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The things he was saying were too awful, so I turned inward, retreating to my subconscious where I could rest. As I lay there, curled in on myself, I felt another presence and a sensation, something like a wet nose pressing into my arm. My wolf. She and I held each other tight in the relative safety of my own mind, waiting for Troy to finally run out of steam and leave.
7
BRYN
Hours later, I woke up in pain so complete that I couldn’t so much as breathe without sending pangs of agony pulsing through my bones. My clothes were plastered to my skin with a mixture of old sweat and sticky, drying blood.
I opened my eyes once, only to quickly squeeze them shut again. It was dark in the cave, but staring into that blackness made my head pound. I whimpered in the dark quiet and waited until the pounding ache was more manageable.
Eventually, I opened my eyes a second time, and I immediately caught sight of Tavi sitting against the wall across from me. Excitement and relief at seeing my friend alive was quickly tempered by the fact that Tavi’s face was swollen, and her left eye was bruised black. Her arms were covered in scratches and the imprints of fingers. I could only guess at the full extent of Tavi’s injuries, hidden as they were beneath her clothes.
“T-Tavi,” I called.
My rough voice made her flinch, but she relaxed when she realized it was me. “Oh, Bryn, you’re alive?” A tear slipped from her good eye before she turned and wiped it away with her shoulder. “There was so much blood, I thought you were…I mean, I couldn’t be sure. I called your name, but you didn’t react, and I thought Troy might’ve...” She let that sentence trail off, unable to complete the thought. Her gaze was haunted and distant even in the darkness.
“I’m sorry I scared you, Tavi. And I’m sorry that Harlon and Samson hurt you.” Now that I’d started apologizing again, the tears came back in full force. “I’m sorry, Tavi. I’m so, so sorry. I never imagined that any of this would happen. Troy told me that he’s doing all of this to hurt Night and me. You never should have been involved in this at all.”
If I hadn’t gone to Violet’s cabin to talk about my insecurities about Night, if I’d just stayed with Night and talked it out with him, would any of this have happened? Would Troy have left Violet, Tavi, and Pax alone to deal with Night and me directly? Maybe Night would have had enough time to claim me, and Troy’s hope of weakening him would have been crushed before he touched me. And Night would have had him handled.
“Bryn, don’t do this to yourself,” Tavi’s voice pulled me from those spiraling could-have-been’s. “I can see you trying to blame yourself, but you haven’t done anything wrong.”
“But—"
She shook her head. Her hair, once beautiful and flowing, had grown stiff with dust and blood. “It’s not your fault, Bryn. It’s not. You shouldn’t have even an ounce of guilt about what we’re going through.”
“I’m sorry.” I squeezed my eyes shut to stop the tears from flowing. The salt stung as they passed over the scratches on my face and soaked into my hair. Why did every part of me have to hurt so much?
Tavi took a few deep breaths and straightened her spine, though it looked like it hurt. It was as if she was gathering herself up, hardening again. “You have nothing to apologize for.” Her voice was stronger now. “How are you doing?”
“To be honest, I don’t know.” I sniffled. “Everything hurts, b-but my neck is the worst of it.” The ache was terrible, though that side of my body had started to go numb. The wrongness of it was the worst part. The other aches and scratches would heal with time, but this wound felt like it might never go away.
“Can I see?” Tavi asked. “If you can turn your head a bit…”
I turned my head to show her the wound.
“That motherfucker,” Tavi whispered. The quiet horror in her voice sent chills through me. “He gave you an Alpha wound.”
My eyes widened. “A what?”
“He basically branded you with his will. It’ll take forever for that to heal, and without treatment, it’ll get worse long before it gets better.”
“Great,” I muttered. “How long?”
“I’m not sure, I’ve only read about this in books. If I had to guess, I think it’ll take days, maybe weeks.” Tavi shook her head. “Damn, damn, damn. I should’ve been here with you. I shouldn’t have—” She cut herself off with another sharp shake of her head. “What could I have even done?” she asked herself in a bitter whisper. Her lips, like mine, were dry and cracked, and when she scowled, it caused her bottom lip to split. Fresh blood dripped down her chin. “We need to get the hell out of here. Waiting for someone to rescue us is out of the question now.”
“I know, but how? We’ve been trying to get out of these shackles for days.”
We stopped to think for a few minutes. I felt so weak, I knew I would never be able to break through the cuffs at this point. And given the way Tavi looked, I doubted she would have much better luck. We had been left to starve, without water or food, and with the beatings we’d suffered, we had only gotten weaker.
“If we can get Troy pissed off enough, he might unshackle one of us long enough to go on the offensive.”
“Do you really think that will work?”
“I don’t know, Bryn,” Tavi snapped. “At least it’s something, right?”
I fell silent. Tavi had never ever snapped or gotten frustrated with me before, but even that slight pushback had been enough to irk her.
Tavi winced. “Fuck, Bryn, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
