Chapter 7
1038 คำ
CASSIE’S POV
Bastian nodded. "We're here for six weeks. We’re exchange students, technically, but our father has additional reasons for wanting us in this pack for the moment." He didn't elaborate on that and I didn't ask. "We don't know this pack. We don't know the people, the history, the internal structure, who to trust, what to avoid. We need someone who does."
"You want a guide?" I said.
"A concierge," Rhys corrected with a smile "Someone who stays close, who can show us around. Tells us what we need to know about this pack - the real version, not the official one."
"And in exchange?" I asked.
Bastian's expression was calm. "Protection from Kenny Voss and anyone else who decides you're an easy target. If you’re with us, nobody can touch you"
I thought of it for a moment as I leaned back in the chair.
The offer was real. I could feel that it was real. And part of me, the part that had spent years absorbing cruelty and pretending it didn't leave marks, wanted to take it with both hands.
But I wasn't someone who took things just because they were offered.
I still had my doubts. I didn’t know them. What if this was just a joke?
They were rich. They could hire the best tour guide in town. Why me?
"I handle my own problems," I said.
Rhys chuckled a bit. "We saw that yesterday."
I narrowed m eyes "I was handling it."
"You were about to lick ice cream off someone's shoe," Rhys said. His tone wasn’t cruel. He just said it in a matter-of-fact- way.
His words made my cheek turn red with embarrassment.
"I was choosing my battles," I said through gritted teeth "There's a difference."
"That's a very diplomatic way to describe it," he teased.
Something about this guy got me riled up. I could feel my pressure rising inside me.
"I'm a diplomatic person." I said.
"Are you?" He looked genuinely curious.
"No," I admitted. "But I'm working on it."
Rhys laughed at that. It was a real laugh and it changed his whole face. Beside him, even Cael's expression shifted slightly into something warm.
Bastian was watching me "The offer stands but there's one condition."
I looked at him "Of course there is."
"You'd have to stay here for the duration."
I blinked in shock. "Stay here?"
"We need access to you at any time of day," Bastian said. "Questions come up when they come up. We can't have you across the pack every time we need something. You'd have your own room. Your mother would be looked after. It's not a punishment or control. It’s just…. logistics."
I stared at him in disbelief.
What?
I’d have my own room. My mother would be looked after. I’d also have protection from Kenny.
Six weeks, and then it would be over and I would walk away with something I'd never actually had before - safety. Even if it was temporary.
I wanted to say yes. I could feel it sitting on my tongue.
Instead I said, "Let me think about it."
This seemed too good to be true. Everything was too sudden, too fast. It felt like everything was happening too much at once and my mind could barely catch up, not to talk of processing it.
Bastian nodded like he'd expected exactly that. "Take the time you need."
"Smalls will take you home," Rhys added. "And Cassie-” He waited until I looked at him. "We don't do the switch-up. I can tell you're waiting for it. We're not Kenny."
I looked at him for a moment.
"People usually say that right before the switch-up," I said.
"Usually," he agreed. "Pay attention to what we do instead of what we say. That'll tell you more."
I stood. They stood again - all three of them, automatically, and I didn't quite know what to do with that so I just nodded and turned toward the door.
"Thank you for the meeting," I said, because my mother had raised me with manners no matter what.
"Thank you for coming," Bastian said with a smile.
I walked back through the hallway with the guitar and the sheet music and the three pairs of kicked-off shoes, and Smalls was already at the door waiting with his easy smile.
I pressed the note in my cardigan pocket between my fingers and thought about what Rhys had said.
Pay attention to what we do instead of what we say.
I turned it over in my head the whole ride home.
-
The car stopped in front of my house. When he parked, I climbed out and told Smalls thank you.
He smiled at me “I hope to see you more”
I waved at him as I walked in. He waited until I reached the front door before he drove away, which was another small thing I noticed.
I reached for the door handle.
It wasn't latched. It swung inward at the barest pressure.
I frowned. That was weird. My mother always latched the door.
I stepped inside and opened my mouth to call for her. That was when I noticed something.
The smell hit me first.
The scent I caught smelled like iron. The smell was heavy and thick. It smelled so wrong. I felt it coat the back of my throat before my brain had even caught up.
To my shock, the house was dark. That was weird…again. My mom should be inside.
My eyes adjusted to the dim interior.
And I saw it.
Blood.
The blood was dark and spreading. The blood was horrifyingly too much, staining the floor in a wide, terrible arc. It was all across the wall, even across the rug my mother had saved three months to buy.
And in the center of it all-
"Mom."
My voice came out as a sound I didn't recognize. I crossed the room without knowing I had moved, dropped to my knees without feeling the impact, reached for her with shaking hands.
She was so still. She laid on the floor with blood all around her.
It felt like time had stopped.
"Mom!” I screamed loudly.
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