“He can always see you. Unless you have this symbol close by,” he answers, creeping me ou
t as he points to a marking on the wall that certainly resembles an eye with a slash through it.
Slowly, Alton stands to his full, very tall height, looking down at me. With his brand of suffering, I’m reminded he can’t really be trusted. What if he tries to kill me just to hurt his brother because he really believes I’m his mate?
I’m so damn stupid that I almost just take him at his word that I really am. Because I’m gullible, it appears.
Dumbass comes to mind a few times as I take quick steps back, watching him as he moves toward me.
“He saw you when he closed his eyes,” he goes on, still stalking closer. “I was no longer bonded enough to see you with him in his mind, but I could feel the warmth in his chest on occasion when he dreamt of you. Then the night you and your family freed us, he laid eyes on you for the first time. You became real. You risked your life to save all of us—beings you didn’t even know. Pride was there—I felt it oozing from him. I watched from the shadows as he lifted your broken body, cradled you to him like you were precious, then disappeared from sight.”
I stumble a step, my mind reeling as I think back to so many months ago when I woke up in a strange cabin, mostly mended from the night before. Slade saved me. That I already knew.
The remembered feeling of the warmth I felt in his wake staggers my breath, but I try to remain a picture of composure in front of Alton as he continues to advance on me.
“I expected that final bond to come down, and then I could finally end this miserable existence for myself, while my brother got to enjoy something that was stolen from me. I could meet Carolina in the spirit world, and he could forever live in peace and happiness with his mate.” He laughs bitterly. “But the stubborn fool is too focused on making me miserable, not understanding what I already suffer.”
“So tell him,” I say, still backing down the long tunnel as he moves closer.
“No,” he says quickly. “I want to die, Ella. I want to go to the spirit world, find my mate and my child, and exist there—whether it’s hell, heaven, or purgatory. You’re the only person with the ability to free me from him.”
“What are you asking of me?” I ask, getting ready to dematerialize.
“Nothing,” he finally says, stopping in the middle of the tunnel. A sad smile graces his lips before he adds, “Because you won’t even remember this until it matters.”
With a wave of his hand, everything goes black.
Chapter 3
ELLA
My head aches as I sit up and look around my room, wondering how I got back in here. Slowly, the beginnings of a faded memory tugs at the corners of my mind.
Alton…
That son of a bitch—
A scream bubbles out of me as my eyes land on a very scarred, menacing man, who is crouching in the corner of my room like a crazed creeper.
Slade smirks at me.
“Where have you been, Princess?” he asks with a deep, sexy, faux-disinterested tone.
If he didn’t really care where I’ve been, then why would he be here asking?
I swallow down the immediate answer that forms on the tip of my tongue, ready to expel my secret. The memory Alton tried to steal is still working its way out of the darkness, threading together in incoherent pieces.
“Why does it matter to you? How do you know I’ve been anywhere at all?” I volley, sounding like the smartass I usually am in his presence.
He stands, his intimidating height finally in full view, and he takes a step toward me. I remain on the bed, not moving, and ignoring all the terribly inappropriate sensations that flood my body every time he’s around.
“Answer the question,” he commands.
The nerve…
“Sure,” I say sweetly, a fake-ass grin on my face as I cross my legs at my ankles and make a show of getting comfy on my bed. “I went out for ice cream. Strawberry, to be exact. You might even still smell it on my breath.”
In a move so fast I don’t register it until it’s too late, he’s suddenly caging me in on the bed—his body straddling mine. My arms are pinned above my head, and his face is right at my mouth as a smirk plays on the side of his lips that I can see.