Bound in Sin (Bound #3)(12)

But Jeremiah hadn’t wanted the next alpha to have a human at his side.

So he’d sent me to die.

She saw the shock on the faces of the wolves around her. Even Heath eased his grip on her. What? Had they all really not known that old jackass Jeremiah had been dealing with the vamps for years?

Because Jeremiah had a taste for blood, too. A taste for blood and death and screams and pain. Not the best image when the werewolves in the pack were trying to show that they were more than beasts.

But Jeremiah had sure liked to play with his prey.

The vamps had gotten rid of the bodies for Jeremiah, and he’d gotten to pretend he was an evolved, strong alpha.

An agreement, of sorts, had been reached between Jeremiah and the vamps. But, sooner or later, all good and evil deals came to an end.

Jeremiah was dead. The old truce was gone. Now the vamps were looking to take back what they thought of as theirs.

Their land. Their power.

“You’re lying,” Drake snarled at the vamp. He’d yanked Malcolm right off the table, easily snapping the restraints that had held the guy. Drake lifted the vamp into the air, and Malcolm didn’t even try to break free. He just hung limply, laughing.

“Ask her…” Malcolm said, choking a bit on blood. “She begged…for you.”

Bastard.

He’d enjoyed it so much when she begged.

I stopped begging. Stopped crying. Stopped letting him enjoy her pain. In the end, she’d been the stronger one. Damn him, she’d been stronger.

Heath’s hands slackened even more on her. She yanked away from him. “Vamps use distraction as their number one attack method.” That’s what Malcolm was trying to do then. Why didn’t the wolves realize what was happening? “He wants to buy time, to give the others a chance to regroup and come in again for an attack.”

Paige inched forward as the wolves glanced around the room. She just needed to get within striking distance. Almost…there.

Drake swung his gaze back to her. “You weren’t at the lake.”

Paige could still smell the lake. That long ago day, the polar night had ended. The darkness had faded and the sunlight had just been about to come her way. Everything had been fresh. New.

She and Drake had wanted to see the sun together.

Then start their lives together.

She’d gone to Lost Lake early because she’d been so excited. She hadn’t cared about what Drake was. She’d just loved him.

When she’d heard the twig snap and the rustle in the bushes, she’d thought it was him. She’d spun around with a smile on her face.

Hello, little wolf whore.

“No,” she whispered through numb lips as the past and the present fought in her mind, “I wasn’t at the lake.”

Drake’s claws dug into Malcolm’s neck. More blood flowed. “I waited for you,” Drake told her, sounding lost. She’d been lost, for so long. His eyes were still on her as he said, “I waited for hours. But you never came. You left me. You couldn’t stand what I was.”

A few more steps, and she’d be at his side. “I left,” Paige agreed softly. Wasn’t that what she wanted him to know?

“She screamed,” Malcolm gasped out the words. Damn him. Shut up. Only he wasn’t shutting up. He was saying… “Jeremiah had taken you too far away…and you couldn’t hear her. We cloaked our scents, so you never knew we were…at that lake. Then the old alpha came…because he wanted to make sure…she died…”

You won’t tempt the boy again. Jeremiah’s vow to her. He’d met up with the vamps. In some God-forsaken cabin. A place that had reeked of death and fear.

But by the time he’d gotten there, she’d stopped screaming. She’d realized her screams were only building the excitement for the vamps. They got off on her pain.

So the tears had streaked silently down her cheeks, but she’d stopped crying out. Her lips had clamped together. She’d bit through them to hold back her cries.

Jeremiah had come to kill her. She’d understood that instantly. He’d wanted to be the one to send her to the grave. Personally. Because she’d dared to try and taint his pack with her human blood.

But Gabe…oh, Gabe, he’d always been so smart. He’d known that Jeremiah wouldn’t be around forever, and with Drake growing bigger and stronger every day…

A new alpha’s taking over. When he rises, I’ll have what he wants most. Gabe had whispered those words to her. Then kissed her tears away. Don’t be afraid, love. You’re not dying…yet.

“I wasn’t at the lake,” she said again as she tried to push the past back into the dark hole in her mind. Drake needed to remember her leaving him. He had to be strong. He couldn’t have a weakness.

Gabe was counting on his weakness.

She blinked. Why were her cheeks wet? Dammit, she was crying, and the wolves were all staring at her, dead silent.

As silent as she’d been when Jeremiah had raked his claws down her arm. Then her side.

But Gabe had stopped him before the bastard could rip out her heart.

“She’s not yours to kill, Jeremiah.” Gabe’s taunting voice still haunted her mind. “She’s ours now.”

“We didn’t turn her right away.” Malcolm’s body trembled and his voice shook. “She…got away from us…gave us quite a chase…”