Run (Caged Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  “Olivia. I’d say it was nice to see you, too, but you always taught me not to lie.” I was amazed at how steady and calm my voice sounded, considering I was shaking apart inside. My brain was short circuiting, trying to think of a way out of the situation, a way to get everyone out unharmed. It wasn’t the wolves’ fight, it was mine, and I’d be damned if I let any of them get hurt because of me.

  Olivia shook her head disappointedly. “Oh, Matilda. You say it as if it were a crime to want you to grow up to be honest and not a liar.”

  I twitched, my fingers tightening in Spencer’s fur. At another time, I might have recoiled at the idea that I was essentially touching his hair, but at the moment, I needed the support of my wolf.

  “It may not have been a crime to teach me to tell the truth, but I’m pretty sure what you did to me when I lied was a crime,” I said tightly, remembering the birch cane, the Dark Room, and the stink of demons as they clawed at my mind with sharp, tearing laughter. I shuddered, and immediately regretted it, seeing the way Olivia’s eyes narrowed, noticing my reaction.

  “You were punished for misbehaving, as any child would be. We just had to punish you a little differently because of…” She smiled, but it looked like a sneer, “Because of what you are, of course.”

  I couldn’t help it; I flinched. ‘What you are.’ What. Like I was a creature, not a person. I gritted my teeth. I hated being a what, instead of a who. I hated it worse that she’d said it in front of the listening ears of the wolves. I glanced at them, trying to gauge their reactions to her words, but it was impossible to tell. They were all bristling and crouching, glaring at the hunters surrounding them. Only their swivelling ears, directed toward our conversation, let me know they were listening. How much they understood in wolf form, I didn’t know.

  Olivia noticed me looking to the wolves nervously, and her smile changed to something gleeful, cruel, and hard to look at. “Ooh,” she said in a tone of delight, “Don’t your little furry friends know? Haven’t you told them your own secret? No? I guess we didn’t beat the liar out of you well enough, Matilda.” She clucked her tongue like a disapproving parent.

  I bit my cheek hard enough that I tasted blood. Next to me, Spencer snarled, stepping forward. I kept my hold on his fur, gripping harder, trying to silently translate to him not to do anything. Olivia’s icy eyes went to him, and I felt my stomach sink.

  Please, don’t hurt him. God, don’t hurt him, I begged silently.

  “Ah,” the witch said, raising her eyebrows. “This one knows. This is the one who attacked me. Such a beautiful creature. Very protective of you.” Her gaze cut to me again briefly, something horrible flashing in the green depths. “Been fornicating with the animals, have you, Matilda? Disgusting perversion, if you ask me.” She made a noise of revulsion, turning her glare back to Spencer, who barked viciously, pulling against my grasp on his fur.

  He barely seemed to notice I was pulling out his fur. My stomach churned with bright sickness, my face growing hot despite myself, and I had to look down. I tried to breathe steadily.

  In a thin voice, I said, “It isn’t like that.” I didn’t know why I said it, why it mattered what she thought, but then I realised I wasn’t explaining it to Olivia. I was telling it to the wolves around me, to Dominic. I didn’t know where he was amongst all the fierce lupine muscle and fur, but I knew he was listening and watching.

  Olivia scoffed delicately. “Oh, darling, I don’t really care who or what you want to screw in your spare time. I just want you to come back home. If you come now, I’ll even let you keep your…pet? Boyfriend? Whatever you want to call him.” She waved a hand dismissively at Spencer.

  He was hard as stone under my hand, but I could feel a growl rumbling through his ribs. I willed him not to move. The men gathered around us were starting to look confused, the barrels of their guns dipping as their brows furrowed, trying to understand what Olivia was saying. It was clear she hadn’t told them the wolves they were shooting weren’t just wolves.

  That was good, I supposed—good because it meant the men couldn’t scream werewolf to the town, good because they thought they were just shooting animals, not monsters. If they didn’t know the creatures were half-man, they wouldn’t grab pitchforks and torches. It didn’t seem as if it really mattered either way, because the wolves were going to die. Whether they died with their secret intact or not was sort of irrelevant to my panicked mind.

  As if she knew what I was thinking, Olivia smiled thinly at me. “Don’t worry. These men don’t know anything more than they need to. Well, except Jack over there.” She gestured to the man with the orange cap, the one who’d shot Spencer. “I believe you’ve met…twice, I think. I’m sure you recognise him. Your wolf certainly did. Anyway, he knows a little bit about you, now doesn’t he? But even he doesn’t know the whole truth. Come with me now, and I won’t say a word. I’ll even call off this hunt on your animal friends here.”

  The hunters all stared at Olivia with mixed expressions of confusion, irritation and awe. Some of them didn’t seem to care what she was saying—they were either staring at her chest, or drooling down the barrels of their guns, bloodlust in their eyes.

  “Now who needs to be punished for lying?” I spat, glaring. The sharp wind cut through the clearing, my power buzzing under my skin, and I knew I had to calm down before I did something I shouldn’t—maybe accidental, maybe not.

  Olivia’s eyes narrowed to slits, and her mouth compressed. I’d pissed her off. I clamped my mouth shut, but it was too late. She smiled, and it was a hideously threatening expression.

  “Well then. Maybe we should all just get our secrets out now, and stop lying altogether. What do you think?” she asked in a crisp, chiming voice.

  I swallowed bile. She’d hit my weakest spot, and she knew it. The wolves around me whined fearfully, growled angrily. Surprisingly, Spencer was still and silent, but I could feel the tension under his fur.

  Desperate, I pleaded. “No. Don’t. Olivia, please. This isn’t their fight. This is between you and me. Let the wolves go. I’m begging you, don’t hurt them,” my voice cracked.

  My heart was thundering my chest. I couldn’t let her do it. I couldn’t let the wolves take the punishment for my mistakes. I tried to step forward, but Spencer rounded on me suddenly, snarling, and I stumbled back. My breath caught with fear, and he lowered his head apologetically, hiding his teeth. I knew he was just trying to protect me, but I couldn’t let him do it.

  I looked up at Olivia again and breathed, “Please, don’t.”

  She shook her head and my heart sank. “No, you were right, Matilda. I shouldn’t lie, and neither should you. I think everyone here has a right to know what’s really going on. I’m going to use your little guard dog there as an example.”

  I felt the magic slam into Spencer before I could even blink. He fell to the ground on his stomach, growling as tremors wracked his body. I dropped down next to him, flashing back to the blood on my hands as I’d pulled the bullet out of him, and I pressed both my palms down on his side, trying to fight the magic Olivia was exerting on him.

  It wasn’t like the spell she’d been casting on him the night he’d chased her into the woods—it was different, stronger, more forceful. I didn’t know exactly what she was doing, until I heard and felt his shoulder pop, dislocating under my hand. I shrieked, and Spencer’s growl cut off in a whine.

  Writhing, he turned his head, looking up into my face, and I saw his eyes were agonised, panicked...and undeniably blue. Olivia was forcing him to Change, right there in front of the hunters. She was about to expose the wolves’ secret to the stupid, heartless human men, who were gawking in astonishment and bafflement at the scene before them.

  Utterly terrified and utterly panicked, I screamed at Olivia. “Stop it! Please, stop it! Don’t do this!”

  She only smirked back at me, callous and enjoying the pain she was causing. I couldn’t break through the spell she was casting on Spencer. I couldn’t
do anything to help him fight it….but maybe I could stop her from casting it for long enough to get the wolves out of there.

  Shakily, I forced myself to my feet, trying to ignore Spencer’s high whine as my magic stopped dulling the edges of Olivia’s. I knew it would be only seconds before he started to Change. Using all my fear, panic, and fury, I pulled together as much of my power as I was able to control, and I shoved my magic toward Olivia. It burst from my palms with such force that it knocked me backward, sprawling onto the ground. Blindingly bright and faster than I could blink, the power soared toward Olivia. I only saw her green eyes flash wide for an instant before the flare of light collided with her and sent her flying.

  I reached out to Spencer, and instantly felt Olivia’s spell snap, the pressure on his limbs vanishing. He was still fully wolf, but he was shaking. Gasping, I tried to get up, knowing Olivia wouldn’t be down for long, but my arms and legs wouldn’t obey me. I looked up, and saw every pair of wolf eyes on me, mistrustful and scared. Every single wolf, with the exception of Spencer, backed away from me, their hackles raised and teeth bared at me instead of the hunters now.

  They knew what I was, and what I could do. I was the bigger threat. Only Spencer stayed by my side. Wriggling to his feet, he barked at his pack mates, pawing the dirt next to me, but they held their distance. Spencer growled sharply, a sound of frustration toward his pack, but I slid my hand across the dirt to touch his leg. He looked down at me, whined softly, nosing my fingers.

  I smiled sadly. “It’s okay. They have a right to be scared of me.”

  Spencer shook his head, snorting his disagreement, but I knew there was nothing he could do. The wolves knew my secret, and I hadn’t expected them to accept it as easily as I’d accepted theirs. I was stung, but not surprised.

  Around the clearing, the hunters stared at me in horror and shock, some of them rushing to Olivia to ensure she was still alive. I knew she was without checking. I’d given her a good jolt, but it would take a lot more to kill her. Slowly, the men seemed to come to a silent consensus, through glances, frowns, and brief nods. They raised their guns. Obviously, they had decided it didn’t matter what was really going on there. It didn’t matter that the woman who’d hired them clearly wasn’t human, and neither was the stupid girl trying to protect the wolves. They were shutting out the things they couldn’t explain with the conclusion that, whatever the issue was, they could get rid of it by shooting the wolves.

  But the wolves were ready for them, and the men didn’t even have time to put their fingers on their triggers before the wolves lunged. I didn’t watch the men being torn apart, but I could hear the sickening sounds of human bones snapping, flesh ripping, and men screaming and gurgling. A few shots were fired, and a lupine howl was swallowed by the greater noise of snarls and gnashing fangs. I lay on the ground, focusing on breathing, while it happened around me. I felt someone stumble over my legs, but I couldn’t be bothered to try to move again. Something hot and wet spurted over one of my arms and onto my dress. I stayed awake, but I really wished I hadn’t.

  By the time it was over, I had slipped into meditation and gathered enough energy to stand, though my legs wobbled under me. I didn’t dare look at the carnage around me, positive my stomach couldn’t take the sight of human body parts strewn across the dirt floor of the woods. I also couldn’t look at the wolves, but I felt them backing away from me as I stood.

  I was the only threat left in the clearing. I just hoped they wouldn’t feel the need to tear me apart too. I turned my back on them, numb and cold with shock, and stumbled my way through the trees, almost blind in the darkness. I didn’t care as I caught my dress on brambles, or when twigs prodded my bare feet. I just needed to get back to my cabin, even knowing it wouldn’t be mine much longer.

  Fumbling my way through branches, not paying attention to where I was going, it took me a while before I realised I was lost. Shock was starting to wear off, and I looked around me, unsure of how long I’d been walking, or even which direction I’d come from. The branches were so thick overhead that I couldn’t see the sky, couldn’t judge direction or time from the moon.

  I was shaking. Nausea curdled in my stomach as realisation slowly broke over me, forcing me to think about what had happened. I looked down at my dress. For a second, I was disoriented, because I could have sworn my dress was white. I remembered Sarah draping white fabric over me to make it, but the fabric before my eyes was red. My mind clicked over, and I gasped. It was blood. There was a huge spray of blood staining my pretty white dress. It was smeared across my arms and chest too, sticky and cold, almost dry.

  I bent over, retching, and fell to my knees. I was shaking so hard, my muscles hurt and a sweat broke out on my forehead. I crawled backward until my back hit a tree, and then I stayed there, rocking slightly as I cried—harsh and violent sobs tearing from my throat. Worried that the wolves might come after me, I stuffed my fist into my mouth to stifle the sobs. After a while, my sobs quietened, and exhaustion forced me under into a nightmare of blood, gunpowder, and dozens of sets of sharp wolf teeth tearing into my flesh.

  The sound of someone whispering my name woke me up. I couldn’t have been asleep for very long, and the coldness of the air on my bare skin startled me to instant awareness. My eyes flew open, and Dominic retreated, his hand falling away from my knee. His eyes were very bright in the darkness, but I couldn’t read his expression.

  With a flash of fear, I scrambled to my feet. Instantly, he sprang up too, holding his hands toward me defensively. Surprised by the gesture, I shrunk back with a bite of sadness, realising he was as scared of me as I was of him. Ironic, really. People always say that, ‘They’re more scared of you than you are of them.’ In that case, it might have actually been true.

  Distantly, I noticed Dominic was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and he was free of blood. He’d obviously been home first, before he came looking for me. I didn’t know if that was a good sign or a bad one. Surely if his intention was to kill me, he wouldn’t have bothered washing up first.

  I shook my head. I was being ridiculous. It was Dominic I was talking about. He wouldn’t hurt me…would he? He’d promised he wouldn’t. Nobody will hurt you. I doubted that still applied, considering how things had gone. He’d promised me that when he’d thought I was a helpless little human girl. Now he knew I wasn’t. Did that mean our friendship was void? Would he be able to forget that he’d laughed with me, trusted me, and kissed me, in order to rid the pack of a threat in their midst—an unwitting Trojan horse that had led the witches to their pack?

  I looked at him, trying to figure it out, but he just stood there, looking back at me. Slowly, his expression softened. I was sure mine was blank. My face felt stiff. He shoved his hands into his pockets, his shoulders slumping, and I relaxed slightly. He wasn’t going to kill me. Not yet, at least.

  Very quietly, he said, “You didn’t come back to the cabins.”

  “I got lost.” My voice was as flat as I thought my expression was.

  He nodded, as if he’d guessed that. One hand came up to tug on his curls. “Yeah,” he sighed. “That’s what I thought. Maybe for the best. Everyone is pretty upset.”

  It was my turn to nod, unsure what to say. He bit his lip, his eyes flicking to me and away again, then back to me. He frowned, making the dimple in his cheek scowl at me. He rubbed his jaw with a clean, pale hand.

  I’m covered in blood, I thought distantly. Whose blood? I didn’t know.

  Suddenly, Dominic spoke up again, his green eyes steady on my face, but his mouth was turned down gently at the corners. “Why didn’t you tell me? Tilly, I thought we were friends…” He paused, frowning deeper. “I thought…we might be more than that.”

  The hurt in Dominic’s voice stung me, and my anger flared in response, snapping me from my emotionless state. How dare he be hurt! How dare he act as if I’d disappointed him!

  I laughed mirthlessly, and saw him flinch at my harsh tone. “Why didn’t I te
ll you? Maybe for the same reason you didn’t tell me you were a werewolf. Maybe because I was afraid of how you’d react. Maybe—” I stepped forward, my fists clenching.

  A spark of gold shot through his green eyes, the wolf reacting to the threat I posed, but I didn’t back off. I was too angry, too hurt to care if his stupid wolf instincts told him to rip me apart.

  I glared him in the eyes, my voice hard and sharp as a whip. “Maybe because when you saw what I did to that witch, you backed away, just like the rest of them! You thought we were friends? So did I! So why was Spencer the only one who stuck by my side?”

  Dominic shook his head, frustration and sadness all over his face. “Tilly, I didn’t—”

  I raised a finger, pointing at him. My hand shook I was so furious, and he took a step back, his eyes flashing gold again.

  “Yes, you did! I didn’t back away from you when I found out what you were. I didn’t look at you with the betrayal and fear I see in your eyes right now! You can’t hide it, Dominic! Your wolf, that thing that makes you different and makes you who you are, it gives you away!” my voice cracked, and I lowered my finger to my side.

  My arms shook, and then my shoulders did too, and I realised I was fighting tears with all the will I had. I looked down, so he wouldn’t see them shining in my eyes, refusing to let him see the hurt I felt. Only one person could be trusted with my weakness and it wasn’t him.

  When I spoke again, my voice was barely above a whisper, but it was steady. “I’ve never thought you were a monster, Dominic, and I don’t need to hear it from your lips to know that’s what you think of me right now.” I sighed. “Correction. I’ve never thought you were a monster, until now.” Before I could burst into tears, I turned and ran.