7. DEVRIM: ANOTHER KIND OF TROUBLE

It was a mess.
There wasn’t a surface in the apartment that had been left untouched. Every single thing Vanya owned had been destroyed.
I sighed as I picked up a piece of clothing and held it up to inspect it. A knife had been used to rip the material—just like what had been done to the couches and the bed. Pain had been thrown on the floor, wall and some parts of the ceiling. Her plates, glasses and ornament had all been smashed to pieces too.
Dropping what used to be a dress, I turned to stare at the wall where they had painted words on.
Whore. Animal-lover. Traitor. Killer. Bitch. Slut.
Those were just some of the words. I had no clue what the other words meant but I knew that they were just as bad as the few I knew.
I ran a hand through my hair and walked out of the bedroom. What would they have done to Vanya is she had been here? Would they have killed her or only hurt her? Why had they destroyed her apartment?
The brothers were on their way. I called them the moment Ezra told me what happened. There was a possibility that we might be able to trace the ones who did this.
Just when I thought that things were starting to settle down!
My eyes snapped over to the door when it was thrown open. I frowned at Vanya and then glared at Ezra when he appeared behind her a moment later.
“You were supposed to take her home,” I growled.
He sneered at me. “I tried!”
Muttering a curse, I stepped forward and reached for her but Vanya instantly jerked away. Pain flashed through but I pushed it aside and followed her down the hall and into her bedroom.
“Vanya.”
For a moment she paused in the doorway before she stumbled forward, deeper into her bedroom. I frowned as she started searching through the mess on the floor. Her movements became more fanatic with every passing second.
“Vanya—”
“It’s gone!” she cried. “They took it.”
“Took what?” I asked her.
“They took it!”
Movement from the corner of my eyes made me turn my head. I frowned at Obsidian who only caught my eyes for a few seconds before he looked at Vanya.
What was the use of trying to protect them from danger if they couldn’t follow simple orders?
Obsidian walked over to Vanya and reached for her but like she had done when I tried to grab her, she jerked away. He wasn’t letting her get away so easily, though. Reaching for her again, he managed to grab hold of her wrist. Obsidian jerked her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist before she could move away.
His chest rumbled in a low warning that instantly made her freeze.
“You’re touching things that could have been used to help us find whoever did this,” he growled.
“They took it,” she repeated.
Obsidian looked at me in question but I shrugged. “What?”
“They took Mom’s necklace,” Vanya whispered. “I found it at the house after I went to get some of my things. It was I wanted to come here so I could get it but it’s gone now. They took it!”
“It could be around here somewhere underneath all this mess,” I told her as I walked over to them. “We’ll search for it, okay?”
She nodded but she didn’t look convinced.
“We’ll find it, rosebud,” I promised her.
“It’s all I have that belonged to her,” she croaked.
I took another step closer and reached out. Vanya leaned into my touch as tears filled her eyes. Those tears turned into a sob a few seconds later.
Obsidian pressed a hand to the back of her head and guided her face to his chest. He pressed his cheek against hers as a soft purr fell from his lips.
I stared at them for a few more seconds before I turned away. It pained me to see her crying, especially when I knew that there wasn’t much I could do to stop those tears.
My hands curled into fists as my eyes darted around again. I was going to find the bastards who did this and I was going to fucking make them pay.

***

I couldn’t even be pissed at Ezra for leaving without letting me know because if he hadn’t left we might not have known about Vanya’s apartment.
Apart from the faint stench of the paint all other scents had already faded which meant that her apartment hadn’t been trashed recently. It could have happened right after she left with me for all we knew.
I ran a hand through my hair as I turned away from the window in my office at the main house.
The brothers had found nothing else that could have been used to trace whoever had done it, and the necklace Vanya had been searching for hadn’t been found either.
Melanie’s necklace.
She never took it off. I remembered the one time when the clasp on it broke and she nearly had a panic attack when she realized that it was gone. Luckily we found it soon after on the couch she had been sitting on. It had slipped off when she stood without her realizing it.
I didn’t know why it had been so important to her but I wasn’t going to lie and say that I hadn’t been curious.
But how had Vanya gotten hold of it?
My frown deepened as I started pacing. She said that she found it at the house when she went to get her stuff. She must’ve meant Reeve’s house, but what things would she get from there? As far as I remembered, Vanya only had some clothing there that she never wore.
Why was Melanie’s necklace in that house? Wasn’t she wearing it when she died?
By the time we had found out about the accident, Chief Curry had already taken control of things. We weren’t allowed anywhere near the crash site and there hadn’t been much we could see from a distance.
Guilt flooded me. I should’ve tried harder to find out what had really happened to Melanie.
“I don’t understand females,” Ezra growled as he stormed into the room. “One minute she won’t go near him and now she can’t stay away.”
“You’re talking about Vanya?”
“Who else?” He dropped down on the couch and glared at me.
“Don’t stir—”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Ezra interrupted.
My eyes narrowed. “Then stop acting like a pup!” I hissed at him.
He blinked at me before he lowered his head.
“They are bonded, Ezra,” I said as I took a seat opposite him. “It won’t be long before Obsidian’s control snaps and he gives in to the urge to strengthen their bond. We can’t intervene when that happens.”
“You shouldn’t have stopped him when he wanted to go stay in the cave.”
“And where would that have gotten us?” I asked him.
“We would have gotten to spend more time with Vanya without him occupying her mine.”
I scoffed. “I can smell her all over you, Ezra. It’s not like she doesn’t spend any time with us.”
“But for how long will that last? How long do you think it’s going to take for Obsidian to fuck things up again?” He sat up and leaned forward. “He—”
“Don’t fucking talk about me behind my back.”
My eyes snapped over to the doorway where Obsidian stood glaring at Ezra.
Ezra’s lips parted but whatever he was about to say was forgotten when Vanya stepped out from behind Obsidian and walked over to us. She hesitated, eyes darting from Ezra to me, but then she turned and walked over to the window.
“It’s rude,” Vanya said softly, “and a human trade I hate. If you want to say something then do it to the person’s face. It might hurt less than having to hear it from someone else.”
I looked at Ezra and smiled when I took in the colour in his cheeks. He was definitely regretting his actions. For once someone other than me had put him in his place.
“Is there any news?” Obsidian asked.
“No.” I leaned back. “Not yet anyway.”
“Have you asked any of the neighbours?” Vanya asked. “They might have seen or heard something.”
“They refuse to talk to us, rosebud. The only way to get them talking is to involve the Curry.”
“No humans,” Obsidian growled. “They’ll take over. We won’t get any answer if he’s in control.” Another growl fell from his lips. “I don’t trust him.”
“You don’t trust anyone,” Ezra whispered.
Surprisingly Obsidian didn’t react to his words which made me look at him. He was watching Vanya with a frown.
“Vanya?” Ezra sounded concerned.
Turning, I followed their gazes and frowned at her.
She still stood by the window but she was leaning forward, nose brushing the glass as she stared at something outside.
I was instantly on alert.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I walked over to her.
“M-my. . .she has it,” Vanya stuttered, raising a hand to press a finger to the window.
I stopped next to her and glanced around at the pride members lingering about outside the house before I followed the direction she was pointing in. She was pointing to a female that stood close to another.
Sure enough, around the female’s neck hung Melanie’s necklace.