feather, my whole body feels like a great weight has been lifted from me…well, if I ignore the chains currently wrapped around my torso.
Funnily enough, I don’t mind wearing them, content to spend more time around the girl. Something tells me she is the key to my past and my one chance to destroy the council.
I won’t let the opportunity slip through my fingers.
So I keep my fucking mouth shut and just watch. I’ve spotted Francesca a few times over the months, studying her intently. I probably should’ve snatched her up sooner, but I held back, obsessed with watching her.
Now, I suspect that my dragon was trying to tell me something.
The silence in the car is stifling, but I don’t mind it, smug that I’m exempt from Francesca’s ire. The guys take turns glaring at me and moping, not that I blame them. I would fight tooth and claw for the chance to remain at her side.
Honestly, I don’t even fault the fox for trying to kill me.
I would’ve done the same in a heartbeat.
Givvens taught the Orion to never let an opportunity pass to take out your opponent. It can mean the difference between life and death. There is no honor in war, only survival.
Though Francesca must have learned the same lessons…she freed me.
Why?
Does she plan to use me later?
Maybe I should feel resentful, but my dragon puffs up in my chest at the thought, smoke leaking from my nostrils, like he’s eager to do her bidding. It should annoy me. My dragon has no master. Instead, something in my mind eases at knowing that he will protect her…even from me.
