Chapter 315

I block her easily, anticipating her next move as her foot aims for my groin. "Just let me go. Please!"

"You're not going anywhere."

Her chestnut eyes widen, staring at me in confusion. I notice the matches and a small aerosol can nearby.

"You started this fire, didn't you?" I demand as flames leap from one charred tree to another.

"No." The word comes out choked with desperation and sorrow. Like a child being scolded for something trivial.

"Your soul tells me otherwise. The evidence speaks for itself."

She turns away and begins crawling toward the fire, dragging herself across the forest floor despite her injuries.

I pin her to the ground, straddling her hips as she sobs beneath me.

"Why?" My voice is harsh. "Why would you do this to someone who took you in?"

"What are you talking about?" Tears streak through the soot on her face.

"You burned Brianna's house down."

"I didn't..."

"I saw it. You destroyed a pregnant woman's home."

"No." She whimpers. "That wasn't supposed to happen. It was meant for me."

Her heart races wildly. She squeezes her eyes shut, weighed down by grief and pain.

"It wasn't supposed to spread so far." She pushes weakly against me, exhausted. The burns on her arms are already healing. "You should have killed me when you shot Nathan. Please, just do it." She struggles feebly. "Or let me go. It would be easier for you."

"So you can walk into the flames and disappear? I don't think so, Hannah. Not while I feel that fire burning my skin as if I'm the one walking through it."

She grabs my hand with the gun and pulls it under her chin, locking her hands over mine. "I can't live in fear anymore. Please, just kill me?" She tries to force my finger onto the trigger, but she's too weak to move it.

Death is what she wants. An escape from me. But I won't let her go. Not yet.

"I'm not going to kill you. Not yet. But you will keep quiet about what happened and how this fire started. Do you understand?"

I lift her from the ground, cradling her in my arms. She hooks a burned arm over my shoulder. It's been years since I held a woman like this. Her jasmine scent invades my senses. I both hate it and crave it.

I can't admit what she means to me, but I can't let her destroy herself either.

Isabella and Athena rush toward us. Isabella demands I put Hannah down so she can examine her. Athena stares at me with that knowing look.

She pulls me aside. "You saved her?"

"Obviously." I glance back at Hannah.

"I thought you hated Lycans?" Athena blocks my view, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. She won't let this go easily.

"I do."

She rolls her eyes. "Have you accepted her?"

"Why the hell would I do that?" She gives me that same knowing look. I change the subject. "What about you? What happened to you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the crap, Athena."

"You don't want to discuss Hannah. I don't want to discuss whatever visions you claim to see. But I can order Hannah to tell me what happened in the forest. Actually, that's a good idea. I need to test my abilities further." She smiles, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Is Nyx in control?"