This shit is all kinds of fucked up. Atticus has been fooled and betrayed once in his past. Many years ago, a wolf called to him, but it was only a bitch using potions to lure him in and gain status. Her betrayal and ultimate heartbreak for my brother has left his soul scarred and Zatrina only opened that bitter wound once more. Can’t fight fate though. They may be able to sever the bond, but if what Zatrina said is true, and the Ancients fated us to be together, breaking that tie will be a painful one.
“I don’t know if what you say is true,” Jaz’s head snaps around, her face marred with disbelief at my words, but I continue, “that’s not to say I won’t give you the benefit of the doubt. My brothers and I have always brought in the exiled. We’ve been lied to and betrayed many times, so we vet each new member,” I tell Jaz and her sister, “once we can determine you’re telling the truth, we will allow you to go free.”
Without looking at each other, they both give one sharp nod in unison.Another tally on the side of truth.
“Alpha, if I may, the tattoos on her eyebrows are property runes.” Knix pipes up from her silent corner, “they say Coven of Nine.”
Zatrina scoffs, “They’re not tattoos, they’re burn scars. I was held down as they branded me like a fucking cow. Believe me or not, Alpha, but what I said is nothing but the truth. I needed to do whatever it took to keep my sister,your mate,safe from the Dark Bloods,” She points at her left brow, “Coven of Nine is their real name, and they won’t give up. They never mentioned exactly how they’d use you and your brothers, but they had a plan.”
Jaz and I look at each other while Knix approaches Zatrina, asking her questions about the Dark Bloods.
Tell me, Jaz, do you believe her?As I told her, this is her pack too. Her wisdom and insights are just as meaningful as my own. An Alpha is stronger with his mate.
I do. Just as you would with Case or Atticus, I feel this pull toward her. Familial and comforting. My wolf seems to know and believe her as well. She could have killed me or at least seriously wounded me in the cabin, but she didn’t. Even facing her own death, she didn’t try to kill me.
I cup her cheek, tilting her face further up so she can look into my eyes,okay, I’ll give her a chance. But if I feel even the slightest threat from her, I will kill her without trial.
She nods once, warmth and gratitude shining brightly in her glowing eyes. She turns back to Zatrina, “Listen, I know you don’t know me, but this is all heavy as hell, and I don’t do so well with tension. I have a shit sense of humor which is mostly dark sarcasm and ironic jokes.” She shakes her head, chuckling at her own rambling while Zatrina looks at her with a small smile that brings youth and warmth to her face.
“All that to say; there’s a party happening tonight so that everyone in Cutthroat can get to know me. Would you like to come with us? Maybe get out of this room for a little while?”
Zatrina smiles broadly, her ashy eyes glowing like faint flames before extinguishing completely, “That’s not a good idea. Everyone here probably wants to kill me after what I did.”
“That’s true,” Jaz says with brutal honesty that makes her sister’s shoulder drop even further, “but hiding in here only makes them think you truly are guilty when you weren’t. Let’s go show them your actions were not your own,” Jaz lowers her voice, stage whispering like no one else can hear her, “besides, I attacked their Alphas, I have some redemption to find too, let’s start tonight. Together.”
Sweet but also reckless as fuck. My woman has a giant heart and even if Zatrina is who she says she is, and has no ill will toward my mate, she could still hurt her. Be it emotionally or physically. Either way, I can’t help but feel like Jaz is setting herself up for pain, and it has my insides warring with the need to protect her at all costs. But I promised Jaz I’d give this girl a chance.
Jaz is right however, if it were Case or Atticus in Zatrina’s shoes, I’d be giving them the same benefit of the doubt Jaz is. But that fact is, the situation is not that way, and what I’m seeing before me versus what I witnessed yesterday, causes an inflation of distrust in my mind. Is it possible that Zatrina was able to rid herself of the Demons or is she still manipulating? The truth remains to be seen, and until I can let go of these doubts, I’ll be keeping a very close eye on this girl.
“Okay, but first,” Zatrina turns to me, “is there any way you can have someone look at our blood? Perhaps use it to find Dozie and bring her here?”
She pronounces the third sister’s name like doe and zee. I wonder what fate had in store for her. It seems as though Jaz and Zatrina have both been dealt opposite hands in life. Jaz grew up in a pack that treated her as one of theirs, while Zatrina was exiled from the Nola pack.
“Yes, we have Witches here as well. I’ll ask one to do a blood search tomorrow. I’ll also be getting a hold of the Nola pack to see if your story pans out with them as well.”
Zatrina nods, no scent of fear or lies on her, “Good. Now, can someone take these blasted things off me? They clash with my skin tone.” She jangles the silver cuff and chain.
Seems her and Jaz both have that snarky ass humor. Atticus will have his work cut out for him.
I watch with tense muscles, ready to protect my mate, as Knix pulls on leather gloves before sliding the key into the locking mechanism and letting Zatrina free. She rubs her wrists as her skin knits back together, her wolf's power heals the open wounds. By the time she's standing from the bed, it's as if the silver had never touched her. Even her fingertips are flawless despite having burned them on the chain.
"Knix, go get Steph and a couple more ol’ ladies to help Zatrina find clothes and food," Knix rushes off with her extra boost of speed. Being half Vampires, half Werewolf, her speed is quite the tool in her arsenal.
"I have some clothes that'll fit you. Tomorrow I can take you on a tour of the grounds, there's a little pack shop up the road, we'll buy you some clothes and things," Jaz says with excitement before turning to me, "be right back."
Once she's gone, I turn back to Zatrina, my face clear of any emotion I normally have with Jaz around, "Do you see that joy she has in her eyes? That unfiltered wonderment at having a sister?"
Zatrina nods, her eyes not flinching from mine. No wonder the Nola Alpha felt threatened by her, "She's very trusting, isn't she?"
"Indeed," I cross my arms over my chest, my eyes glowing with my Alpha power, "break her trust in any way—even if it's simply being late for something—you won't just have the Dark Bloods as enemies, you'll have me. And darlin', you're already trapped on my land.”
It looks as if Zatrina's ashy eyes shine with tears, but she looks away too quickly for me to be sure, "You don't know me, Alpha, but that trusting girl is already everything to me. My words will never prove my sincerity, but I hope to Ancients she's never in a situation that allows me to prove it with actions," She looks back up at me, the tears clinging to her lashes, "because I will die for her if I have to and that would break her."
Call me heartless, call me cold, call me an asshole; trust me, I already know. But even with the truth ringing clearly in her unflinching voice,I still don't trust her.