"Velor! Velor, wait up!" Niva yelled,running after her husband as Velor’s car sped towards the gate. "Damn it, Velor! Listen to me!"
But the car did not stop.
Did not even slow down.
It just tore down the winding hill road, the engine snarling with each gear shift. She staggered back as the wind from its passage lifted her skirts and flung grit into her eyes. One arm came up to shield her face as the sleek tail of the vehicle disappeared past the tree lines.
Niva’s chest heaved, breath stolen.
She stared into the distance, fists clenched.
He hadn’t even glanced back. The car had fishtailed, leaving her coughing, her eyes stinging.But Velor seemed blind.
She knew where he might be going.
And she knew nothing would stop him. She had been married to Velor the longest. She knew he did not lose his temper very often. But when he did... Goddess forbid... no wolf would want to be on his wrong side.
Inside the speeding car, Velor was silent.
His jaw was locked tight, one hand gripping the steering wheel so hard the veins on the back of his hand stood out like cords. His other hand moved over a small, silver device that glinted in the dashboard’s dim light.
Just a single, matte black button.
His thumb tapped it once.
A signal? A summons? Or maybe it worked like a pager!
The road twisted ahead of him.
Pines towered on either side.The sunlight flickered through their branches like knife slashes, slicing across Velor’s eyes. But he didn’t flinch.He did not blink. His gaze was set straight ahead.
It almost looked like the trees parted for him... And then it came into view.
The familiar silver colored car parked right by the mouth of the lake.
Velor’s eyes narrowed.
And he did not slow down.He stepped on the accelerator.
The speedometer needle jerked higher. The engine roared like a warning beast as the Bloodfang Alpha leaned forward ever so slightly. A muscle ticked in his jaw. His eyes burned with something unholy but he lacked his signature smirk. His jaws were set too uncharacteristically!
The gravel road narrowed.
He was going too fast.
His car did not stop.
Not until the last possible second.
Roanoke turned just in time to see Velor’s car hurtling toward him like a black bullet cutting through the mist.
For a split second, Roanoke froze.
At the very lip of the forest curve, Velor twisted the wheel...hard.
The car screeched, skidded sideways...
Kicked up a wave of rocks and dust that pelted Roanoke’s windshield.
And missed crashing by an inch... Or less.
To be precise, the tires screamed as Velor’s car fishtailed, then corrected with a graceful but violent swerve, stopping with a predatory glide just inches from Roanoke’s driver’s side.
The dust settled in slow spirals, blanketing the front hoods of both vehicles.
For a few heartbeats... nothing moved.
Then...Roanoke’s door flung open with a loud clang.
His coat fluttered in the wind, boots crunching the gravel as he approached the other car, his expression shifting from startled to furious.
"What the fuck was that?!" Roanoke yelled, slamming his palm against the top of Velor’s car. "Are you trying to get us both killed?Still reeling from the hangover last night,huh?!"
But inside, Velor did not move.
His hands were still on the wheel.His face was cast in shadows behind the windshield. But his eyes were locked...burning holes through Roanoke’s skull.
There was no expression.
Just raw, simmering rage.
Roanoke scoffed, stepping to the driver’s side, slamming his hand down again. "You have got five seconds to step out and explain yourself before I break this goddamn window...what the fuck was your emergency??Why were you calling me like crazy? What did you have to say that could not wait till the nightfall?I thought we agreed we would not meet during the day! "
Just leaned slightly forward...lowering his gaze to Roanoke like a predator measuring the distance before the pounce.
His lips did not move.
But his eyes were speaking enough.
Roanoke’s smugness faltered.
"...What the hell is going on?" he muttered, a touch more guarded now, his voice dropping lower.
Velor’s thumb hovered over the silver device again. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Not a word was spoken.
But the storm was already here.
"WHAT IN THE MOON’S NAME IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Roanoke bellowed, clearly agitated with Velor’s changed demeanor. " I am standing right here! Why the fuck are you still pressing that button?! "
His face flushed crimson, his fists clenched at his sides.
Velor still did not move or get out.
He simply sat there, his hands still gripping the wheel,but harder, his gaze locked on Roanoke through the windshield.
The air between them crackled.
Confusion flickered through Roanoke’s face.
"Velor?" he snapped, taking another step forward. "Have you lost your damn mind?! You are acting like..."
"Did you do it?" Velor’s voice was low. Deadly.
Roanoke blinked. "Do what?"
Velor’s fingers flexed against the wheel. "You know exactly what."
Roanoke’s expression shifted...just slightly. A tightening around the eyes. A twitch in his jaw.
"I don’t have time for your riddles," he growled.
Velor’s lips peeled back in a silent snarl. "Autumn."
"She has been cursed," Velor continued, his voice sliced like a blade of ice. "A blood binding curse. One meant to drag her under and never let her wake up."
Roanoke’s face went carefully blank.
"That girl has been with you? "
A beat of silence...neither of them spoke.
" What a cunning little cunt! Found a comfortable hide out already, whoring her way... "
" I will ask you one last time. Autumn was cursed right inside my territory! Was it you, Roanoke? "
" Cursed,huh?You think I did it?" he finally said, his tone dripping with disdain.
Velor did not blink. "I think you are someone with both the motive and the means."
Roanoke scoffed. "That girl has been a curse herself even before she was born!Curses won’t work on that bitch! You are being delusional!"
"Am I?" Velor’s hand moved slowly towards the door handle.
But Velor did not open the door.
Instead, he leaned forward, his voice dropping to a whisper that carried like thunder.
"Remember why I agreed to help you in the first place,Roanoke! If she dies," he said, biting out each word, "so do you."
Roanoke’s nostrils flared. His fingers twitched at his sides, itching for a weapon, for a shift, for something.
And neither did Velor.
They held each other’s gaze through the glass.