Bound By The Bond

|C13| SUFFER

C 13 | S U F F E R

I winced as the phone in my waiting hand began to vibrate and with a sigh I flicked on the faucet of the sink and moved to the shower, doing my best not to get wet when I turned that on too. I then returned to my usual spot on the toilet, hoping that the soundproofing of the room combined with the sounds of running water ensured there were no listening ears.

With a little breath I pressed the green button on the keypad of the phone and then quickly placed it to my ear.

"What disappears as soon as you say its name?" the feminine and sultry voice was familiar, but not friendly.

"Silence," I answered confidently, hating the way my heart stuttered as I answered.

"What makes two two's?"

"A train."

Goddess I hated these damn riddles.

"Hey, Kit," Eva's voice was like steel. "The Council are concerned. Cyrus is concerned."

"Concerned about what?" I nonchalantly asked, my fingers reaching up to catch a stray strand of hair that had fallen loose from my messy bun, the auburn tendril glowing like a fire under the warm bathroom light. I twirled it around my finger, chewing on the inside of my cheek as I stared at the wall opposite me.

"About you. You haven't been heard from since you left and ordinarily we wouldn't be worried but our eyes are telling us you've been getting awfully...cozy with the Alpha. The Council are questioning where your loyalties lie," she hissed the words, her voice lowering. "I've done all I can on my end to convince them that you've been training for years for this and this is all part of your plan but with what I've heard, even I'm starting to doubt that."

"I-" I swallowed, closing my eyes. "He's not what I expected. This bond isn't what I expected. I...I don't know if I can go through with it," I admitted.

If it were anyone else I wouldn't dare have told them the truth, but Eva had been the one person who had been there for me since I'd arrived at the Hunters compound. She'd taken me from the shit hole I'd been in at the time and had been a mentor to me since. She had been the one who put my name forward for this mission because she knew how important it was to me.

I owed her and at this point I might as well have thrown all she'd done for me in her face.

The least I could do was tell her the truth.

"Kit..." she trailed off, her voice softening in a way I'd never heard before. "Remember why you're there. Remember what he did."

"I know but...what if it wasn't Xander? He doesn't seem like someone who would do something like that," I tried to defend him and I heard Eva sigh.

"It was him. Multiple witnesses have confirmed it."

"But-"

"There's something you should know," Eva abruptly interrupted and I frowned at the dark change in her tone. "About Luca and how he died," I felt myself flinch as she spoke his name - a name I hadn't heard in years.

"I already know how he died."

"No," Eva whispered, like she was afraid someone around her would hear. "No you don't. You know the official story, yes, but it's not the real story."