Bound Book 2

Chapter 56 - Savannah

Skylar

"Skylar!" My name is called, followed by a hard shake.

"Skylar. What the fuck happened? What did you do?" Gael. Shit. He is free. I open my eyes, fear coursing through me when I see the look on his face. He looks livid, his face inches from mine.

"Did you really think tying me up with my own whip would keep me contained? And how did you even knock me out?" he spits, little droplets landing on my face. The anger radiating off him scares me.

"I didn't; I swear," I say as he grips my chin painfully, looking for signs of deception. I didn't technically knock him out, so it wasn't a lie.

He lets go of my chin, stepping back and pulling on his hair. He looks like a maniac. Unhinged.

"I'm trying not to hurt you, but you are making it very hard. Don't you understand that once I kill everyone you know, it will be just you and me? You and me forever." I stand up slowly as he turns around, the tone of his voice soft but doing nothing to reassure me—the calm before the storm.

Fuck. I hope Dmitri gets here soon. I can't tell how long it has been since leaving Gran and seeing him with the others in my cabin. I also don't know exactly how far this is from my cabin. Fifteen minutes possibly, if it's close to the original version of this house.

A hard knock at the door sends my already racing heartbeat into overdrive.

Gael jumps, his hand firmly gripping the whip as he slowly approaches the door.

Without warning, it bursts open, my heart sinking when I see it is Savannah. Her being here means Dmitri and the others should be close. I look around, my eyes scanning the forest I can see through the windows. The moon only illuminates it so much. Beyond the tree line, I cannot see who lurks in the dark.

"What the fuck are you doing here!" Gael hisses out furiously.

"I escaped from that hell hole you are responsible for having me put in." Her voice brings back bad memories, the only ones I regret coming back to me, those that involved her.

She pushes past Gael, her confidence in light of how clearly pissed off Gael is, impressive.

The woman in front of me, however, has a different appearance from the one in my mind. Gone is the long black hair. Instead, it is cut into a short bob, the angular cut suiting this much plumper face than I remember. Her figure, while still curvy, is fuller. No doubt the after-effects of her giving birth. To a baby that was not Dmitris as she had initially claimed. Anger rises, but knowing she might be here to help has me biting my tongue.

She could also be here to stab us in the back, I remind myself.

Olive-green eyes meet mine, her expression changing to one of anger.

"Well, well, if it isn't the bitch who ruined my life," she says, walking towards me.

"How did you know where I am?" Gael asks, his hand shooting out to grip Savannah's arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"Duh, you told me about this. That time you came to see me in Dmitri's house when I stayed with him in the pack. You told me you have a house near her old one where you and Sky would live when the plan was successful. I am disappointed that I received the raw end of this deal. Here you are, shaking up with Sky while I'm kept prisoner. Do you know that I gave birth to my baby in a cell? A fucking cell Gael. That wasn't part of the plan," she says, snatching her arm out of his grasp.

"Were you followed?" Gael asks harshly, his gaze moving from Savannah to the door, suspicious of what is happening. Savannah continues towards me, smirking as she assesses me, her eyes traveling my disheveled body from head to toe.

The look in her eye has me glancing over at Gael, unsure which is the lesser of two evils. Gael has locked the door and is now moving to the kitchen, his focus on the darkened forest surrounding the house as he looks for movement.

"I still don't see what he saw in you—little mousy thing. You bear responsibility as much as Gael does for my current situation. If it weren't for you, I would be sitting pretty next to Dmitri, a much better match than his current one," she says as she circles me, her mouth coming close to my ear as her gaze darts over to Gael, who is now looking out the sliding doors leading into the sunroom.

"I promised Dmitri only to give you this," she whispers harshly in my ear as she slips a small glass vile into my hand, "to remove the choker around your neck. A swipe of the potion is all it takes. Beyond that, I owe you nothing else."

Her cryptic words leave me shivering, along with the finger she is dragging down my arm. Slowly, a smirk creeps up her face, her eyes never leaving mine.

"We're leaving. Now." Gael says, a flicker of emotion passing across Savannah's face before it is replaced with a smirk.

"I'm coming with you," Savannah says, her eyes lazily moving from me to Gael.

"Why the fuck would I take you with me? For all I know, you have led Dmitri and the witches here. I should fucking kill you," Gael says, barreling towards Savannah before gripping her by the neck and lifting her slightly off the floor. I take this opportunity while Gael is distracted to uncork the vile behind my back.

Savannah doesn't even flinch while getting the life choked out of her, a smirk slowly climbing onto her face instead.

"Really, Gael? But then, how would you know Sky's secret? The secret as to why you cannot absorb her powers," Savannah's mouth pulls into a mocking sad face, her eyes on me as my heart sinks. If she spills the beans about our baby Gael will lose it. More so than his current state. He is dangerous already. Imagine him then.

"Don't, Savannah," I grit out, anger radiating from me.

"Or what?" she says, laughing as Gael releases his hold from her neck.

"What are you talking about?" Gael asks, rage combined with confusion—the cocktail explosive.

My eyes go down to the whip hanging from his left hand. It seems to be connected to him, to his emotions, glowing a brighter orange the angrier and more unstable he becomes. The smoke whipping off it clings to his cloak, making him appear even scarier.

"Should I tell him, or will you do the honors, Sky?" Savannah asks, her hand massaging her neck while she continues smirking.

"Shut up, Savannah," I say, while at the same time dropping some of the potion onto my hand.

"Tell me," Gael says, a flick of his whip locking Savannah in a grasp that finally has the smirk falling from her face as she gasps in pain.

"Dmitri and Sky are the keys!" she shouts out, Gael's brow dipping in confusion.

"The key to what?" he grits out, the whip tightening around her body and causing her to scream in pain.

"A baby! The first of its kind. A tribrid," she grinds out through clenched teeth.

Gael's face morphs, a range of emotions flitting across his features. Confusion and sorrow before his eyes land on my belly. Then his face goes blank—the calm there unsettling.

"A baby. His baby." Anger flares, the rage bursting from him as the whip glows bright orange, as intense as lava. His whole body is engulfed in smoke, the illusion he has been holding in place fading away as the burns on the right side of his face appear. This is the true face of the monster.

My time is up. The hand containing the lotion flies up, gripping the cord around my neck, which disappears into thin air, Raina's potion achieving what I have been trying to do since getting her. At the same time, the front door crashes open, the force sending the door flying as it hits the opposite wall.

Savannah screams, but it is background noise as the biggest Lycan I have ever seen hurtles through the door. Pitch-black eyes lock with mine. Dmitri. Dmitri is here.

Please don't forget to comment and vote!