Our Fatal Failings (Twisted book two)

Chapter 10

 I wake up alone, cold, with the comforter slipping off my legs. No better than the first time. Blood crusts my skin and the wound has already healed over. Raised, puffy and raw. Where is he?

I stop myself.

Why am I asking?

I slip out of bed and head into the shower. I need hot water, I need to let it burn me, to let it scorch my skin and jog my memory.

The hot water hits my skin and rolls down in beads. I keep my hands to the wall and close my eyes. The night comes back to me. The goosebumps on my skin, the erratic beat of my heart when I realized there was someone with me and the cold shock when I saw his face. It was like being doused in cold water, or more like being dunked into cold water. So that's what happened then. But what now?

'You are mine and your place is by my side.' That meant a crown, a throne, a people and a future. But he couldn't have done this all for me--no--no person destroys a nation to prove a point.

I turn off the water and step out of the shower.

He wanted this for himself.

It strikes me as I dress that I don't know this boy. This man. He's different from the young, ambling teen Jonah I knew. He's stronger, faster and a hell lot smarter. And it's dangerous. I haven't evolved the way he has, I'm not sure if I can keep up.

I riffle through his closet and pull out another large button down.

This is larger than him and I. There's no way I'll get out again if this kingdom stays in place. But I am one woman, barely, how can I do anything?

I'm biting my thumbnail in thought when the door opens. Jonah is dressed, with a sour look on his face. His eyes settle on me and his face softens. "You're awake."

"Yeah."

"How do you feel?"

"Exactly like I did last time."

"And the voice?"

"Gone." I fold my legs criss-cross. What is he waiting for? For me to talk more?

He stands in silence for a minute. "I want you to know I'm not the bad guy. I know that's what you think, but I'm not."

"Then what are you?"

"My actions were justified, you know that."

"No, I don't know that. I wanted to be left alone, I wanted to be free."

He rolls his eyes. "Yes, you wanted to live a normal life. You repeat that line again and again like a broken record. I'm sorry, you can't live a normal life because you're not a normal girl. You're a werewolf, end of story."

"It was working, I was going through nursing school, I had friends, a boyfriend-" His eyes flare yellow. "Erm, a place I could call my own, life was good."

He rubs his hands over her face, keeping his fingers by his temples until his eyes go back to a normal shade of blue. "And you needed Wolfsbane to do it all. Wolfsbane use, production and distribution is illegal, not to mention harmful."

"How?"

"The dulling of the sense, the chance that the batch will be too concentrated, it's all bad for you. It's like human drugs--too much can kill you."

I fold my hands on my lap. "Actually, what do you want from me? Is it the same as four years ago? My love?"

"Your cooperation would be nice too. Our relationship is important, the most important thing to me, but I have a country to run and there's the role of queen that needs filling."