Moon Tortured (Sky Brooks Series Book 1) (30 page)

For once, my incompetence worked to my advantage. “I thought vampires had an aversion to light. How were they able to walk in the light like that?”

“Borrowed source. The older ones can walk in light if they consume enough to sustain them. Usually it takes about three lives to give them twenty minutes of light. There are only a few vampires who can travel, but they aren’t gifted in that manner. This means they must be feeding from an elf, accumulating a large debt to do so. Elves do not help without getting much in return. I am curious to find out the specifics regarding that debt. The vampires have accumulated a great deal of debt on your behalf. You are important to them.”

“Yeah, I get the point. Chase and Gabriella have made it painfully obvious," I responded derisively.

“Even more reason for you to start making wise choices. Skylar, please understand if you keep pushing us, we won’t have any other option—” he left without finishing the sentence, but I knew how it ended:
We will have no other option but to kill you.

It was just a mere fourteen hours from the time Gabriella had stabbed me in the shoulder and hand with my own weapons and Sebastian strangling me. I was staring at the television mindlessly. Flashes of light bounced in front of me from the television, and I stared at it with little interest. I had no idea what I was watching. It may have been an infomercial.

After Ethan left, I lay in bed for five hours but slept for about two of them. Now I was using the television to get my mind off the throbbing pain in my hand and shoulder but it didn’t help. Dr. Baker wouldn’t give me anything for the pain and I had begged him at least four times so far. He refused, stating that because our bodies metabolized it so quickly it would be ineffective, or so he wanted me to believe. I think he wanted to subject me to a healthy reminder of my stupidity. Dr. Baker wasn’t the type to yell or threaten you, but he had his way of letting me know he wasn’t happy.

Steven knocked on the door but didn’t wait for a response before entering. “Brought food.” He carried in a tray of food. Steven eyed the bandages on my hand and shoulder, pulled out a knife and cut everything up into easy-to-handle, bite-size pieces.

“Thanks.” I hadn’t eaten since my run in with Gabriella. My stomach seemed so full of anxiety and distress that eating was the furthest thing from my mind.

“You are very welcome, troublemaker,” he stated with a grin. “Boy, you really rubbed Sebastian the wrong way, and yet you are still here.”

“Barely.” I showed him my memento from my talk with Sebastian.

“It’s not that bad compared to most. The bruising is minor,” he admitted. “He must like you.”

“If this is a
like
mark then I don’t want to see how he responds when he hates you.”

“He’s direct.”

“That’s a polite way to put it.”

While I ate, Steven paced the room, making idle small talk. I watched him suspiciously. “I’m not going to run again,” I stated, realizing he was on security detail.

He smiled as he walked over to the window, pulled out a key and locked it. “Of course you won’t,” he stated with a smile.

“Are you going to lock the doors, too?” I asked sarcastically.

“No, you seem to have a thing for windows and there is no need to tempt you. By the way, I am your roommate while you stay here. I hope you don’t snore.” He grinned.

“You are not sleeping in here.”

“There’s a very angry man downstairs who would disagree with that.”

“I’m not going to run again. I promise.”

“And I believe you. Unfortunately, Sebastian doesn’t, and it is my understanding that if you leave again, he’s going to … ” He brought his finger from one side of his neck to the other making a garbled cutting noise. “Sebastian doesn’t trust you. But Joan likes you—a lot, and has adamantly appealed for your life, and Sebastian respects her opinion. Technically, when you ran this time, he was well within his rights to kill you without dishonor or violation of pack law. I’m the compromise because if you run again, he will kill you on principle alone, and nothing Joan does or says will stop him. I promised Joan I would do whatever was necessary to keep you alive,” he stated.

I stared at Steven’s grave face. “Would he kill me?” I asked seriously. When angered, I had no doubt he would do so. But now, since everyone had calmed down, was he capable of doing such an act on principle alone?

He nodded once. “Without hesitation. I’ve seen him do it and it is never pretty and it’s only quick and painless if he wants it to be. At some point, Sebastian will lose his patience with you. Believe me; you have pushed his mercy to the limits. Be considerate of that with your future acts,” he admitted gently. He was staring at me, urging his warning with all sincerity.

Steven stayed while I finished off my dinner. We were playing chess when he was summoned by Sebastian. I assumed Sebastian had a change of heart and decided to trust me, although it wasn’t quite deserved.

Once he left, I laid back and closed my eyes to welcome a much-needed sleep. The pain in my shoulder and hand felt tolerable and fatigue had taken over to such an extent that keeping my eyes open was a chore. When Steven walked into the room, my eyes could barely open to look at him. “You are freaking kidding me! Go away!”

“That is no way to greet your roommate,” he stated with a grin.

“This is ridiculous,” I spat out frustrated.

“Then you should take a stand. March downstairs and tell Sebastian that you won’t tolerate this type of treatment. Give him a piece of your mind, using all your self-righteous anger. Go ahead. I’ll wait,” he urged with a sly smile as he took a seat in the corner.

“You’re on the floor.”

“Of course.” He turned his back to me and began to undress.

I rolled my eyes and dropped back onto the bed. The rustling sound of him removing his clothes caught my attention. I turned to find him standing totally naked without an ounce of shame. Although there wasn’t a thing about his body that would warrant shame, a little modesty wouldn’t hurt. It was doubtful that there were many teenagers who would want to hide a physique like his. The wispy way he looked in clothing was deceptive. Steven was tall, lean and athletically built, with long striated muscles covering the greater part of his body. I am sure he’s had his share of mothers and daughters looking at him with prurient intent.

I plopped back on the bed, covering my face with the covers before he could catch me looking.

“Good night,” He changed into his animal form. Padding over to me, he licked my fingers. It was absolutely disgusting. It was his pleasantry while in coyote form, but I still didn’t care for it. I went to the bathroom to wash my hands. When I returned, the coyote was asleep against the door. Why lock the door when you can just put a big-ass coyote in front of it? I wasn’t going anywhere, even if I wanted to.

The next morning, I awoke to Steven growling at the door to get out. The sun shone brightly through the blinds; it was nearly twelve. I slept longer than I had since I had been in the house. He growled a response as I let him out of the room. I am sure he had better things to do than guard me. The pain from yesterday’s encounter with Chase and Gabriella was substantially better, but it still made showering challenging. I moved slowly and gently under the running water, examining the mementos from yesterday’s attack. The wound on my shoulder and hand were healing well; I hoped there wouldn’t be scarring. The bruising on my neck was barely noticeable. But now there was a new, raised, rough mark, resembling the Gem of Levage, on the right side of my lower back.

Dressing quickly, I went to the library, searching for Josh. Anytime he was in the house, the library was where he could usually be found. Surprisingly, he wasn’t there.

“He left early this morning,” informed Ethan from behind me. “He believes Caleb had something to do with what happened to you last night. He was quite infuriated by his betrayal. I hope Caleb lives through the meeting,” he stated passively. His words sounded so insincere it was doubtful he cared.

He watched me with interest once I turned around. His hair was wet and he smelled like soap and Winter. Ethan, even when relaxed, always made you feel like you were under the watchful eye of a predator. His soft blue eyes with the gray undertones sharpened when his wolf was awakened. They were not as vibrant as his brother’s, but managed to be just as alluring. “How are you feeling?” he asked casually, taking a step closer to me.

“As good as to be expected,” I admitted. “How’s Winter?”

He smiled, looking playful while doing so. I wasn’t sure what amused him more: the fact that I could smell Winter on him or that I acknowledged it.

“She does her job so well I often forget how young she is. She can be quite emotional when provoked. She doesn’t like you,” he admitted simply. Really! What could possibly have given that away? Was it her rampage the other day as she advocated my murder? I think it’s safe to assume that when people lobby for your murder while expressing how truly wrong you are, you aren’t one of their favorites.

“I had to talk to her last night. On rare occasions, I seem to be the only one capable of reasoning with her. She feels things quite deeply, whether it’s love or hate,” he acknowledged.

So Ethan was the voice of reason between the two of them. That’s not a ringing endorsement of a person with good temperament.

“I’ve been marked,” I blurted.

He looked confused. I turned around and showed him my back. He knelt down, his fingers pressing into my skin as he examined the new marking. His thumb carefully ran across it, his fingers fanning out across my stomach. He took out his phone and pressed a button. The voicemail picked up. “Josh, come to the house when you’re done, I need you to look at something.” His fingers pressed into my abdomen as his thumb ran rhythmically along the marking. I took in a deep breath, trying to ignore how good his touch felt on my skin.

CHAPTER 9

When Josh walked into the bedroom, his eyes were dull and worn from fatigue and lack of sleep. He smiled, but it didn’t hold the same charm as it usually did. Things were starting to wear on him, and he wore the telltale signs like a badge.

“Skylar,” Ethan cued me from behind him. When I lifted my shirt, Josh glanced. “She is bound to the gem. It will go away once the gem is destroyed,” he informed us in a flat voice. “It’s not a good idea to bind yourself to such things, Skylar.” Josh cautioned.

“It wasn’t my intention … ,” I stated, eying the floor. “It called me,” I finally admitted after a moment of silence. I still remained cautious with information I relayed to them, aware that one were-animal considered me a threat to the pack. I didn’t want the others to begin to side with her.

“You held onto magic,” Josh stated, intrigued; his brow rose as he brought his hand thoughtfully to his chin.

“I guess,” I shrugged. Ethan looked at Josh, trying to read the attentive look on his face.

“Binding yourself to things is something were-animals can’t do. It falls in the realm of magic—quite advanced magic. It’s the reason I can use others as conduits. The only explanation for what happened is that you held onto the magic you were exposed to at Caleb’s house. When Caleb bit you, it was enough of a blood exchange for you to attain a bond with him and me. That is why you experienced what you did the night before last. You were still bound to him by blood and magic, but he couldn’t call you. If I had been aware of your magical abilities, I would have done a different unbinding spell,” he informed me as he paced the floor. “It was his intention to draw enough blood to call to you last night, forcing you to respond to him. Once you did, he would have given you to Demetrius with hopes of returning to the family. In the past, he has been a reliable source, but his betrayal has made him a liability,” he continued angrily—so angrily that I wondered if indeed Caleb lived through Josh’s last visit.