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I tookthe stairs at the Anders’ home two at a time, my heart racing a hundred miles a minute. I didn’t know how much time I had before Fane returned. Luckily, no one else was home.
Fane and I were doomed from the start, and this link would cause us to implode sooner or later. Betrayal would tear us apart or jealousy or just plain hatred.
You didn’t stop hating someone so easily. He still blamed me for Warin’s death. Iwasto blame. I killed him. It didn’t matter that he’d slaughtered my friends or Jayla first. Fane would always see me as his brother’s murderer.
And to me, Fane would always be a nightworlder—half demon and brother to the thing that took away my reason for living.
I’d never cared about much except surviving until Jayla came into my life. And Warin took that away from me. How could I ever forget that? Guilt tore at me for every kiss, every touch Fane and I shared.
Warin may have killed her, but her death was on my hands, and I didn’t deserve any happiness.
My hands shook as I darted to my room, tossed my clothes into my bags, and slung them over my shoulders. Fane and I needed to get as far away from each other as possible. When he realized what I’d done, he would eventually understand.
Well, he might be a little mad about his car, but he’d get over it. How else did he expect me to get out of Mohan Wilds?
My only option was to go to Barric’s pack in Savannah and try to avoid Coltrane. If I ran, Fane said the head alpha would hunt me down. And I couldn’t just disappear. I’d promised to help Ruin with his Soulvation.
I’d have to explain to the head alpha that the new ruler of Vlehull was also after me, but he wouldn’t let her kill me if I submitted to him.
How much freedom would it cost me to join his pack?
I choked back the nerves, walked out the front door, and threw my bags into Fane’s car. This was a bad idea on so many levels.
As I drove out of Mohan Wilds, my chest felt like it would cave in. Did this damn link tethering me to Fane know I was trying to run? Would it wrap a noose around my neck and tighten it the farther I traveled?
The forest stretched for miles, surrounding the road like two walls. Mohan Wilds was so isolated that I’d been driving for fifteen minutes and hadn’t encountered a single soul.
Until now.
An SUV zoomed up behind me and started honking the horn. I didn’t need to look in the rearview mirror to know who was following me. I could feel him.
Fane fucking Maverick.
He honked the horn of his uncle’s SUV again, and when my gaze finally lifted to the mirror, his eyes glowed while a look of rage twisted his features.
Shit. He wouldn’t let me go, and I’d wreck trying to outrun him. I wasn’t the best driver. I didn’t even have a license.
A growl burst between my teeth, and I punched the steering wheel before pulling over onto a small stretch of dirt along the tree line. Fane slammed on the brakes behind me, almost hitting the Camaro.
He jumped from the SUV and marched my way, his presence descending over me like a vicious storm rolling through the countryside. He yanked the door open, snatched me out, and shoved me against the side of his car.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he snarled.
I pushed him off, and he took a step back. “I’m doing us a favor by leaving.”
His nostrils flared. “How is you leaving doing us a favor, Teague?”
“So this thing doesn’t get any worse,” I shouted.
The laughter that poured out of Fane’s mouth sounded unhinged, manic even. “It’s already too late.”
I shook my head. “No, we still have a chance—”
Fane slapped his chest, the sound echoing down the road. “You’re already in here.” He bared his teeth as he leaned toward me. “And you refused to be cut out.”
The moisture drained from my mouth, and I tried to step back, needing to escape the truth, but I was already against the car. If I ran, he’d chase me.
