Page 49 of Beautiful Madness

Forty-five minutes later, Iwalked into Eli’s cell, dragging a rapidly thawing Lennon with me. The gruesomeseeping stub of her arm left a dark smear of blood behind us.

“If I cut off this bitch’shead,” I said, as he jumped to his feet, growling, terror in his eyes, “andtake her heart, her spirit will never be able to get back inside it. If I killher body, her spirit will die as well.”

Remy followed me in, and hedidn’t bother shutting the cell door behind him. He walked to stand beside me,and when I let Lennon’s body fall to the floor, he dug his fingers into herhair and jerked her up, then put his blade to her throat.

I walked to stand in front ofEli, but I didn’t block his view of Lennon. “Where’s Jared?”

“I don’t know,” he roared. “Youknow I don’t know.”

“But Lennon can get insideyou.” I smiled. “She can get inside your men. And she can fucking tell you,can’t she?” I gestured at her body. “She doesn’t want Remy to kill her, andbelieve me, there’s nothing that would make him happier. All he needs is my go-ahead,which I’m going to give him in about five seconds. Where is the alpha?”

He backed against the wall, hisface a mask of agony. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice broken. “I never meantfor any of this to happen. Kait. Please. Forgive me.”

“No,” I told him. “I will neverforgive you. Tell me where he is, Eli.”

“I don’t know,” he said, and hesobbed into his hands. “I don’t know.”

“Remy,” I said, calmly. “Cutoff her head.”

“No,” Eli yelled, and he leapedaway from the wall as two other things happened.

Remy dragged his blade overLennon’s throat, but before he could do any real damage, six warriors burstthrough the doorway. One of them, I was certain, contained Lennon’s spirit.

They came with silver spikes,liquid silver, and deadly intentions. They attacked Remy, because he waskilling Lennon, and they controlled him in seconds. He was human, after all.

“Stop,” one of the wolvesscreamed, as I sent Eli slamming into the wall and then shoved my blade againsthis chest. “Stop, or I will kill this worthless human hunter, Kait. I swearit.”

Panting, I turned to face her,letting Eli slide to the floor. “Leave him alone.”

She laughed, a low, nasty soundthat scraped over my nerve endings. “There’s the Kait we know and love. Justbecause I can no longer “see” things doesn’t mean I’m a stupid wolf. You don’tdeserve to live. You’re such a stupid woman, Kait, willing to die for thesehumans.”

“He has nothing to do with anyof this. Don’t kill another innocent, Lennon,” I begged. “Let him go.”

“Wyatt,” she said, and the leadwarrior stepped forward.

“I’m sorry, Kait,” he said. “Ihave to do what the acting alpha wishes.”

“Even though,” I spat, “youknow he has captured and is killing the real alpha.”

“Be quiet,” Lennon said. “Nowyou will hold still and let us do what we need to do, Kait. Don’t worry, I’mnot going to kill you. I promised Eli. But I’m going to take you to Jared, andI’m going to let you watch him die, knowing there’s nothing at all you can doabout it. You’ll just watch him, and then…” She shrugged. “Then you will die,and my pack will be the way it should be, with Eli and me leading it.”

“You’re insane,” I told her.“You’re sick.”

“I’m not the only one, am I?I’ll do what I have to do. If I’m insane, it’s because Jared made me this way.It’s his fault. Mostly, it’s yours. If you hadn’t come into our pack, none ofthis would have happened.”

One of the wolves holding Remypushed his blade a little deeper into the side of Remy’s throat, but the hunternever made a sound.

“Stop,” I whispered. “I’ll dowhat you want.”

“Kait, no,” Remy shouted.“They’ll just kill both of you.”

“She’ll do it,” Lennon said,“because she thinks there’s a chance she can free the alpha. She’ll do itbecause she doesn’t believe, despite what Adam’s wolves did to her, that shewill die with silver inside her.”

Eli walked to stand beside her,but he wouldn’t meet my accusing stare.

“Where is it?” Lennon askedhim. “I’ll need it to get back into my body and not die when I release thespell.”

I watched as Eli took a bladefrom Wyatt and dug it into his forearm. He teased something free, and only whenhe pulled a long, thin splinter from his bloody flesh did I understand. Hemight have turned the wand over to Jared, but he’d shaved off a splinter of itto keep for Lennon.