My sins (on hold)

The tape

Caden glared at me for a few second before turning and stomping up the stairs like a child being put into a time out. It was best for Caden to shower and get a cool head before rushing to Odette.

I turned towards Atlas as he emerged from his hiding spot, spying on us. I raised my eyebrow at him, indicating that he can speak his mind now that Caden was gone.

He didn't disappoint, "bring Caden to Odette, stay for as long as she wants you there. The second she tells you to leave. Make sure that you do."

He stared down at me with his ruby eyes, using his height to his advantage, to intimate me. Although he was only two inches taller than me, the way he held himself and the permanent bitch glare stuck to his face would intimate anyone, including myself.

I nodded, not giving him any verbal acknowledgment. I would never leave Odette alone, not after she hurt herself. I would camp outside her dorm in the woods every night. I will make sure she stays safe.

I felt Atlas's skeptical gaze on my back as I made my way to Caden's room in order to retrieve his laptop.I reached out to Odette to check on her heath and successfully roped Roman into driving Caden and I to the school so I could watch the camera feed in the back seat.

Caden slide into the car next to me and we began the drive to Odette. As soon as the car rumbled underneath us, the tightness in my chest lessened and the itch I couldn't seem to  scratch finally left me alone. Caden signed into his computer, bypassed the security protecting the schools system and rewound the time before mutely handing his computer to me. 

He refused to talk to me and shifted his entire body away from me to stare out the window. I sighed I hated to see Caden upset, especially when it was because of something I did. "Caden," I quietly murmured to him, "you needed someone to push you to shower or else you weren't going to."

Caden remained quiet and never moved his gaze from the forest of trees outside. I turned my attention to the screen, deciding that I would regain his respect and trust after we took care of Odette. 

I pressed play. I followed Odette from the library to the gymnasium. I watched some dickhead yell at Odette. I noticed how she accepted the harsh words and hung her head in shame. She should never feel ashamed. "Who the fuck is that?"

Caden finally broke the silence, without looking away from the window, "Mr. Clark. He teaches self defense. He's a fucking asshole."

"Why hasn't the school fired him yet?" Ronan asked the sensible question while at the same time I asked Caden, "Can you find me his address?"

"Dante," Ronan hissed, "you're not doing anything rash. We can complain to the school and fix it the right way."

Caden pulled away from the window, "the school already knows what he did, they aren't doing anything! Keep watching you'll see."

I turned my attention back to the video and continued planning his death. Brass knuckles were always a painful way to go. As I watched him push Odette and harass her until she passed out, his death just ramped up to a mixture of acid burns, fire and finally being skinned alive.

"He's fucking dead. Forget complaining."

"Don't be so dramatic. What did he do?" Ronan asked.

To my surprise, Caden voiced his violent opinion. "He was the reason Odette fell. I want to kill him."

It wasn't unusual for Caspian, Atlas, and I to face violence in our day to day life, but Ronan and Caden were always the peace makers. It was concerning to hear him wish to take someone's life. Was this what happened when you had a mate? Was this similar to an alpha's instinct, but stronger for him?

Ronan and I shared a surprised look in the mirror. I pulled Caden into my side, "you don't have to kill anyone. I'll do it for the both of us and Odette."

"What he mean to say was that Odette will be alright and we will take care of her. I will get Mr. Clark fired and we can begin the legal route of suing him or putting him in jail."

"No! He deserves to die. I want him dead," Caden stated.

Now I was getting worried. Caden never sought out violence. I stayed quiet and checked to see if Odette had replied to any of my texts or calls. She ignored them. Ignored me.

I let Ronan soothe Caden, knowing I most definitely was not the person to talk Caden out of murder. I instead, updated Atlas on Caden's new goal. Although, Atlas was a control freak who liked to boss everyone around, I knew he would fix it.

Ronan pulled up in front of the school and let us out first, then drove away to find a parking space. Caden raced towards the doors, pulling out his ID, swiping it and running inside. I had to jog to catch the door before it closed.

It was way to easy to sneak into this school if you weren't a student. Odette wasn't safe here.

Caden's form had vanished so I had to follow his scent trail to the back of the building. The moment I stepped outside, my pocket vibrated. I fished my phone out and answered Atlas's call, expecting him to ask about Caden.

"He's gone."

I paused, "what?"

"The gym teacher. Caspian can't find him. The cameras show him leaving the school yesterday at midnight. He tried to track the license plate, it's in a parking garage, he switched cars. It's going to take a little longer to find him."

"What? Why is he running?"

"Maybe he knew we were associated with Odette. Maybe it's something more. We'll figure it out. Stay with Caden and Odette."

I sighed, why was everything so complicated. "Okay."

There was a pause on the other end, usually Atlas would hung up on me before I got in the last word. "Tell her she should come back."

I rolled my eyes, but a smile crept on my face, "it's -" he hung up, "Odette." I said to the trees.

I turned and speed after Caden's scent that lingered in the air.

I might make a tiktok account for this book. Be on the lookout :)