Forsaken by E. M. Moore
24
Tied up in my ex-mate’s laundry room is not how I imagined I would spend the night before the ball. Sean brought me in here the moment we walked into his house, using rope to restrain me to his utility sink. He’s left me here ever since.
My stomach growls, and my ass aches like it’s been paddled—and not in the good way.
He paces a lot. I’ve heard him traverse around his small apartment like he’s in a marathon. The lone window in this room has a shade pulled down over it, but rays of light are now shining around the perimeter.
I lean my head against the sink. My neck pulses, sore from having fallen asleep bent forward. It’s impossible to find a good spot to sleep in, and I just couldn’t hold it off after the adrenaline crashed. Not even the fear of what Sean might do could keep me lucid. I woke with a banging headache and a neck that felt as if it had been partially severed.
Closing my eyes, I wonder what Nathan is up to. In another reality, we could’ve been mates determined by fate. We could’ve been living amongst our pack this whole time. The Winter Solstice would’ve been a great party, something to mix up everyday life.
Instead, he’s with his mate who suddenly wants to be with him, and I’m with mine, who’s slowly losing his damn mind.
If he would just shift, I have no doubt his wolf would let me out of this. He must have him barricaded so far under that there’s nothing he can do. Or maybe that’s why he’s been pacing. He’s been fighting his wolf.
I can’t imagine being at odds with mine. We’ve always been on the same page ever since I started feeling her. We were devastated at our joint rejection. We were each other’s company through the loneliness. And by some crazy mix of fate, she was on board with Nathan, too. Through the year of being there for me, she felt his true worth.
I gulp, holding back my emotions. If Gayle wants him now, will he still have those feelings for me? What if he does a one-eighty? Mate bonds are strong. They’re supposed to be. They’re the key to our species’ survival.
When I get out of here, I wonder if he’ll still even be mine? It breaks my heart to think that he won’t be.
Footsteps move past my door. “You know,” I shout out, “you don’t have to leave me in here tied up. What am I going to do? It’s not like I can shift and tear your ass apart.” No matter how good that would feel.
Surprisingly, the door to the laundry room opens. Sean pokes his head inside and drops a bowl in front of me. Cereal pieces spill over the rim and onto the white tile. “Why haven’t you shifted?”
I shrug. “I guess I don’t see you as a threat.” Honestly, I didn’t shift because if anyone walked in here, I wanted them to see how I was being treated. It would be another piece of evidence in my favor.
Part of me wishes I had just to give me a better sleeping position, but I’ll take the sore neck if someone finds out who Sean really is.
His dark eyes twinkle. He seems even more out of it than last night. He’s definitely not thinking clearly. I should ask him why he even attempted to restrain me since he should know shifters can’t stay tied up. Because he’s rejected his own animal, maybe he thinks I have, too. Or, he’s just that far gone that common sense is the last thing on his mind.
He scowls. “You should be afraid. I have tried to kill you twice.” He shrugs. “I had to make it look like an accident both times.”
“Your attempts sucked.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got a better way.”
The thread of violence through his voice makes me sit up and take notice. He kneels next to me, and I veer as far away from him as I can, but since I’m tethered to this sink, there’s nowhere to go. His scent wafts over me, and I wrinkle my nose. I used to dream about his fragrance. It was the best smelling thing in the world. That’s completely gone now, and not just because I’m not attracted to him anymore. His body odor game is raw and strong, like he hasn’t bathed in a few days.
His fingers work on the knots, and I press my lips together. “What are you doing?”
“Letting you free to eat. Your friend is coming over so you can get ready for the ball together.”
Disbelief colors my words. “Kinsey is coming here?”
Sean pulls away, tracing his thumb along my jaw. “Of course. I told her you were already in the shower so you couldn’t come to the phone when she called, but she’s very excited.”
I slap his hand away. “I doubt she believed you.”
“Not my problem if she didn’t. It was pretty clever of you to make such high-powered friends, though. I didn’t realize shifters with Kinsey’s stature were sent to the academy.”
He has no idea how Kinsey grew up. He’s only assuming since she was paired with Jonah that she had some fantasy childhood, but that’s not the case.
Giving my head a quick pat, he smirks down at me. “You better eat and take that shower so you don’t make me look like a liar.”
I stand, shoving him back. Now that I’m on two feet again, I realize it would’ve been very difficult to shift in here anyway. There’s so little room, and I would’ve had to basically claw my way through the door to escape, which would’ve just drawn attention to us. “You’ve lost it,” I tell him. “Sean, let your wolf back in.”
“So he can be with you?” he snarls. “No.”
“I don’t give a fuck about being with you,” I snap back. “You need your wolf to feel whole again. You’re not thinking clearly. Tying me up the whole night, pacing...”
“I needed to make sure you stayed out of my hair while I came up with a plan.”
“And a locked door with a bed wasn’t an option?”
He tilts his head, then replies simply. “No.” He turns, leaving the room and almost kicking the bowl of dry cereal over. “Don’t try anything.”
I swoop down and grab the bowl, shoving the circular carbs into my mouth. It appeases my restless stomach as soon as I swallow. If only things were different, I’d try “anything” in a heartbeat. However, I’m a rejected shifter, so naturally, I’m the untrustworthy one. No matter the circumstances, we’re trash. Bringing what’s happening to someone’s attention would crucify me. No one would believe that a mate could do what Sean’s done. Everyone would assume I’m lying because I’m the cast off. We’re all pegged as desperate and damn near derelict. Just look at Robbie.
Not even Kinsey and Jonah can help me fully.
The floor creaks as I step out, shoveling another handful of cereal into my mouth as the aroma of bacon wafts from the kitchen. “The bathroom is the next door over,” Sean offers. When he moves, I spy a plate of eggs, toast, and bacon in front of him. Oh well. I’d rather eat dry cereal by myself than be forced to eat a nice meal in his presence.
I take the bowl right into the bathroom with me, leaving him and his basic apartment behind. Everything looks new, but it’s also cheaply made if you look close enough. It’s kind of like Sean himself. Pretty on the outside, but obviously someone fucked up when they were making up the inside.
Twisting the knob for the shower, I turn the hot water on. Black soot still clings to my arms, a stark contrast against the all-white shower. While I wait for the water to heat, I eat the rest of the cereal. My stomach still hurts, but I set the bowl aside, undress, and step into the spray.
Black splatters spray the shower wall, but I don’t bother cleaning it as I focus on my skin. Smoke still clings to my lungs, the dry taste of bitter, acrid char coating my cheeks and tongue. I open my mouth to the spray, swish water around, and spit it out.
It’s a little better, but not much. I have a feeling I might need to gargle with alcohol to take it away completely.
After rinsing, I step out onto the bathmat. A robe hangs behind the door, so I take it off the hook and pull it on. I’m not about to go anywhere in this house naked. Combing my hair through with my fingers, I wring out the excess water in the sink and then place a bit of toothpaste on my finger to brush my teeth. Luckily, the taste in my mouth is getting better and better.
Looking through Sean’s drawers for some mouthwash to really do the job, I spot his toothbrush. Pulling it out, I smile at it before walking to the toilet and dunking it into the bowl. “There, you fucker,” I whisper.
It won’t make up for my attempted murder, but when he cleans up, I’ll smile knowing he put toilet water in his mouth. I briefly think about peeing on it…and decide why the fuck not? That’s even better revenge. I pull up the robe and squat over the seat, snickering to myself. Afterward, I walk it carefully back over to the drawer before dropping it in the same exact spot I found it.
There’s just something about my little act of revenge that makes me feel a little lighter after everything that’s gone on.
I’m full-on smiling when I leave the bathroom and make my way toward the kitchen. He’s finishing his breakfast, sliding his empty plate into the sink.
He curls his lip at what I’m wearing, and I give it right back to him. “I seem to have misplaced my wardrobe.”
“I think your Lunar friend is bringing something with her, so you’re in luck. What a big night tonight, huh?” He walks past me, caressing his gross fingers over my cheek.
I shiver at his touch and slide out of his reach. “I didn’t know you were into balls.”
“Not really, but I have plans for this one.”
“Trying to kill me with so many witnesses? That doesn’t sound like a good plan.”
“Who said I was doing that?”
He winks before taking off toward the bathroom. When the door shuts behind him, I do a little dance, wishing there was a camera in there so I could watch. Then again, with the way he smells, I have no idea whether he plans on cleaning up today or not.
I search the immediate area, looking at every flat surface. I doubt he left a to-do list today of how he’s going to get rid of his mate, but it’s better than doing nothing. The place is so sparse, it hardly looks like he lives here.
The shower turns on, and I perk up. If I’m quick, I can search his room for evidence that he was with Gayle. Pictures. Love notes. Something.
If he’s telling me the truth—that they’re not together right now, but they were before—there has to be something.
I want to find the proof for all the shifters who are at the academy for stupid reasons. There are more than a few of us doing time there for some bullshit thing or another: dating someone else; best friends, not lovers; power plays; mismatched allegiances.
In everyone outside of the academy’s eyes, we all deserve to be there. However, once you get sent there, you realize what a farce it is. And those who get out want to forget it even happened; plus, they’re all so caught up with their mate that they don’t want to fault them. It’s like the perfect setup for no one ever speaking out against it. For how inhumane it is. For how unnecessary.
I don’t have all the answers. I wish I did. I wish I could give an alternative, but I can’t. What I know is that the academy needs to be stopped, along with the prejudice.
I skirt past the bathroom toward the only other room in the house I haven’t been in yet. I open up drawers, rifling through his things. Porn mags are hidden underneath his socks, and I raise my brows at his kink—lonely housewives. Full-color pictures of scantily clad moms in housekeeping attire are splashed all over the cover. Some wearing aprons, some wearing robes, all with seductive looks on their faces.
Returning it, I keep going. There’s nothing in his dresser, but I didn’t think he’d leave something like that in an obvious place, anyway. After all, he had to play the part of being someone else’s mate. As shifters, we don’t just have random pictures or things involving someone else’s mate around our house.
I check his nightstand next, discovering lube and tissues.
I close that quickly, moving through the two remaining drawers before twisting toward his closet. The shower is still on, and I hope it stays that way. The bathroom door is between here and safety, so I’ll definitely be found out if I don’t hurry.
My inspection of the closet reveals polos and crisp khakis on hangers. I run my hand along the top shelf, finding nothing.
Dejected, I walk out of the closet, closing the door behind me. Still not giving up, I circle the room, searching for any spot that looks like it might be a good hiding place. I peer behind curtains, check the back of the two nightstands that flank his bed—nothing.
If he has anything, I don’t think it’s in here. I rub my temples as I walk from the room. I wish it had been that easy, but nothing about this journey has been as simple as being given a gift.
Sighing, I make my way toward the kitchen. As I pass the bathroom, it opens, and Sean shoots his hand out to grab me. “What are you doing?”
