into the trees and disappeared into the dark forest.
I cursed as I whistled for him to return, wedging the door closed around my body in an attempt to shield Winter from the cold air which was trying to force its way inside.
“Tyson!” I bellowed as his barks echoed away through the trees.
I was seriously tempted to just leave him to it and get back to precisely what I’d just been doing, but there was a sudden shriek of pain from the forest and Tyson’s pained howl cut the air in two.
“Shit,” I cursed, yanking the door wide to bellow his name again.
Winter hurried to my side, taking my hand and starting to paint something against my flesh, but I wasn’t concentrating enough to catch it.
“You need to hide,” I commanded, catching her fingers between mine and tugging her back in as Tyson’s cries of pain continued to echo all around us. “It’s probably just another animal, but I can’t go out there unless I’m sure you’re safe.”
I yanked the bed aside and Winter grabbed the comforter before dropping down into the space beneath the hatch, her wide eyes peering up at me fearfully.
“It’ll be okay,” I promised as adrenaline thundered through my limbs and my hard on sank with a seriously disappointing sense of finality.
I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and handed it to her before dropping the hatch closed again and concealing it beneath the bed.
I snatched my jacket from the floor and threw it on before grabbing my rifle and running out into the snow.
“Tyson!” I bellowed as I used the tracks he’d left to lead me to him and his howls of pain made me run even faster.
I didn’t have many things in this world that I gave a shit about, but that dog was like family to me. If something happened to him, I wasn’t sure how the fuck I’d cope. So I ran like the fires of hell were up my ass and raced into the trees to rescue my only friend.
I waited in the dark, my breaths coming shallow then hard, shallow then hard. I was warring with myself to stay calm, but the quiet was beginning to drill into my ears and the tight space seemed to be getting even tighter.
Despite my fear, my skin was still humming with the pleasure Nicoli had given me. No touch had ever felt so good. His hands on me had sent static sparking and twisting over my flesh. I’d wanted him closer, I’d felt the animal in him rising to meet the animal in me. But that moment had been severed by a sharpened knife. Reality had crashed down and reminded us that The Five would always come for their blood debt. And maybe they were here for it now. Even the cool blade in my grip wasn’t enough to ease my terror about that possibility.
Everything’s going to be okay.
Nicoli will come back.
But what if he doesn’t? What if they’ve come for him? What if they bring an army to destroy him?
I shut my eyes and immediately fell into the darkest memories inside me. They were always waiting, lurking. Only the demons who still lived remained to haunt me. Jax and Quentin didn’t plague my thoughts anymore. They were gone. On a soul-deep level, I knew that. My body knew it. And my subconscious didn’t taunt me with their cruelty any longer. But there were still three more and plenty of torture between them to make fear snake around my heart and hold me hostage. It wasn’t just a fear for me anymore. It was a fear for Nicoli. For Tyson too. I didn’t want my being here to bring any harm on them. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if it did.
I battled the memories for as long as I could, but whenever I was alone for long enough, they always won out.
“You’ve really done it this time, Farley, you fucking idiot,” Duke snapped, his voice making my pulse jump out of rhythm. I lay on the floor, the heat of my own blood the only thing keeping me warm.
Farley hadn’t held back today. He’d been angry about something, comparing me to some ‘godforsaken woman’ he had down the mountain, saying we were all the same, all sluts who couldn’t keep their legs closed. I’d seen a monster behind his eyes which even Duke wouldn’t have been able to hold back. I’d fought with all I had, but he’d had the upper