Tish POV
I wait for what feels like hours for Phoebe to come back and make good on her promise to kill me. But no one comes. The sound of people shuffling around the house outside of my room has disappeared, and I am beginning to wonder if everyone has left. Walking to the door of my prison, I knock and call out loudly. "Hello!" But no one comes.
I twist the doorknob, and it turns easily. 'This is dangerous,' I tell myself, but I open the door anyway.
I expect to be met with a gun pointed at my face, but instead, I am met with silence. It is dark, but I do not dare to turn on any of the lights. The floor creaks loudly as I walk through what appears to be a pack house. Pictures hang on the walls of pack members. Everyone has a bright smile on their face. They look happy.
Peeking my head into all the rooms, I quickly realize everyone is gone. What could have made them abandon everything so quickly and leave a prisoner behind? It doesn't make any sense.
I find the kitchen, and an old landline phone hanging on the wall is there. Picking up the receiver, I am met with a dial tone. My shoulders slump with relief—it works.
I call the only number I know by heart. After several rings, Mae's sweet voice answers.
"Hello," she says sleepily.
"Mae," I cry her name. "I fucked up."
"What do you mean?" She asks. "Where is Kieran?"
"I left without him," I tell her.
Mae growls loudly. It is a sound I will never get used to hearing from her. "He didn't tell me." Her voice is full of hurt. Kieran must be at the South Pack by now, and he didn't tell her I wasn't there.
"There are more important things than your relationship," I snap at her.
"What is going on?" A familiar man's voice comes on the line.
I know it is one of Kieran's fathers, but I don't know which one. It doesn't matter.
"The recusants know Raven is on the move," I spit out.
"The recusants are dead," he growls back at me.
"Then why am I being held by them?" I snap.
"How are you making a phone call if you are captive?" He responds snarkily.
"They all left and left me behind," I reply. "But you aren't listening to me, Raven in danger."
There is a loud scuffle on the other end of the call, and Mae's voice comes back through the line.
"Where are you?" She asks.
"I don't know," I reply. "But I am not sticking around."
"Where will you go?" Mae demands to know.
"I am coming home," I whisper. "To you."
The floor behind me creaks, and I quickly hang up the call. I turn slowly, knowing these could be the last moments of my life. Jason is standing behind me with a bottle of liquor in his hands. He looks horrible. There is a cut above his eye that is slowly healing, and blood down the front of his shirt. He fought with someone, and I am positive it is all my fault.
"What are you doing out of your room?" He slurs his words.
"Someone left my door unlocked," I quip.
"Took you long enough to figure it out," he shouts. "Whatever will you do now?"
"I am leaving," I respond confidently.
"Go," he waves his arms wildly.
It is a trap. It has to be. "You are going to just let me walk out of here?"
"Why not," he sighs. "It's not like you are actually important to the cause."
"Wow," I mutter. "That is rather hurtful."
I approach him slowly and brush a strand of hair out of his face. He winces as I brush my fingers across the cut on his forehead. "What does the other guy look like?" I try to joke.
"Better than me," he sighs.
Grabbing a towel off the counter, I wet it and press it against his forehead. He tries to swat my hand away, but I don't let him. "You might be a werewolf," I scold him. "But you have still got to keep it clean."
"What makes you the expert?" He mocks me.
"I was in nursing school for a few years," I respond in a clipped tone. "Just shut up and let me clean you up."
We sit in silence as I clean the wound on his head. His brown eyes are boring into mine, and I am starting to feel uncomfortable. He keeps leaning closer to me, and I worry he might kiss me.
"You are drunk," I remind him. "Don't do anything stupid."
Pulling my hand away from him, he sighs. "I think you should go. I don't think they are coming back, but I don't want you here if they do."
"Come with me," I suggest. "You don't belong here either. I can tell."
"My father would never accept me back now. Not after what I have done," he says before taking another swig of his drink. "Get out before I come to my senses."
"Say less," I mutter and run from the kitchen.
The front door is right in front of me, but for some reason, I turn around. Jason is leaning up against the wall, watching me.
"Go," he urges me.
"Come with me," I plead with him. "You don't belong in a place like this."
"You just need a ride," he scoffs.
"That, too," I laugh.
''I will take you to the nearest truck stop. After that, we part ways," he says, storming past me.
He gets into the front of the SUV that brought me here, and I climb in beside him.
"You are really stupid," he tells me as he pulls away from the house.
"Oh yeah," I raise an eyebrow at him.
"I could take you into the middle of nowhere and have my way with you," he smirks.
"But you won't," I tell him. "You love Phoebe. You don't want to inflict that kind of pain on her."
"Speaking from experience?" He asks.
"Yep," I respond curtly.
"She doesn't love me," he opens up. "She only wanted me for my status, but when she found out I was the second born, she got upset and demanded I come with her."
"She doesn't love anyone but herself," I tell him. "What will you do now?"
"I don't know," Jason replies. "I have betrayed the Luna Queen. There is no recovering from that."
"Maybe you could make it up to her," I say stupidly.
"That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard," he chuckles.
"At least it made you laugh," I smile.