Duke Charming | Craig

Thirty-One

Bile pushed up my throat as Dario violently shoved me out of the castle and up the driveway at the sight before me. Three men lied motionlessly on the gravel – not unconscious, not hurt, but dead. And the further we marched toward the gates, the more we passed.

Dario had left a trail of dead werewolves in his wake, the ones Rheon assigned to keep intruders out during the wedding. And by the looks of the dark veins in their eyes and the black goo staining their mouths and shirt, I knew they were also fed the poison Dario had spiked the wine with.

I've never felt more helpless in my life; to have these amazing abilities, to be able to sense danger by a mere shift in the atmosphere, but not using it when I needed to the most. If only I wasn't so focused on the catering, if only I had stopped a minute to investigate the hunch I had in the kitchen.

If only I didn't ignore my instincts that one bloody time.

"One minute, sir," one of the men informed Dario after checking his watch.

"Right on time," he muttered as we arrived outside the gates. A black SUV awaited us on the side of the road, nearly invisible in the darkness. Shoving me forward, he hissed, "Get in."

One of the men opened the door to the middle row seats, and I meekly complied. There was no use in fighting, not while Dario could just as well turn back and retrieve the antidote before Bonnie stopped counting. The Balfours and all the packs of Scotland would be dead within the minute, and to eliminate all witnesses, he'd kill me team as well. And even if I could shift, there was no way I could take on five apex werewolves by myself.

Once again, I was useless.

But at least that meant Craig wouldn't die, and that's something I could live with.

Piled into the SUV, one of the men started the engine and started driving, well exceeding the speed limit by the time we reached the first turn. The GPS was on, but I couldn't determine where we were heading. All I knew was we were driving the opposite direction of Direfair and away from Craven Pride.

The further away they took me from Craig, the more feral my subconscious became. My instincts raged within me to go back – back to my pack, back to Craig, back home. I had to make sure everyone was alright, that the antidote had worked. Goddess knew if anyone didn't make it, that would be on my conscious forever. It'd be my fault.

"How do I know that antidote was real?" I spoke through clenched teeth, glaring at the back of Dario's head in the passenger seat. "I swear if one of them didn't make it..."

"You'll what? Turn into a wolf and kill me?" He mocked darkly. "Trust me, Chanel, if it wasn't real, you'd know it by now. I'd guess it would've felt a bit like when I rejected you."

I despised how lightly he spoke of it, as though it was a simple breakup that I could get over from in a month. As though he didn't cause me more than a decade's worth of agony and self-destructive thoughts. I wanted to die because of him, and Goddess forbid if Craig was dead...I would die by trying to kill Dario.

But as twisted as he was, he had a point. We've well exceeded the time limit he's given Bonnie before she could give the antidote to the rest. If Craig didn't make it, I would've instantly felt it. It would've been a pain unlike any other I've endured. However, that still didn't put my mind at ease thinking of the others. Was Clemmy alright? And did Reyna's baby...

I felt sick, I couldn't even fathom it. It killed me not knowing, and I'll probably spend the rest of my life not knowing whether anyone died this night. Dario will make sure I have no contact with them, that I'll simply disappear.

We drove in silence for Goddess know how long. I kept my mouth shut the entire way, never tearing my eyes off the moon as it ascended with each passing minute. Only when I couldn't see it out of my limited view from the window anymore, did I bother to check the time on the GPS – it was past midnight, meaning we've been driving for three hours now.