“Where is Mateo?”
“Shower, he should be down soon. Where did you go?” she asks, stepping closer.
I ignored her question because I am not sure where I went. I pull on her shirt and drag her closer to me, kissing the top of her head. “You seem okay.”
She wraps her arms around my waist and presses her face against me. “I think I just needed sleep.” She wrinkles her nose and giggles. “You’re filthy. Did Maddox roll in a carcass or two?”
She doesn’t pull away, and a tight band around my chest relaxes a little.
I chuckle before burying my face in her hair. Whatever I smell like is being drowned out by her sweet fruity scent. “I will admit, I have leaves and dirt in places that should not have leaves and dirt.” I kiss her again. I want to take her back upstairs and make her forget everything else in this cruel world. “We need to talk later. I think I know who the person is working for Jackson’s Pack,” I admit.
Her head jerks up, eyes searching me. “Who?” she demands.
“When I get out of the shower, I will tell you,” I promise.
She gives me a small nod. “Okay, go shower, first.” She gets up on her tippy-toes, desperately trying to reach my lips for a kiss.
Maddox pushes forward to look at her. Her height always amuses him.
“Hi, Maddox,” she greets him with a soft smile while gripping my neck and tugging me down. Her lips press softly to mine before she lets go and steps back. “Go shower, then you can tell me what you found out,” she orders, turning back to the kettle and grabbing it. She pours boiling water into one of the mugs, leaving the water out of the other two.
“Does she seem off?” Maddox questions.
“Yes, but at least she isn’t angry, I think she is still in shock, and it’s not any easier with her father leaving.”
“That would explain why her emotions feel so muted through the bond, I think Kora is pulling it from her,” Maddox observes, making me think.
Maddox siphons my anger, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Kora absorbs her grief, though it makes me wonder what will happen when she no longer does.
I make my way upstairs and Mateo is coming out of the bathroom as I am about to walk in.
“Kat is downstairs making coffee. Did she wake up while I was gone?”
“No, she only got up about half an hour ago when I did,” he replies.
“Let me shower, then we will deal with Madeline.”
He nods, about to start walking out when he pauses. “Have you told Kat yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Okay, I won’t mention it then,” he agrees, heading toward his room.
I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror on my way past and freeze. My appearance is even worse than I imagined. No wonder she had wrinkled her nose at me. Mud was splattered all over a layer of blood and viscera I didn’t want to think about. Slowly, I pull my bloody hand to my nose and take a quick whiff. The stench nearly makes me puke, I’ve woken up from a Maddox binge with some pretty questionable scents on me that were never this bad.
“I may have had a snack,” Maddox admits, chuckling at my discomfort.
“I don’t even want to know.”
“It’s probably best if you don’t because the bastard stuck his antler in my side.”
“I said I didn’t want to know.” I feel him shrug, and I turn the shower on, stepping under its spray and washing the gunk off.
Katya
I am nervous about finding out who they think it is, but what I am not prepared for is finding out they have been here this entire time.
Ezra came to me after his shower. “Madeline, she is in the basement, we think she may have been the one that was giving information to Jackson,” Ezra confesses.
It is the same as being punched in the gut or that time I’d been poisoned by Wolfsbane. That bitch. My stomach roils and my vision goes dark around the edges. “And she is in the basement?” I snap.
“Yes, we wanted to wait to see what you wanted to do with her,” Ezra replies.
I run my fingers through my hair, thinking hard. I’m overwhelmed, it’s a suffocation that I can’t escape. This could be the reason that… last night happened. “I want to see her,” I tell him, and he glances at Mateo.
“You’re sure?” Ezra confirms.
I can tell he’s worried about me, but the fire inside me only keeps climbing. “If that bitch had anything to do with killing mom, I’m going to watch the life drain out of her eyes myself, there will be no mercy,” I spit the words. I sound like an entirely different person from who I’ve been my entire life. Never had I ever wanted to watch someone die before, I thought it was sick when people found amusement in other people’s pain.
I didn’t care about any of that anymore. If this woman was the cause of my mom’s death? I wanted to watch her squirm, cry, and break when she understood she was going to die. I would be damned if it would be an easy death.
“Have you spoken to her?” I ask, and he shakes his head. I direct my attention to Mateo, and he too repeats the motion. I get up, pushing my chair out.
“Then let’s find out. Why are we wasting time sitting around if you aren’t even sure?”
“Alex brought her in for us, we haven’t laid eyes on her yet. I didn’t trust Maddox to go down there and not kill her, we wanted to wait to see what you decided.” Ezra informs me.
“Ezra is right, Maddox was probably best not going down there, he isn’t one to ask,” Mateo adds, looking at Ezra.
I strut past them, following the hall, pausing at the basement door. I had never been down there before, but knew it was where Ezra held those that deserved punishment. Today, it could be someone that deserved it more than most and might change me forever.
Then again, I am a woman that has lost both her parents. Change is inevitable, and the hardness around my heart is not softening in the least. I want someone to bleed for hurting mom, I want them to suffer and curse every breath they have left. I want revenge.