“Ezra, what do we do?” Mateo whimpers, but I am clueless. I have never dealt with her like this, that being said, I have never dealt with anyone else who was crazed like this either. Not even Maddox went this feral. Her only thoughts are wanting to escape us but her anger is inward. She wants to claw at herself, rip herself apart just to stop the raging feelings flowing through her.
“Re-mark her,” Maddox suggests. My heart is pounding in my chest, my blood boiling in my veins, making me wonder if Mateo is getting the same second-hand anger from her. “Mark her again, Ezra,” Maddox snaps at me when she screams and thrashes harder. Mateo’s wrists are bleeding from where she has bitten and scratched him, trying to get her hands free.
Suddenly, Mateo pulls her head to the side, exposing her neck before looking at me, wanting me to mark her again to knock her out. I don’t want to hurt her. I felt guilty enough when I slammed her on the table and yelled at her earlier.
“Do it, Ezra, hurry!” Mateo yells at me. I swallow, pushing the guilt aside before letting my canines elongate. I drag her up by her shoulders, sinking my teeth into her neck. She screams and struggles, but her thrashing slows, and her hits become weaker. Eventually, she turns limp in my arms. Her breathing slows, and I let her go. Gently putting her back down, I find her face slack as she passes out. And I choke on her blood filling my mouth, gasping as whatever is wrong with her transfers to me.
I can feel her anger still, the manic cold darkness washes over me the moment I sink my teeth into her like it left her and rushed into me. I rolled off her, moving away from her, and Maddox stirs and growls in my head. My entire body trembles as I fight against him, wanting to shift and tear apart something.
Mateo is panting as he stares at me, and I know he can feel the shift in us. “Are you alright?” He asks me, and I stare at Kat passed out on the floor.
Maddox is wild inside me, Mateo can feel it through the bond. I shake my head, knowing I need to get him out before he takes over. If I don’t, he might not give me control back, and I don’t want him to take out whatever the hell rushed out of Kat that now resides in us, on them.
“Go, leave. I will take care of Kat. Go, Ezra,” Mateo tells me. Fur is growing on my arms, and I am too scared to move, worried the moment I do, Maddox will shove forward and take control from me. “Now! I can feel him, Ezra. You need to go!” Mateo orders, scooping up Kat.
I force myself to my feet, clutching the bannister, and my claws, that have slipped out, sink into the wood, leaving scratch marks. “Ring Andrei, find out what the fuck is wrong with her,” I spit out through gritted teeth, my fingers snap and rush down the stairs. I barely make it outside before my clothes are in tatters, Maddox forces the shift and he runs toward the forest.
Katya
My eyes flutter open to see the ceiling. I sit up, confused. The last thing I remember is getting in the car and Maddox pulling me on his lap. I rub my eyes, wondering if I’m dreaming, but I don’t remember falling asleep, and how did I end up in our bed? I come face to face with Ezra’s wolf as I roll over.
When I go to wake him up, I hear footsteps and look at the door. Mateo steps in, his voice flitting through my head. “Don’t wake him. He only got home three hours ago,” Mateo tells me, making me look at Maddox curled up beside me, he growls in his sleep, and I’m about to climb off the bed when he moves, his big furry head landing on my chest.
“What time is it?” I mindlink back.
“5:30 AM.”
I sigh, putting my head back onto the pillow. Maddox moves and places his paw on top of my head. I push it off to land on the pillow above my head before rolling onto my side to face him. His head moves as I roll, his nose pressing against my neck, and I brush his fur. Mateo sits on the other side of him.
“Why is he in this form? Where is Ezra?” I whisper to Mateo.
“Maddox didn’t give him control back, and then he fell asleep,” Mateo answers.
“Wait, why did he take control?” I ask Mateo and his eyes snap to mine.
“You don’t remember?” He asks, and I shake my head, wondering what there is to remember. Mateo sighs before muttering. “Of course, you don’t.” Mateo rubs his eyes. Looking at him, he doesn’t look like he had much sleep. He leans back against the headboard, closing his eyes before speaking again. “How do you feel?” He whispers, and I furrow my brows in confusion.
“Fine, just wondering how I got in bed,” I tell him, running my fingers through Maddox’s fur. He purrs in his sleep before Mateo snores softly, making my eyes dart to him. I glance at the clock, I still have two hours before Andrei is meant to get here. I wiggle out from under Maddox’s paw on my hip and his other above my head. Gently, I place his huge furry paw on the bed, pushing my pillow closer for him. He sniffs it in his sleep before he exhales loudly, his big furry body rising and falling heavily with each breath.
I move to the walk-in closet, and grab some clothes before sneaking to the bathroom in the hallway and quickly throwing them on, leaving them both to sleep in the bedroom. Once dressed, I sneak downstairs to the kitchen, turn the kettle on, and make myself a coffee, being careful not to bang the teaspoon on the cup and wake them. I can feel they are both still asleep. I am wide awake and know going back to sleep would not happen. I feel like I have been asleep for days. Walking around the packhouse, I do some housework, filling the time. When it gets close to the time Andrei is supposed to arrive, I put on some socks and joggers.