~Brielle
Shame is all that I feel.
Chase and I lay in bed, my head on his chest, as I cry. I can’t help the tears, as they pool onto his shirt. At least the bleeding from my neck has stopped, thanks to Chase and his first aid abilities. But the mark is still there, stuck upon my neck, a false representation of a mate bond that doesn’t actually exist.
“This doesn’t change anything, you know,” Chase murmurs, his fingers running gently through my hair. I glance up at him, raising an eyebrow as he gazes down at me. “I still love you. You’re still my mate. We will fix this.”
“Quiet,” I breathe. “He can hear us.”
Chase sits up, forcing me too as well. He’s frowning at me, and for a moment I can’t tell why. I’m numb, nothing makes sense right now. But of course, this is big news.
“He admitted that all this time, he has been seeing through your eyes. I’m assuming it’s because he is the original host of the body. He can hear everything right now. It means no more talking about anything. Okay?” I say. He looks defeated for a moment, and then angry, and then, in an instant, he calms.
“Well, I suppose there’s that. I guess we are going to have to get rid of that mark quickly, before he has a chance to come back,” Chase says, making me turn around to face him. Reaching up, he pulls my hair back to look at the wound. I see a flicker of frustration.
I grab his hand between mine. “This mark isn’t important. What is important is you telling me what Ren did. What you’ve been keeping from me.”
Chase closes his eyes for a moment, breathing in deeply.
“Ren has an explosive anger issue, as you may already be aware of. Thankfully you haven’t been the victim of it too drastically, unlike his parents, and his brother,” Chase tells me. I frown, tilting my head. Ren hurt his parents? I haven’t heard much about his family in a long time, and not once has he mentioned anything to me about them.
My eyes widen, as my brain struggles to comprehend what I’ve been told. Ren hurt his own family? I knew he had issues, but I assumed that was because of everything that happened with Chase, not because of his own issues.
“How badly did he hurt them?” I ask warily. I’m almost too scared to hear what Chase knows. But I need to know, if I’m going to keep doing this.
Chase looks grim.
“Well he had an accident and lashed out at his brother during an argument, and hurt him so badly, there was no hope for him. After his parents tried to convince him to leave, to find another life elsewhere as he could no longer be an Alpha, he then lashed out at them. He killed all three of his only family members, and became Alpha right after,” Chase tells me.
Closing my eyes, I loosen a breath. It’s hard to hear, but at the same time, it doesn’t shock me. He’s a master manipulator, making me fall for him in the beginning, only to keep all this from me. Chase needs to get these riches and get Ren out of here.
Suddenly, Chase swears, making my eyes flutter open. He’s wincing, clutching both sides of his head, looking in immense pain.
A trickle of blood trails out his nose, down his face.
“What’s going on?” I questions, reaching for his shoulders to stop his from falling over. He shakes his head a few times, before he wipes his nose with the back of his hand, seeming to come right in an instant.
“Ren obviously isn’t very happy I told you this information about him. He’s trying to regain control of me again, but failed,” Chase says, letting out a sigh. I’m relieved, but as I look into that dull green eye, it haunts me knowing behind it, Ren is still able to watch us, hear us. I’m not going to let it keep us from what we need to do.
Getting up from the bed, I look down at Chase. “We need to get you out of Ren’s head now. Get rid of him. We need to before he does something to stop us.
Chase looks skeptical.
“Can you hold him off for another day? If we can get to a source of magic, we get Ren out of this body and he won’t be able to control us anymore,”
I tell him, as he stands, slightly wary on his feet. “Who cares about the money right now. We will find that. I have the key now.”
“You have the key?” He questions. “Where is it?”
“I had to hide it in case Ren wants it back. He gave it to me because he marked me, which is a bigger tie to him then the key. At least that’s what I assume he did. So let’s go. Let’s get Ren out of your head,” I say, tugging on Chase’s hand. I’m scared that if he closes his eyes for even a second, Ren will take over. I want to get there as soon as possible.
Chase looks skeptical, not budging in his movement. “What if we can’t be separated? Why if something happens to me since I’m not the original host?”
My heart sinks. What if that is the case? What if Chase doesn’t make it?
“We should at least talk to someone. Maybe the woman who put you into this body,” I offer.
It didn’t take much to convince Chase after that. He knows Ren is listening, and can feel his desperation to take over. If we can get to the Devotion Pack without Ren interrupting, we might be able to pull this off. The most important thing to me right now is them being separated, not Chase’s original motive.
The drive to the Devotion Pack was tense. Night has fallen completely; dawn will be arriving soon. If Chase is tired, or is trying to keep Ren at bay, he isn’t showing it. He seems alert, but nervous.
I can see it in the way he fiddles anxiously.
I can’t say I blame him. How knows what will happen, if this will work, or if we can even find someone with magic who can do this for him.
My plan, to take him to the same woman I came across last time. She mentioned him, knowing he was inside Ren’s head, and in my life. Maybe she will know something about this, and what to do. It’s a unlikely hope, but it’s all we have.
Once we arrive to the Devotion Pack, the sun is fully up, and people are wandering around, not giving us a single look as we pull up within the same village I visited last time. I keep an eye on Chase. He looks solemn, not excited to be back where he grew up. I mean, last time he was here, he was a boy who was sick, about to die.
“I don’t want to pressure you into this. If it’s too much, we can figure out another option,” I tell him, clasping his hand tightly.
He shakes his head at me. I can’t help but be relieved.
“We don’t have much time before Ren regains control. I have strength after being away for the time I was, but it might not be much. He’s fighting quite hard right now,” Chase tells me. I can tell in how pale his face is, and in the way his hands quiver slightly.
It doesn’t seem to take us long to get anyones attention. The same Gaze Reader appears just outside her tent for a moment, before she casts a glance at us before disappearing inside.
I’m assuming that’s our invitation in.
Chase follows behind me, skeptical. The cloying scent of incense greets us, as the shadows of the tent swallow us up. On a cushion on the ground, is the same Gaze Reader with all the beads around her neck, her legs folded in front of her. She watches us, eyes a cloudy silver. Already it looks like she is staring into my soul.
“I sensed you two would be coming,” she says flatly. Chase and I exchange glances, but sit down in front of her regardless. “You want help from me that I cannot give you.”
“I understand that this is a lot to ask, but we are desperate,” I say.
She narrows her eyes on me. I’m wondering if she thinks I’m challenging her, but I’m just desperate for some help for Chase.
“Look into my eyes, and it will make sense,” Chase says smoothly. It seems his words have more of an effect on her than mine do, as she focuses her attention on him. I’m not surprised, considering he comes from this Pack. She leans forward, looking deep into his eyes. The way she concentrates seems like she is doing that crazy witch spell that reads his gaze.
I sit patiently, letting her do her thing as Chase calmly, allowing for his mind to be infiltrated. It takes a few minutes before finally she pulls away, and Chase takes in a deep breath that it seemed he had been holding.
“I have a clearer picture now,” she says solemnly. “This Ren man is begging to get out, because he wants to kill you.”