Page 68 of Dream in Darkness
“Give her a minute, she might need some space,” she says, and squeezes my hand.
Clio’s mouth curls up in contemplation. “Maybe this is hard for her? I mean, isn’t it hard for you every day, being in a carnival full of people that aren’t your pack, where you feel othered?”
I shake my head. “Not really. I mean, at first, yeah. But there are noothersat Hel’s Carnival. There are hybrids and half-demons, felion and lupion, demons and mermaids. Some of them are dancers, others play instruments. Everyone is unique and welcomed for being exactly who they are.”
It’s mostly true. Idofeel a bit like an other, but not because any of the carnies made me feel this way. It’s an othering of my own design. I’ve purposefully pushed most of them away, determined to complete my father’s mission.
“I’m just saying, our species are at war. It might be a little intense for her here,” Clio says, trying to explain Yasmeena’s point of view.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I reply, but the second I say the words out loud, I know they’re wrong. The hairs on the back of my neck stand, every one of my instincts pushing me to go find Yasmeena. “I have to go.”
Chugging the rest of my drink, I try to use my sense of smell to find her. I wanted to spend more time with Zuri and Clio, I desperately miss them, but Yasmeena is mine to protect.
Following Yasmeena’s perfume andfear, I spot her in a dark corner, Alpha Ferdinand hovering above her, his hand around her throat.
Without questioning, without so much as thinking, I claw his arm and blood splatters across the hard gray stone beside Yasmeena.
Ferdinand turns, towering over me, but I refuse to balk. She looks disoriented, and worry twists my features, my heartbeat rising like the ocean tides, threatening to drown everything in sight.
“Do you have a fucking problem with my fiancé?” I ask, cracking my knuckles.
“And what if I do?”
I may have agreed to this mission my father assigned me, but not once since meeting Yasmeena did I ever think I’d let anyone hurt her. Not even a member of my own pack—not even my Alpha, so I’m sure as fuck not going to let this pathetic piece of shit lay another claw on her.
I want to show him exactly how serious I am, but something holds me back. There’s a heavy presence behind me—Alonso, Ferdinand’s second grabs hold of my arms, preventing me from lunging forward.
“I’d let go if I were you,” I say, but Alonso doesn’t budge.
My mind flings me back into flashes of the past, things I thought I’d long since forgotten. My Alpha, punching me over and over again, forcing me to stand after every blow.
“Get up,” he’d scream.
I could hardly move, hardly focus. I’d gone down nearly adozen times, but eventually I’d had enough. I spit the blood that was pooling inside my mouth, got up, and fought back.Hard.Landed a brutal scratch across my Alpha’s cheek. There’s a faint scar there to this day.
My father may have been an asshole, but he made me a fighter. Except up until now, I’d had no real opponents.
Using just my strength, I pick Alonso up, his arms still hooked around mine, and slam his ankles into the ground.
Snap.
Alonso falls to the floor, his arms finally letting go of me as they both realize the level of rage they’re up against.
“And to think, I was going to make you my bride,” Alpha Ferdinand says. “It’s a pity the next Alpha of Pack Escalus is such a weakling.”
“Did you pre-plan that insult? Seeing as how I just incapacitated your second in command, I don’t feel like I appear very weak,” I say, my voice flat.
“If you’re so strong, let’s go head-to-head. No magic, no funny tricks, no seconds. Just you and me.”
As tempting as that offer might be, Yasmeena looks like she’s three seconds away from collapsing. “Nah, I’m good.”
The only person I want to prove myself to, other than myself, is my Alpha. Ferdinand’s opinion of me means nothing. I’m not here to fight him or prove my strength, I’m here to protect Yasmeena. That’s my top priority.
Using the magic waiting at my fingertips, I pin him to the wall with shards of ice. Ferdinand’s entire face turns red with rage and embarrassment, but he doesn’t break free.
“Security!” I yell, and Bobby, a younger member of Pack Escalus rushes over. “Alpha Ferdinand is no longer welcome here.”
“Very well then,” Bobby says, and hails some more employees to join him. He squeezes my shoulder. “We’ve missed you.”
