“He deserved it…and more,” I mumble. “He’s some piece of damn work…” I’m shaking my head. “That he would stoop so low,” I mutter some more. I’m not sure how I’m going to break this news to Raven.
“What aren’t you telling us?” Raven asks. “You told me you had a vision. That it was bad. You were about to tell me about it when West jumped you. What did you see?”
“I saw his future when he clasped me around the back of my neck. When he told me about how happy you guys were going to be, and all of the other bullshit.”
“You had a vision then too?” Jarrod sounds shocked.
I nod.
“What was it?” Raven asks.
“It was different to the ones that came after. The future most definitely is not set in stone. In my first vision, I saw my own death. West twisted my head from my shoulders.” People wonder why I hate my gift.
I see Raven cringe. My brother looks like he’s about to pop a vein.
“I then saw him talking to Tarek. If I had died, Isa would not have stood up to Tarek. Things would have gone down differently. In the vision, West was arguing with Tarek, who was still the leader. West was pissed off that Tarek made him fight for you, Raven. He said that he had already earned the right when he told them where to find us.”
She gasps. “Find us?”
I nod. “He said that Tarek had promised that West could mate with you and that he would be allowed to kill me if West gave Tarek information on how to find us. He gave away our location so that he could get you as a mate. At that point, I’d seen enough. I saw red and went after West. I still couldn’t kill him, though.” I shake my head. “Even though he deserved it. I’m sorry.” I see hurt cloud her features.
“Fucking asshole!” Maddox says from the door. His eyes are blazing. “I can’t believe it… Actually, I can… No! Fuck! I can’t fucking believe West would do that to us…to you.” He looks my way before walking into the room, shaking his head. “What the hell is wrong with him?”
“I do believe you, but…” She’s deep in thought. “That can’t be right,” Raven says, shaking her head in disbelief. “Lance…the guy I kicked in the privates. He told me it was he who had asked to mate with me. He tried to talk me into sleeping with him when I was taken the second time. He told me Tarek wouldn’t be happy if I had another shifter’s scent on me when I was already promised. That I would be punished. He offered to fix it. That’s how he put it.” Raven snorts in disgust. “I told him it would be a cold day in hell before I had sex with him, that I would fight a mating with him.” She pushes out a breath. “It doesn’t make sense. Why would Lance say that if it was West?” She locks eyes with me.
I don’t like that Raven doesn’t believe me. It makes me think that she might still have feelings for West. Even after everything. “My vision was very clear,” I tell Raven. “West gave us up – all of us – in order to get you as a mate. I know it.”
“Maybe I can clear things up regarding Lance,” Maddox says. “That guy is a loser. Always was. I know he was always sniffing around you when you were younger. I was grateful you always turned him down, because he’s the biggest liar. He would say just about anything to get into a girl’s pants. I’m talking hardcore bullshit. He was probably lying. Hoping to score. West is making more sense to me. The way West acted…makes more sense to me,” Maddox says. “West only became angry when Stephan got back. Before that, he was calm, even though he knew Raven had been abducted. Now that I think about it, too calm, considering Raven was gone. Also, he didn’t react much when you mentioned Tarek forcing her to mate with someone from the weyr. He should have lost his mind. The only way he would’ve stayed so calm was if he knew that the mate was going to be him.”
“I can’t believe this.” Raven looks shocked.
“He reacted harshly when he saw you because he despises you Stephan. He went fucking ballistic when he scented Raven on you. When he figured out that the two of you had slept together. Also, some of the things he said to Tarek. The disbelief, when Tarek forced the two of you to fight. Tarek told West that he’d changed his mind. West was shocked and pissed off because Tarek was going back on their deal.”
“Also, that night we ended up going for pie,” I say to Raven as the thought comes into my head. “West was there when we got back. Why? It was as if he knew we had left. How did he know? Was he watching you? Maybe your weyr was watching already by then. It just seemed weird to me that he showed up so late at night to…check in on you. I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Raven has started crying. Tears are rolling down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry, sis.” Maddox puts his arm around her. “I’m so damned sorry.”
“I thought I knew him,” she whispers and then sniffs again. “I can’t believe he would do that to us…to me.” She looks distraught. Shit, I’m back to thinking that maybe she still feels something for West. I can’t shake that thought. I know it’s stupid at a time like this. I have zero rights over this woman. We’re not in a relationship of any kind. No promises were made. I need to stop my shit!
“I’m so sorry.” I see him hug her harder. Then he stands.
“Where are you going?” Raven asks.
“I’m going to have a little conversation with West.” His jaw clenches.
“We should tell the others first,” Raven says. “Confront him together.”
Maddox pulls in a breath. For a moment, it looks like he’s going to disagree. Then he nods. “Fine!” he growls. “Before we go,” he says to me. “Star is also here. You know Star. She—”
“I know Star,” I say. “I don’t remember much, just that she helped me and that she has really long blond hair and the same eyes as Night and Death.”
“Yeah, well, we brought her back with us. She didn’t want to stay with the weyr anymore. We’ll be out of your hair in a few days.” I note that Raven doesn’t say anything about staying. She doesn’t say anything at all. It doesn’t mean anything. I need to calm the fuck down. So much has happened.
I nod. “I don’t mind. You can stay as long as you need.”
“We’ll see you later,” Raven says as they walk out. Then I hear her say, “Don’t hurt him, please.” She’s talking to Maddox about West.
Don’t hurt him!
Don’t fucking hurt him!
I don’t get it. If I wasn’t as weak as a day-old fucking lamb, I’d go over there and make sure that West was in pain for the rest of the week. The month. The rest of his fucking life. He doesn’t deserve to breathe. I hate him. I know this is partly jealousy talking. I also know that I couldn’t kill him even if I wanted to. I had the chance…I didn’t take it. I know that makes me a good person. Screw being fucking good! Nice gets you nowhere.
“You’re grinding your teeth.”
“Am I?” I ask.
“I think that Raven might still be hung up on her ex, despite him being the biggest fuckhead alive.”