Return to Kadenburg (21 page)

As the room darkened from the sun’s absence, Rutley
found himself sprawled out on the floor, staring absentmindedly at the bland
ceiling. He’d officially drained his mind-numbing poison supply, and he knew
it would only be a matter of time before his brain started to function again.

“Why do I have to like him?” He asked quietly. “Why
do I have to like my dead best friend’s mate?”

His lower lip quivered as the threat of tears burned at
his nostrils. Never in his life had he been put in such a predicament. Who in
the hell decided to make a mockery of his existence?

“I’m supposed to hate him, damn it,” He growled between
clenched teeth. “I should’ve killed him that night and none of this would be
an issue.”

No, that was stupid. He couldn’t imagine watching the
life leave those hazel eyes. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw those
beautiful orbs and there was no way he could fathom the thought of them going dark.

“I’ve only known him for a week,” He muttered. “You
can’t care about somebody in such a short amount of time. That sort of thing
doesn’t exist.”

Like he even knew what the hell he was talking about.
His parents got married after two months of dating. What did time have to do
with it anyway?

“We’re too different,” He mumbled, his speech slurring
as he pointed at the ceiling. “He’s a wolf. Me? I’m not a wolf,” He shook his
head. “I hunt wolves. Yep. That’s what I do. It’s like a fisherman dating a
mermaid. It just wouldn’t work out.”

He snickered, seemingly amused with his drunken
contemplation. He rolled over onto his stomach, resting his chin against his
forearm as he closed his eyes.

“He talks stupid anyway,” He added. “He can’t say
words the right way. Cah? What the fucks a cah….” He groaned, rubbing at his
temples. “Let’s take the cah to the pahk. So stupid.”

He fell silent, listening to the sound of his relaxed
breathing as the minutes dragged by. Whatever he was trying to accomplish
wasn’t working out for him. It didn’t matter if he voiced Dimitri’s flaws or
the cons of being with him; because his mind was throwing a pro back at him
each and every time.

I like the way he talks. Opposites attract. It
takes a day to fall in love and a lifetime to forget.

He lifted his head upon that thought, frowning. He
wasn’t by any means in love, but he was in a lot of like at the moment. Yes,
he liked his dead best friend’s boyfriend. No, they couldn’t be together. He
groaned as he forced himself to stand up, swaying back and forth.

“I am a fucking idiot,” He declared, glancing in the
mirror. “They’re dealing with something bigger than this….bigger than all of
us and what are you doing?” He pointed at his reflection, making a small face.
“You’re throwing yourself a pity party and tossing them to the
wolves-literally!”

Perhaps the shouting wasn’t a good idea. His head
was already throbbing from the alcohol overdose he’d given himself. He needed
to clear his mind. He needed his brain to work, damn it. He was being a
horrible friend by abandoning Lorcan and his friends in their time of need.

“They are bears,” He whispered. “How the fuck does
shit like that even exist?”

Who was he to question how bear people existed when he
in fact knew that wolf people existed already? It was like the pot calling the
kettle black, right? Maybe bear-hunters existed, too. Wait wait, no. He was
getting way off course.

“I need to go back,” He nodded matter-of-factly,
glancing at his reflection again. “Stop being a pussy,” He frowned. “Go do
what you do best.”

Twenty Four

N
atalie knew that things were going to come to a
head eventually, but she had no idea that it would happen so soon. She had
done so well to avoid Arnold at all costs, but after Lorcan and Presley decided
to spontaneously announce her niece’s pregnancy to the world, Natalie was left
with no choice but to face Arnold Goult. They did have one thing in common, of
course; their niece.

She was delighted for Presley in every way a proud aunt
could be. She had missed out on so much of her life already, but if Urseth was
giving her a second chance, she would do everything in her power to be an
important person in the girl’s life. She would love her to the best of her
ability, and do whatever she could to ensure her happiness. It’s what an aunt
was supposed to do, wasn’t it?

As everyone began to prepare for sleep, Natalie found
herself on the back deck with a heated cup of coffee in hand. She was perched
on the top step, eyes on the starry night sky as she took solitude in the
peaceful atmosphere. It was the first time in a very long time that she felt
truly relaxed. It wasn’t exactly easy to be relaxed around Breslin, and for
the last few days she had been walking on eggshells around Arnold.

He hated her-she knew that. He would always hate her.
It wasn’t even her fault, really…..

The sound of the screen door creaking open caused her
to turn her head, surprised to see the male ursithrope exiting the house to
join her on the deck. Well, speak of the devil…..

Arnold was silent as he leaned against the rail, his
eyes scanning the large field located behind the Bamey house as he sighed. Something
was weighing heavily on his mind. Natalie could tell that much, but she wasn’t
sure
why
he was out here, with
her
.

“So we’re going to have a great niece or nephew,” He
said after a moment.

She cleared her throat, blinking rapidly as she hugged
her jacket tightly around her shoulders. She took another drink from her cup,
allowing the hot liquid to warm her chilled frame before she replied.

“It seems to be that way,” She responded quietly.

“Mhm,” Arnold nodded. His green eyes looked at
anything but her, and she was oddly relieved. “Guess that means a lot of
things have to change around here.”

“I guess so,” She dropped her gaze to the steps.

So much for feeling relaxed,
she thought with a
small frown. Even if he chose to ignore her for the rest of the night, being
this close to him caused her body to slip into panic mode. It was so stupid!

She silently hoped he would go away. She didn’t want
to have a conversation with him and her inner bear was going to torment her if
he didn’t keep his distance.

He is out here for a reason,
her bear
hissed.

Just remember whose fault it was in the first place,
okay?
Natalie rolled her eyes, finishing up her cup of coffee before
sighing. Damn it. Now she didn’t have anything to keep her preoccupied.

“I don’t know why you did it,” Arnold admitted. “Why
did you do it?”

Crap.
Natalie slowly turned her head to look at
him, completely taken aback to discover he was staring at her, too.
Aw,
crap!
Her entire frame trembled as she gripped the cup between her hands,
feeling the truth well up in her throat. No, she didn’t want to talk about
it. She never wanted to talk about it, ever; especially with
him
.

“It’s late,” She pointed out, feigning exhaustion as
she stood from the top step and turned for the door. She took two steps
forwards and gasped as she felt his hands gripping her shoulders. The world
spun around her and Natalie’s back slammed against the bricks as Arnold
growled. The cup she’d had a death grip on fell from her hands, breaking upon
impact with the floor. She stared up at him with wide eyes, taking note of the
intense glowing of his emerald hues.

“Answer the question,” Arnold demanded. “You don’t get
to run away from me like that ever again. Do you understand? You’re staying
out here until you answer the damn question, Natalie.”

She felt her chest tightening as she stared at him,
unable to find the ability to make her voice work. She trembled against his
hard body, feeling her skin heat up to uncomfortable levels as she squirmed.

“Please let me go,” She whispered in a quivering
voice. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I don’t give a
damn
what you want,” Arnold
snarled as he smacked his open palm against the wall near her head. “You gave
up that right a long time ago, Natalie. We’ll stay here all night if that’s
what it takes.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, swallowing her heart back
into place as a small whimper escaped her lips. Did he really need to be so mean
about it?

“Answer me,” He whispered. His lips touched the outer
shell of her earlobe, causing tiny jolts of electricity to pulsate through her
nerve endings as she bit her bottom lip. “Why did you do it?”

“I….” She gulped, letting her head fall back against
the bricks as she lifted her eyes towards the night sky. It was better to look
upwards than to meet his gaze. She didn’t want to look at him. She couldn’t.
“I couldn’t let her die,” She whispered. “I couldn’t let her go through that.”

The sound of Arnold’s claws raking over the bricks was
deafening in her ears and it only caused the panic she currently felt to grow.

“I’m not talking about why you saved her. I want to
know why you betrayed us in the first place.”

Oh.
No, she didn’t want to talk about that
either. He wouldn’t understand. He couldn’t possibly understand her reasoning
for the choices she’d made in the past. He couldn’t-

“Natalie,” He growled hoarsely. “Tell me why.”

Each ragged breath she took made her lungs ache. It
seemed like her body was purposefully trying to deprive her of oxygen, making
such a simple human thing unbearable. She choked back a sob, shaking her head
quickly.

“Please don’t do this…..”

“Tell me,” He said through clenched teeth, his head
moving in whichever direction hers tried to go. He refused to break eye
contact with her and it was infuriating. “Why did you run away with that mutt
after he killed your brother? Why did you betray us?”

Ow. It really hurt when he put it like that. However,
it would appear as if that’s exactly how it happened, wouldn’t it? She didn’t
run away…..

“I didn’t have a choice,” She finally whispered.

“Bullshit. You always have a choice,” Arnold argued.
His eyes darted back and forth between hers, his lips anchoring into a frown as
he shook his head. “Try again.”

The tears were welling up in her eyes as she forced her
mind to go back in time. The memory became vivid and terrifying as she closed
her eyes, remembering exactly how it played out.

“On the night my brother died, we had gone into the
woods to do something we did often together. We were going to pray to Urseth,”
She opened one eye to look at Arnold. He was still glaring at her as he
listened. “We were grateful that the wolves wanted to be allies. We wanted to
thank Urseth for his blessing.”

Breslin held her in place as two large werewolves
tied Pierce to the tree. Her brother was beaten and bloody, yet his swollen
eyes stayed on her face as the two lycanthropes secured him in place.

“This is what’s going to happen to your
entire clan,” Breslin promised, caressing her cheek.

Natalie flinched, pulling away from his
touch as her tearful gaze remained on her brother. They couldn’t do this! They
couldn’t hurt him. Urseth, she had to do something.

“Please let him go,” She pleaded. “You can
do whatever you want to me but don’t hurt him. He has a mate. He has a child
on the way…..you can’t do this to him.”

“I can do whatever I want,” Breslin
chuckled. “You think I care about your pathetic coupling code? Children are
just little animals we refuse to kill. We mold them in our image and send them
out into a fucked up world to get tarnished by humanity, Honeycomb. I don’t care
about the fetus he helped create.”

Natalie sobbed, struggling to get away from
his grasp as she looked at her brother again.

“You don’t want him!” She shrieked. “Take
me instead. Please.”

“Oh, I’m going to take you. Don’t worry
about that,” Breslin smirked. “But I am truly intrigued with your sudden
change of heart, Honeycomb. Aren’t you the little bear who hates what she is?
Aren’t you the one who was just complaining to her friends earlier this evening
about how much you loathe your part in all of this? What was it you said?” He
tilted his head thoughtfully. “Oh yes, that’s it. ‘I hate this ursithrope
bullshit. I wish I could be free to do as I please. I shouldn’t have to be
another pawn in this ridiculous game.’ Isn’t that what you said?”

Natalie’s mouth fell open in surprise as
she stared at him, her brows furrowing. “You eves dropped on my conversation?”

“Of course I did,” He smirked. “Of all the
annoying things I’ve heard today, I found your words to be the most
interesting. An ursithrope that hates being an ursithrope-you despise your
creator for making you what you are.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Natalie
sobbed, shaking her head furiously before she looked at her brother again.
“Pierce, he’s twisting my words around. I swear I don’t hate being an
ursithrope.”

Pierce licked his lips, gazing at her with
sadness in his eyes. The wound on his temple glistened with blood as he shook
his head.

“Don’t let him get into your head like
that, Natty,” He whispered. “You know who you truly are.”

Breslin scoffed. “Oh, please. Listen to
you two. You’re ridiculous,” He cackled, pulling Natalie around to face him.
“You
hate
being one of them. It’s okay to admit that, Honeycomb.
You’re sad because the one you chose did not want you in return. A classic
case of unrequited love….tsk tsk.”

Natalie closed her eyes as a tear slid down
her cheek. It was true. The one she chose to be with for the rest of her life
did not feel the same way. He had chosen a human.

“Aw, don’t cry,” Breslin mused, reaching
his hand up to wipe away her tears. “You are far too beautiful to be crying,
Honeycomb. Even if he doesn’t want you, I do.”

Natalie jerked away from him again, staring
at him in disgust. “Stay away from me!” She growled. “Don’t touch me.”

“Leave her alone!” Pierce roared, only to
cry out in pain a few seconds later as one of the wolves dug its claws into his
side.

“No! Stop hurting him!” She shrieked.
“Please. Please, don’t hurt him anymore.”

“I may take that into consideration,”
Breslin hummed, stepping closer to her as his lips parted in a malicious
smile. “But only if you will do something for me.”

“Anything,” She whimpered. “Just let him
go.”

“Good girl,” Breslin murmured, pulling her
hair away from her face. “We’re going to have a lot of fun together, you and
I,” He promised, dipping his head down until he could kiss her forehead. “You
better not disappoint me.”

Natalie gasped, pulling herself
out of the memory as her knees gave out on her. She collapsed to the floor and
sobbed as the tears flooded down her cheeks. She hated reliving that night.
She hated listening to her brother’s screams of agony as the fire engulfed his
body. She could still smell the stench of his burning flesh…..

“So that’s why you did it,” Arnold asked in a
disdainful tone. “You were mad at me for choosing to marry Meredith over
you?! Presley lost her father because of
that
?”

“No!” Natalie bawled, shaking her head furiously. “He
lied to me! He said he would let him go if I went with him. I was a stupid
girl, Arnold. I didn’t know any better. I was hurt and scared. I was trying
to do the right thing.”

“And you thought doing the right thing involved letting
your brother be burned alive?”

Natalie buried her face into her hands again, allowing
the guilt and shame to drown her aching soul as Arnold lashed out at her. She
deserved it. She deserved all of it. She had been so stupid for being hurt
over his rejection, but she’d been so confident that they would get married and
start their own family. He’d broken her heart. Breslin used it against her,
and truly, in her heart of hearts she thought the wolf would release her
brother if she complied.

“I didn’t mean for Pierce to get hurt,” She said, her
voice muffled from behind her hands. “Breslin promised to let him go if I
agreed to do what he wanted. I thought Pierce would be safe…..”

“Well, we both see how that worked out, don’t we?”
Arnold grumbled. “You willingly went with that werewolf and Pierce’s blood is
on your hands. If Presley ever found out-”