Shadow of the Beast (Twisted Dark #2)

Chapter Seven: Vibrant Dreams: Part Two

I flushed and closed up the canteen, my eyes falling to the skirt of my dress. A thread of disgust moved through me at the dirty and torn fabric. I wanted to change out of it but knew I couldn't. I felt all sorts of dirty and unclean but I knew there was literally nothing I could do about it. The flames of the fire slowly started to lower and I watched as the werewolf put some sort of leaves in the can he had placed in the flames. His focus on it was intense before he shifted, grabbing the dead carcass of a rabbit he had from his other side.

My eyes locked onto it and despite how I felt a pang in my chest that the poor little bunny had died, my mouth watered as he stripped the hide off it and tied it to a stick. He held it over the flames as he put another log onto the coals. My stomach growled loudly and he lazily looked over at me. "Sorry 'bout tha', pixie. I'm used t' goin' long times without food. Won't be long 'fore ye can have some." My stomach let out another rumble and I pressed my hand to it. I couldn't remember the last time I had a decent meal, it had been a few days. I had to live off of what I could get through trade or what Irma remembered to send to me and that was never enough.

My gaze landed on Jax as he rotated the rabbit in the flames, the scent of cooking meat filling the air. He wanted to kill her and I couldn't say I didn't want him to complete his goal but I also knew Irma wasn't going to come for me. She didn't care about me, she had made that perfectly clear to me as I grew up. I was an object, a thing, she could use whenever she pleased and she could do whatever she wished to me. It made my teeth on edge and I wanted to help him but I knew I was entirely useless to him.

"What did Irma do?" I asked it and he shifted, titling his head as he looked a the fire.

"Took my brother from camp. Tricked us both. No one does tha' t' me and mine." His voice turned guttural at the end and he looked at me, his eye gleaming with his beastly nature. "What would she be doin' t' him?" At the question I paused, looking at the flames.

"She's never taken a werewolf before." Never once in the twenty six years I had been with her had I ever remembered her taking one. It wasn't a smart move. It caused unneeded tension between the species and more scrutiny on her and Coven Thirteen. I knew that was something she didn't want. "She's always been given witches to work with. There has never been a need for her to take anyone else." There was more than enough witches for her to torment and experiment on. Her taking a werewolf made no sense.

He gave a small grunt. "Tha' why she had ye?" I could feel his eyes on me but I just stared at the flames, the brightness of them burning into my retinas.

"I don't know why I was given to her." She had simply told me my mother had dropped me off at her door, going to live in a small town far outside of Coven Thirteen called Havenbrook. I knew the exact location, thr street address and house number. Everything. Just another way Irma controlled me. "I don't remember a time when I wasn't with her. She's been there as long as I can remember." Nothing but memories of her. I had no memories of my parents and at times it made me ache.

"Ye grew up with her." At that I gave a small shrug. I didn't really want to get into what growing up with her entailed. "Can ye tell me what she would be doin' t' my brother?" There was an edge to his voice that had me softening slightly, it was clear he missed his brother, worried for him and I felt bad that I couldn't put his fears at ease.

"I don't know. We know all we can about werewolves. Her taking him makes no sense." I gave another shrug, frowning deeply. "Experimenting on him wouldn't work for magick and she wouldn't learn anything from it that we didn't already know." I gave a heavy sigh. "Maybe she is just trying to rile things up. She's fucking crazy." The Elder witch had been left alone to experiment for far too long. I could see the slow descent into madness that she was currently on. She had been growing more and more volatile and unpredictable. It was why I was so happy when she put me in The Broken Crow. I was far from her torment and her rages that seemed to come far too frequently.

"Tha' she is. Took my brother. No one does tha' t' me." His tone was dark and I slowly looked over at him. His expression was nearly angular and his jaw ticked with his agitation.

"She stays at Coven Thirteen but believe me when I tell you I don't know where that is." I didn't want him to hurt me thinking he could get the information.

"Why should I, pixie?" He glanced at me, lifing the rabbit out of the fire and I narrowed my eyes at him, shifting in my spot

"Because that witch has tormented me my entire life and I would give anything to see her dead." I had dreamed about it growing up, having one of her spells back fire, burning her in her workshop, having my magick come in strong and fast so I could kill her myself. I had no feeling or need to protect her. It was my fear that kept me in line but removed from her grasp I no longer felt the need to fall to her wants. "Why would I protect her from a sure fire way of making sure she wouldn't hurt me anymore?" If I had the information I would have told him but I couldn't because I didn't know.

He gave a slow nod. "Fair 'nough." He used the end of the rabbit's stick to shuffle the can from the coals before setting up several rocks to hold the rabbit over the flames. "Feet." He gestured to me and I blinked at him in confusion. He glanced at me, the fire playing with the shadows of his face and the gold in his ear as he gestured to my feet. "Feet. Let me seem 'em." He held out a large hand and I frowned before shifting to tentatively stick out a foot in his direction. His warm palm grasped my heel gently and he dipped a cloth into the can, rinsing out the excess water. He looked at the bottom of my foot before moving the cloth towards me.

I jerked my foot away, wary of what he was doing but he merely looked at me. "'S okay, pixie. Jus' Comfrey an' St. John's Wart. Helps with swellin' and bruises." He grabbed my foot again, holding the heel in his hand once more as he gently smoothed the wet cloth over the bottom of my foot. I hissed slightly at the pain the action brought and he made a faint noise in his throat. "Easy, pixie." He glanced at me, his blue eyes piercing into mine. I pinched my lips together and he continued his ministrations. The herbs made my feet sting and I bit my lip, closing my eyes against the pain.

"Talk t' me, Violet." His voice was gruff and I cracked my eyes to look at him. His gaze mine captive. "Will help with the pain." My mind raced, trying to figure out a good topic to talk about as he continues with his treatment.

"Why are you being so nice?" I was suspicious of it to be honest. His shift in behaviour was concerning for me and I wanted to know why.

"Brother mainly." His gaze was intent on my foot as he dipped the cloth back in the can before returning to my foot.

"Why?" I watched him, my face twisting with pain as he moved to a new part of my foot. My foot felt like it was on fire but there was a faint numbing that was starting to move over the spots he had done.

"Kick my ass if he knew I was treatin' ye poorly." He gave a small shrug before he set my foot down and picked my other one. His fingers brushed the skin of my ankle, slipping underneath the chain around my ankle. "Why do ye have this on, pixie?" He looked up at me and I stared at him, keeping my mouth closed. "Can ye even tell me?" I looked away, hoping he would pick up on the action to mean no.

"How badly did tha' witch treat ye?" His voice was rough as he started to wipe the cloth against the bottom of my foot.

I ground my teeth together, watching him, trying to figure out how to answer the question. "Badly enough that I would tell you where she was if I knew." I tugged on my dress, hating how ragged and dirty it looked. "I know how brutal werewolves are. I wouldn't wish that on anyone but her." I looked up at him and he had stilled in his movements before those blue eyes met mine.

"Brutal, aye, tha' we are." His fingers stroked the skin of my ankle. "But anythin' I do t' ye, pixie, ye are gunna beg me t' do." He flashed me a grin and my cheeks immediately flared red and I looked away while he chuckled, the rich sound melting into the dark night air.

"I wouldn't beg you for anything." I muttered the words out and that rich chuckle turned into a husky laugh that rolled over my skin and heated my cheeks.