Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 139186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Gray stood still, halting his father in the process. His gaze pinned Vars in place with its icicles. “For fuck’s sake, do you know something about this?”
Beast approached them with a huff. “Why would he know anything about this thing? Fox, get all the guests out.” He hesitated when his gaze swept over Laurent, who traipsed over the shards of glass and lumps of toppled food as if he were sleepwalking. It was only when Elliot and Nao entered and joined Laurent that Beast turned his gaze away from his new husband.
“What happened? What is that thing?” he demanded, rushing to Vars’s side in energetic strides.
Vars grabbed a chair for support, took a deep breath, and spoke as loudly as he could, forcing air out of his lungs. “It’s Jake. It’s our Jake.”
And for once, everyone heard him.
Gray lunged at Vars and grabbed him by the collar despite being a head shorter. “What did you do to him?”
“I did nothing,” Vars said helplessly, curling his fingers around Gray’s wrists to keep him from tightening the fabric around his neck. “I swear. He asked me not to tell you!”
“Not to tell us what?” Beast asked in a voice like cooling lava, and gestured at Fox to get Nao out as well.
The patches were crowding around Vars, and for a brief moment it struck him that they could end him just as easily as Damon had. He fought through another wave of panic that rose up his bruised neck and met Beast’s gaze. “He told me something attacked him in the cellar. Since then, he’s been ill. He didn’t want you to know he had this thing inside him.”
Knight pushed his way past Beast. “Are you high? What the fuck happened to your neck?”
A sudden pang of pain seared through the haze of adrenaline, and Vars removed one hand from Gray’s wrist, touching the raw flesh around his throat. The skin was broken, and the wound now created a burning collar.
The last thing he wanted was to have to admit to everyone that he had a psycho ex.
“Damon did this to him. Magpie’s man,” Gray filled that gap in for Vars.
Beast grabbed Vars’s arm and turned him around. “If you are digging another hole under us, I will fucking roast you, and then skin you once you’re crispy.”
Vars locked his eyes with Beast, his heart working frantically when he thought of Jake somewhere out there, frightened, bleeding, and alone. And it was all his fault. He’d promised Jake to never use the collar for anything other than protecting him from the gargoyle, and tonight he’d selfishly done the opposite. He wasn’t worthy of Jake’s trust.
“I swear I closed that chapter behind me. I’ll tell you everything you want, but we must find Jake first. Something bad could happen, and none of this is his fault!”
Beast stayed silent for a while, so Knight butted in. “I remember he did ask me something about weird bats in the cellar. Christ. He should have told us something was up. And if you knew about this, you should have fucking told us too! Jake doesn’t know about the forces ruling this place, but you do!”
Knight was right, and the stupidity of his decisions struck Vars with the weight of potential consequences. “He made me promise. Don’t you understand? You guys are the only family he really has. He was afraid of what you could do if you found out.”
Gray's expression softened. "Afraid of us?"
Beast’s lips thinned, and he slowly uncurled his fingers from Vars, stepping away through the tunnel spontaneously made for him by the others. “Divide into groups of two. We’ll cover the grounds and remain in contact until someone finds him.”
“I’ll go too. And Knight should go in a group separate from Elliot, in case either of them find ghosts who could tell them something.” Laurent voice was soft, yet despite a slight tremble it sounded determined.
“The ghosts are all still here,” Knight said grimly but didn’t argue.
Beast shut his eyes and took a deep breath before facing Laurent. “You’re not going. It’s too dangerous.”
Laurent wouldn’t look at him. Vars had never seen the boy so blank-faced before. “If he’s just Jake, then it’s not dangerous at all. Look around. He didn’t mean to hurt anyone. He just wanted to reach the window.”
Beast stiffened, then suddenly pulled Laurent close, lifting his feet off the ground for a moment.
Vars didn’t dare admit that Jake wasn’t always the one at the steering wheel of the humongous body, even if it meant he was again technically lying to his future brothers. He remained silent, still shell-shocked after the unexpected attack and seeing Jake stumble to safety as his chosen family fired at him.
Beast kissed Laurent’s forehead and gently pushed him away. “Laurent, you’re not going with us.”
* * *