CAGED (#3, of Crows and Thorns)

Chapter 23

It was oddly quiet except for the wraith-wolf making a strange chomping noise when I stalked into my room.

The chrome lamp was switched on and its tall neck curved over the couch, its golden light spilling downward. A few other ceiling lights glowed in a dimmer setting, a comforting presence for a girl terrified of absolute darkness. Towering brickwork, carved into the likeness of pillars, met the roofline of the outer walls which was opened up with the large spaces I'd cut away for Nelle. The magic of the tower acted like a windowpane—allowing light through but keeping the chilly evening elements out.

Moonlight seeped into the room, spilling over Nelle, who was curled up on the couch reading. Soft cream blankets were tucked around her legs and middle. She looked sweet and innocent sitting there reading a novel with a sleeve of her white oversized dress falling off a shoulder, moonlight glancing over the crown of her pale hair and limning the edge of her features.

A lie.

A godsdamned fucking lie.

The girl wasn't sweet and innocent. She was a wraith-wolf, with claws and fangs and a spiteful tongue.

Nelle didn't bother to look up from her book when I walked in, just coldly greeted me with, "Evening, prick," as she flipped over a page.

Sage gave a low warning growl, his silvery eyes fixed on me as I entered my domain. He was lying on the floor beside the couch, his enormous body shimmering as his misty fur wisped with his movements. His deadly fangs sank into the mangled leather of a shoe as he wrestled his head from side to side, one large paw over the upper of the boot for leverage.

I drifted to a slow halt.

My eyes rounded as I took in what was scattered all over the floor.

What the hells?

Every single shoe I owned was chewed to a pulp by Sage. Torn to pieces. Ripped to shreds. Just mutilated strips of leather and crunched metal zips and butchered soles. The only pair of shoes I had left were the ones I was wearing.

"What the fuck is all of this?" I bellowed, flinging my arms outward, waving them at the surrounding destruction.

Nelle's gaze darted to the boot in Sage's maw, then back to her book. "He's bored and there was nothing else to play fetch with."

"He can leave the rooms," I bit out, as anger blustered its way through my veins. The godsdamned wraith-wolf could come and go as he pleased.

"He won't, because I can't," she snapped back, turning another page with an annoyed flick. She finally turned her gaze toward me. A cold feeling swept through me to see the flecks of charcoal and silver in her gray eyes sparkle with barely concealed mirth. "Enjoy your evening out, asshole?" she crooned, taunting me.

I just lost it there and then. Fury billowed through me in swathes of blistering flames.

"How dare you mock my cock!" I roared, storming forward to stab a finger at her. "You know it's nothing like how you described!"