Chapter 0247

Brianna

“Let’s talk outside. It’s nicer out here.” I dug my heels into the ground, trying to slow her down as she dragged me forward with an arm hooked around my shoulders. Her plan was obvious. She had messed up by mentioning her pack, and now I had to die for her mistake. It must be eating her alive if killing me is her only solution.

But she would not be the one to end me.

Her grip tightened, forcing me to move. “I’d rather have this conversation over some wine.”

“Sorry, I don’t drink.” I muttered, hooking my foot around the car tire. If she wanted to kill me, she could do it right here. Alexander said this was neutral ground. Killing me in the open would get her torn apart.

“Are you always this difficult?” She snarled, yanking me forward.

“I get it from my father.” I winked at her.

She snorted, completely missing the point. Or maybe Julian hadn’t told her that part.

“JULIAN!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, nearly deafening me. So much rage filled her voice. Was she angry at me? Herself? Or furious that Julian had been watching from the window without lifting a finger to help? Whatever it was, she was close to exploding. Or shifting.

Julian pulled the side door open. His dark eyes flickered between us as he tried to figure out what she wanted. Though it seemed pretty obvious. Or maybe, just maybe, he was stalling.

Maybe I could get through to Julian. It was a long shot, but I had to try.

“Idiot, grab her legs.”

Seriously? That’s how she talks to the man who claimed her.

He bent down to grab my legs, but my knee slammed into his eye. He yelled and stumbled back, making Seraphina scream at him again.

He wrestled with my legs, taking several hits to the groin and face before finally locking my legs under his arm.

They carried me inside and threw me onto a wooden chair, quickly tying my hands behind my back and my feet to the chair’s front legs. Child’s play. I expected more from Seraphina. Maybe she’d never held anyone hostage before. Maybe she was a kill-on-sight type. If that was the case, what was her real plan?

“I was wrong.” I muttered.

“Shut the fuck up!” She screeched at me.

“Athena doesn’t scream like a banshee.” I spat at her.

A hand struck my cheek. If I looked in a mirror, I’d probably see a perfect red handprint right before it faded as I healed.

“I’m going to slice you open, you little brat.”

“No, you can’t do that!” Julian stepped between us. There was hope.

“Get out of my way, Julian!”

“If you kill her, you’ll bring them all down on us. You may be an expert killer, but you can’t take on that many and survive. You’ll never get what you want. We’ll never get what we want.”

"They don't care about her."

"But one does. The one who is mated to my sister. That means she’ll say something to Alexander, and he’ll send the whole damn pack!"

She growled and shoved him aside anyway. The sharp edge of a knife sliced across my other cheek. Warm blood trickled from the cut down to my chin. She watched it heal before doing it again.

“You’re right.” She turned to Julian and pressed her lips against his. “For once, you’re right. I won’t kill her… Not yet.”

I laughed, and she pressed a stiletto between my thighs against the chair, pushing it back like she thought it would scare me. I’ve been in far scarier situations than this. It seemed to annoy her when I didn’t react, so she slammed a knife into my thigh, pinning it to the chair underneath as she laughed.

Okay. That hurt. But it was nothing I couldn’t heal from.

I stared into her shitty brown eyes. “Is that all you’ve got, Rogue?!”

She glared at me exactly like she did when I called her a Rogue at Obsidian Howl. She hated it. It was a reminder of a past she wanted to forget. A past that haunted her, just like it haunted the rest of us.

Spinning around, she grabbed a longer knife from the nearby table. This time Julian grabbed her, turning her away from me moments before she could plunge it into my other leg. “She won’t help us if you keep torturing her.”