Chapter 93: Rhys
Bodies littered the halls of my house. The stench of death was overwhelming. My people... The very people I had sworn to be protect, but none of them mattered right now... Grace.
I raced up the stairs paying no mind to anyone. Some of the bodies were still moving slightly, but others were definitely dead. I hadn’t seen a massacre this bad since the night my parents had died. But none of it mattered.
I let my wolf track Grace. I could feel Leon’s surprise when I raced past my floor and stopped at the rickety ladder. I shifted back to my human form again and grabbed a pair of shorts from the stashed bag and made my way up the ladder. There was no time to explain how I knew that Grace was on the roof, Ethan was dead. All I knew that we all knew was that Grace was in an unknown amount of danger still. Her brother had died protecting her, at least, that’s what I hoped had happened.
The cool air of the night hit my face, but I used it to sober me up. There was no huge fight up here like I sort of expected. In fact, I saw nothing. I scanned the roof again, wondering if I was too late... If Grace had been kidnapped. If everything had been for nothing. How could I have been so wrong?
But then I saw her. Crouched on the very corner of the roof, trying to hide her body from the wind, staring down at something so intensely, she hadn’t even noticed me or Caleb or Leon’s appearance. As I got closer, I could see her shaking violently, and what she was staring at, had me staring too. Her arm was stuck in a partial morph. Her hands were claws and they were covered in blood, and for a split second in time I wondered if I had once again chosen the wrong mate... If she had somehow lost control and killed everyone...
“Grace?” I whispered.
Her wide blue eyes were wild as she looked up at me finally noticing my presence, and my heart leaped out of my chest.
“I killed him.” She whispered, looking back down at the blood on her paw.
“You killed who?” I asked, nervously, afraid to know the answer.
“I killed him.” She started frantically muttering, completely lost to her own thought. “I killed him.”
I just stood there. Like an idiot, unsure what to do. I didn’t know who she killed or if she was going to do it again. But to my surprise, Caleb stepped forward, his eyes locked on her, as he knelt down in front of her like she was a scared animal.
“You’re okay, Grace,” He said gently. “You’re safe.”
She looked at him wildly, like she wanted to run.
“Do you remember me?” He asked gently as she began frantically picking at her fur. “I’m Rhys’ twin.”
She didn’t acknowledge him, but he gently took her hand and paw in his, forcing her to stop picking at it.
“I killed him,” She whispered again.
“Who did you kill, Grace?” I had never heard him be that gentle before. It was a total 180.
“Ethan.” She breathed.
In the distance, I could hear the helicopter approaching and the wind picked up because of it. I could also see my members of my army, my pack, begin to engage with it. Hopefully enough to deter it from coming any closer.
“You killed Ethan?” Caleb asked, his voice completely level.
I couldn’t hide my surprise. My Grace? My sweet, kind, gentle Grace, killed her own brother?
“What happened?” Caleb asked.
“He was using me,” A sob raked through her and the waterworks then started, and my heart hurt for her. I had let myself for a moment believe that she could be a monster, but she was Grace, and she was scared. No. Scared wasn’t strong enough of a word to describe what she was feeling. She was terrified. “He wasn’t re-really my brother.”
“I know.” Caleb answered gently.
I felt myself unfreeze and I crouched next to my brother. For the first time in a long time it seemed like we were on the same team, but I wasn’t sure I could trust him. Especially if what she said was true. We had been duked, and I had once again put my mate in danger.
Wait... How did Caleb know?
“Are you hurt?” He asked, his eyes scanning her over, and I did the same.
What the fuck... I was the Alpha King. I should be taking lead on my own mate’s care, but I couldn’t get myself to speak.
“No.” She whispered, shaking her head.
“Good.” Caleb answered, glancing up at the helicopter that was getting closer, despite the fact that my pack was now shooting at it. “Let’s go inside, and you can tell us exactly what happened, okay?”
“NO!” She screamed taking me off guard, and I immediately pulled her into my arms, no longer able to let my brother keep taking the lead.
“Shhh. It’s okay. I’m here baby, it’s okay.”
Sobs racked through her body, but she didn’t pull away to my relief.
“I can’t go back in there, Rhys,” She pleaded. “I can’t!”
“Why my love?” I asked.
“It’s my fault their dead! He came for me! He killed them all to get to me!”
“Ethan killed all those people?” I asked for clarification.
“Y-yes.”
“Impressive,” Caleb muttered under his breath.
“Not. Helpful.” I answered through gritted teeth.
The helicopter was now too close for comfort, but I didn’t know what choice I had.
I nodded to Leon who went ahead to remove all the bodies we might pass from the ladder to my office, and then I scooped up Grace in one fluid motion. She might hate me for taking her back into the house of nightmares, but we were too exposed up here on the roof. She could hate me if she needed too, but I wasn’t taking any more chances when it came to her. She might hate me, but at least she would be alive.
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