Claws // Colby Brock

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☯︎☯︎☯︎☯︎☯︎

"We heard everything," Cassie muttered as she dropped to the floor beside me. She sounded sympathetic, but I was too angry about life to really believe in it.

"I'm sure you're all laughing your asses off about it."

She tutted. "Hey, we're not assholes. Well, ten of us aren't, but Colby wasn't laughing, either."

"Whoop, whoop," I murmured sarcastically. She gently pushed at my shoulder, a frown on her face. As I looked at her, I saw that she really was trying to make it better despite hardly knowing me. A part of my mind reminded me that the only reason she was acting this way was because she wanted me to end up with Colby, even if she didn't see him in a positive light herself.

She reinforced that part of my mind when she said, "If you don't have anywhere else to go, you could stay here."

"Ha!"

"I'm serious." Her hand landed on my shoulder. "We're vampires, you're a werewolf, but so what? Plenty of clans and packs mingle all the time."

"That's not what I found so funny," I remarked, nodding my head toward the door behind us. Her lips pressed together, unsure of how to respond. We both knew Colby wouldn't want me living at the house, and because of him, I didn't want to, either.

In an attempt to change the subject, Cassie glanced around us. "Who were you talking to?"

"Lyle?" I asked, playing dumb. She merely gave me a look. "The Goddess. She's the reason I'm suddenly homeless."

She frowned. "But I thought werewolves regard her to be more loving than anyone else? That she never does them wrong and gives them everything they need in life?"

"To an extent," I agreed, clenching my jaw, "but she also has her own goals, own plans and contingencies for if we don't follow her guidance." I laughed humourlessly. "And I walked away from my mate with every intention of never seeing him again, so this is her contingency."

"To punish you?" Cassie questioned.

"No." I twisted to face her. "Think about what you offered me just now, and what that could lead to if I said yes."

She did. She thought it over for a long couple of seconds. If I said yes to staying at the house, I'd be living with Colby, forced to be around him until my apartment was fixed, and even if nothing happened during that time between us, somehow she'd find a way to still keep me here until something did. Like delaying the progress of the renovation or all-out killing Lyle. Not that I'd complain some days.

When Cassie realised all of that, her eyes widened. "That manipulative bitch."

"Yeah."

"But... do you have anywhere to go?"

I looked away toward the pool glistening under the moonlight, gentle ripples crossing the surface as a breeze flew through the air. "No, I don't. I don't have a pack or any friends."

"So, would that make us your only option?"

I wanted to glare at her and say no, say that I could afford to go live in a hotel for probably months until my apartment was ready, but I was just kidding myself. There was no way I was going to survive without somewhere to live rent-free... "I guess so." I groaned, covering my face with my hands. "Could you just kill me, Cassie? I'd rather die right now."

"Sorry, no. I couldn't do that to-" I was glaring at her, so she rephrased. "I don't kill people."

"Just my luck," I muttered as I dragged myself onto my feet. I started walking toward my bag, desperate to stall as much as I could before I had to face anyone inside. I didn't want to even look at them. In fact, I wanted to throw myself into that pool and let the water finish me off.