Chapter 12 · She's Still Alive

The necklace swung from Theron's fingers. Blood crusted the silver chain.

My mother's blood.

Five years. Five years I thought she was gone. Five years of her empty chair at dinner, her voicemail I couldn't delete, her perfume bottles I kept in a shoebox under my bed.

"She came to me." Theron's voice cut through the ringing in my ears. "Begged me to break the bond. Said she'd do anything."

I couldn't breathe. "You're lying."

"Am I?" He tilted his head. The streetlight caught the dried blood. "Why would I keep this if she was dead?"

Kade moved between us. His shoulder was still bleeding through his shirt where the silver nail went in. "Lena. Don't listen to him."

"Then tell me the truth." I stepped around Kade. My hands were shaking. "Tell me what happened to her."

Kade's jaw clenched. He didn't answer.

Theron smiled. Not a nice smile. The kind that said he already won. "She didn't tell you? Your mother walked into my territory five years ago. Alone. Desperate." He looked at Kade. "Running from him."

"Shut your mouth." Kade's voice dropped low. Dangerous.

"She knew what you were," Theron said to me.