Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 125179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Lost in its rage, his inner creature was having its own personal crisis. The monster thrashed and hissed. Its movements weren’t smooth and fluid as usual, they were jerky and stiff. It wanted to kill. Torture. Destroy. And it didn’t particularly care who its victim was. It simply craved the release.
“Is it possible that she decided to give herself up to Adam?” Eve softly asked, hesitant.
Grinding his teeth at the stupid question, Cain rolled his neck and shoulders. “Of fucking course not, Wynter’s not suicidal,” he replied, his words coming fast and hard like bullets.
“But maybe she thinks that Adam might leave you and everyone here be if he finally has her,” Eve added.
Still pacing, Cain shook his head hard. “She knows that giving herself to Adam wouldn’t change anything, and she’s no martyr.” He rubbed the side of his neck, feeling his tendons standing out.
Eve delicately lifted her shoulder. “Do you think . . . I know it would hurt to consider it . . . but is there a chance she’s fled to seek refuge elsewhere?”
Cain felt his brows snap together. “And why the fuck would she do that?”
Eve flinched at his tone. “Adam has put a price on her head, and she knows she’s in danger here. If she fears what he might do to her—”
“Wynter wouldn’t run,” Cain snapped out.
“She ran from Aeon.”
Halting, he fired a glare at his mother. “Because she was alone. She had no backing there. Here, that isn’t the case. And I know she wouldn’t willingly leave me or her coven.”
“You can’t be sure of that.”
“Not everyone abandons those they care for when all goes to hell.”
Eve blanched. “I deserved that.”
Maybe. Maybe not. Right then, he didn’t give much of a fuck. Not when she wanted him to consider that Wynter could have left him. Maybe Seth hadn’t liked her suggestion much either, because he hadn’t stepped in to defend Eve.
Azazel cleared his throat. “I don’t believe Wynter left of her own accord. Not for a second.”
“No, nor do I,” said Lilith. “And if she had, she would have needed a vehicle. We have already had it confirmed by Maxim that none have been taken from storage.”
Eve’s lips flattened. “Perhaps she walked to the nearest town and stole a car from there.”
“The nearest town is even further away than Aeon,” Azazel told her, a note of impatience in his voice. “If Wynter had headed that way on foot, she’d have been spotted by now.”
Cain gave a hard nod, pacing once more. “The trackers reported that they found no traces of her, so we can safely say she didn’t willingly stroll out of here.”
He rubbed at his tight chest. A roar seemed trapped there, and it appeared to gather in strength with every moment. He wasn’t sure he could keep it contained much longer.
He kept loping back and forth, restlessness humming in his blood. He had so much pent up energy, so much barely contained fury. It left him twitchy. Jittery. On edge.
His gaze bounced around, just as restless. Each of his senses seemed heightened and oversensitive, making him feel too alert.
Cain knew some residents would wonder why he wasn’t out looking for her himself. They might even mistake his seeming lack of personal action for him not particularly giving much of a shit about her. That could later be a problem, considering some might then think it wouldn’t be such a huge deal if they tried cashing in on the bounty. That wasn’t a problem he could address right then, though.
Realizing he was holding his breath again, Cain drew in a long gulp of air until his chest expanded. He took several more deep breaths even as he knew it wouldn’t help calm him. Nothing could. The only thing that would end his inner torment would be having Wynter returned to him.
“Maybe she wasn’t taken by vehicle,” suggested Seth, shifting from foot to foot. “Maybe someone found another way to take her out of here.”
Cain slammed his gaze on his brother. “Teleported her away, you mean? I considered that.”
Seth shrugged. “They could have even taken her through a portal.”
Azazel rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Both would explain how she seems to have disappeared into thin air. It would mean she literally did.”
A cold ache lanced Cain’s chest at the very thought of it, because . . . “If that happened, she’ll be at Aeon as we speak. She’d have been taken straight there.” He snapped his mouth shut, panic once more threatening to shut down all rational thought.
“Only to the boundaries—that’s as far as any teleporter or portal opener would have gotten, due to the preternatural security measures,” Dantalion pointed out. “Besides, no one would dare go further for fear of being killed on sight for trespassing. That would give her an opportunity to get away. We know how good she is at that.”