I showed up at the warehouse demanding answers—though so many were revealed—one massive question still burns the back of my mind despite all that's happened to distract from it.
Why was that mark on the folder? Nic confirmed that my dad was a Wolf, and a fucking bad one at that. He told me how my father had sold me to pay a debt with Charles Carrington but none of that actually explains why their mark was on the folder.
Hell, I even asked Kian if he was responsible for killing my father and he was adamant that he and his Widows didn’t lay a finger on him, and for some reason, I trust that. The look in Kian’s eyes told me that he would have loved to be the one to do it. He would have taken pleasure in ending Louis Munroe’s life, and hell, he even looked a little pissed that he didn’t get to be the one to do it. Kian was the kind of man to boast, he would have sung it from the rooftops, and had my father been as important as Nic and Kian made him out to be, he would have made sure that every last person knew it was him. He would have worn my father’s murder like a trophy.
I let out a frustrated sigh, unanswered questions only mean one thing—there’s a trip to Breakers Flats in my near future, but I can assure anyone who asks, that it will be done far, far away from Nic.
I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately, he’s so … possessive. It’s borderline obsessive and I don’t think I have room for that shit in my life. I don’t understand it. Nic has been so chill since we broke up six months ago. There have been plenty of random hookups at parties and he’s never said a word, never really cared. He would always pop in to remind me that he was my end game and I’d smile and nod which would satisfy that wildness within him, but things are changing. I think he can sense that whatever this thing is with Colton is something real and now that it’s suddenly official, he sees me slipping further away and he’s aiming all that frustration at me.
I wonder if he even realizes just how crazy he sounds when he comes over here and demands that I go home with him? Does he realize that he’s losing it? Losing me?
As for my boys, they’re just as much a mystery to me. Not only have they been lying to me about who I really am, but they’re allowing Nic to get away with that behavior. If anything, they’re encouraging it. It was only a short time ago that had Nic even thought about leaving a bruise on my skin, the boys would have annihilated him. It doesn’t make sense to me anymore. Do they not care about me like they once did? Hell, did they even care about me at all?
I don’t get it. Everything is changing and right now, we’re in this place of unknown and I hate it. I hate not knowing what’s going through their minds. I’ve always been so in sync with the four of them but right now, I’ve never felt so far away.
I promised myself that after that night, I’d never go back there again. I said that I was done with them, but now that the anger has worn off, I really don’t know where I stand. One thing is sure, things between me and Nic will never be the same. Hell, maybe after last night’s dungeon activities, I have a deeper understanding of their darkness and I’ll slip right back into where I’ve always belonged. After all, I’m just like them now, just like my father. They should be so proud.
“Ocean?” My mother’s concerned tone tears through my bedroom and my eyes snap up to realize that I’ve just been sitting here for who the hell knows how long, completely lost to the torture of my own mind. Mom steps into my room, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What’s wrong, honey? Something seems … off?”
I can’t help the scoff that travels up my throat and sounds loudly through my room, an instant confirmation that something has been going on. “It’s nothing, Mom. You don’t need to worry.”
She steps further into my room and it’s almost as though some kind of possessed spirit enters her body. “Oceania Elaine Munroe, you tell me what’s been happening with you this very minute before I force it out of you.”
I swallow back the hint of fear that arises every time my mother takes this tone with me. It used to work like a lucky charm when I was a kid but as I got older, it lost its magic. Though it never ceases to take me back to my childhood, being the scared kid who was about to get an ass whooping for coming home with three detention slips from the same class in third grade. This tone used to have my every last confession slipping from between my lips but as I look up and meet her eyes, I realize that I can’t tell her this.
My mother is sweet and innocent, she has a kind heart and is the most generous woman I’ve ever met. I can’t darken her soul by telling her what Jude did to me, I can’t tell her about dad and crush her heart, and I sure as hell can’t tell her what I did to Jude last night. I won’t do that to her. I’d prefer to carry the burden on my own.
I stand up and grab my school bag off the floor. It gets pulled over my shoulder before I step into Mom and wrap my arms around her. “Honestly, I’m fine,” I tell her. “There’s really no need to worry. I’m just nervous about the trouble that Casey and Cora are going to cause today at school.”
“Oh,” Mom says, drawing back to meet my eyes. “Are you sure that’s it? It seemed like something was really bothering you. Bitchy high-school girls have never been something to get you down before.”
I shrug my shoulders and give her a tight smile. “What can I say?” I tell her, grinning as I used Colton’s exact words that he’d said to me this morning. “These are Colton’s little sisters. I have to play this smart. Now, unless you’re ready to tell me all about how Hendrix’s father was trying to sweep you off your feet on Saturday night, then I better go. Milo should be here any minute and I don’t want to be late.”
Mom’s lips press into a tight line as she steps back, giving me room to walk past her. “For the record,” she says. “He wasn’t trying to sweep me off my feet. We were just two people having a nice time together.”
I raise my brow and together we walk through the pool house. “Uh-huh.”
Mom shakes her head, not ready to get into this with me. “Get out of here, trouble maker. I’ll see you after school.”
With that, I walk out towards the main house, looking back over my shoulder and blowing my mother a kiss. “Love you,” I tell her with a cheesy grin. “Try not to fall for any other rich eligible bachelors while I’m gone.”
Chapter 4
I’m halfway down the massive front steps of the Carrington mansion when Milo’s shiny Aston Martin comes to a stop at the bottom. He looks up at me through his tinted window and I give him a beaming smile that feels more than fake on my lips.
I continue down to him and as his window slides down, a familiar voice sounds from behind me. “Jade.”
I stop halfway down the stairs and turn back to look up at Colton, having to shade my eyes from the bright early morning sun that stares directly into my eyes. “Yeah?”
Colton’s gaze flashes down to Milo, and he lifts his chin in greeting before glancing back at me with a strange wariness in his eyes. “I, uh … checked on that thing,” he says discreetly.
I raise a brow, my interest more than piqued. “Yeah?” I question slowly, feeling my heart beginning to race in my chest. I hold my breath, anxious to hear what he has to say. His response could change it all. It’s one thing beating a man to near death but actually killing him? Fuck, I know I’ve dreamt about taking his life over and over again but actually doing it? That’s a dark road, one I’ll never come back from.