~ THOMAS' POV~
The night tasted bitter.
I leaned against the balcony rail, the cold metal pressing into my palms, the distant hum of the pack grounds barely reaching me. The moon hung heavy, too bright, too intrusive, like it was watching me… judging me.
"Tessa," I muttered, the name scraping past my throat like gravel.
She didn't come back.
Twenty-four hours. I had given her that. Clear, simple, non-negotiable.
And she still didn't walk through my damn door.
My jaw flexed again. I lifted the whiskey to my lips, let the burn slice down my throat, hoping it would drown the anger twisting inside my chest. It didn't. Nothing did anymore.
I exhaled slowly, breath shaking despite my attempt to steady it.
"She disobeyed you," my wolf growled from within, pacing, raking claws against the walls of my mind. "She dared to disobey you."
"I know," I answered under my breath.
But the words didn't soothe him. They didn't soothe me either.
I set the whiskey glass down on the small stool beside me, the soft clink sounding louder than it should. My feet moved before I thought, away from the night, away from the balcony, away from the temptation of losing myself in another drink.
The house was gigantic, well decorated and lighted but it didn't seem to interest me at the moment.
I walked through the lit hallway, my footsteps echoing, each one heavier than the last. The study door waited at the end, tall and carved with patterns only I knew the meanings of.
I pushed it open.
The familiar scent of old books and cedar drifted around me. My fingers brushed over the desk, the shelves, tracing the edges like I had done a thousand times. But that wasn't where I was going.
I moved to the far corner.
To the locked door.
My hand hesitated on the knob. Just a second. Just long enough for my breath to catch without permission. Then I exhaled and turned the key.
The lock clicked.
The door creaked open.
Darkness wrapped around me as I stepped in, thick, cold, almost choking but I didn't flinch. My fingers found the switch and the room lit up, soft and warm, untouched by time.
My sanctuary.
My curse.
The walls were lined with shelves, but nothing mattered except the center, the portrait.
Her portrait.
The moment my gaze collided with it, something inside me snapped like a thread pulled too tight.
Her eyes.
Still soft.
It felt alive.
Still looking at me like she believed in me.
"Anabel…" My voice cracked, quiet and broken in a way I hated, in a way only this room could pull from me.
My wolf surged, shoving against my skin.
A low roar tore from my chest, raw, furious, wounded. His grief mixed with mine, a storm that clawed upward until it felt like fire in my veins. My vision sharpened, burned, shifted. I could feel my pupils narrowing, my breath coming faster.
"She didn't come back," I whispered to the empty room, though it wasn't empty. Not really. "She didn't even try."
My wolf snarled. "She's running."
"She won't get far."
I wasn't sure if I said it to calm him or myself. Neither of us believed it.
My throat stung.
I blinked, but the tears still slid down, hot and uninvited. One hit the floor. Another traced down my cheek, catching at the corner of my mouth.
"No," I growled, wiping at my face with the back of my hand, anger pulsing sharp and violent. "She doesn't get to do this. She doesn't get to leave unless I say so. She isn't permitted to gain freedom."
My gaze lifted again to the portrait.
To Anabel's smile.
To the reminder of everything I lost.
Everything Tessa had taken.
My fingers curled into fists, knuckles whitening, nails digging into my palms. My whole body trembled with the tension I'd been holding for too long.
"Why?" I whispered hoarsely. "Why did you trust her? Why did you let her into your life?"
My words broke.
My breath hitched.
Pain,real, physical, burst in my chest, and I stepped forward, one slow, dragging step after another until I stood right in front of her portrait.
Close enough to touch.
Close enough to remember.
Close enough to hate.
"Tessa…" I breathed, shaking my head. "You had better come back. You have to come back, if I have to bring you back myself, I will do it."
I laughed, but it sounded like a cracked bone, sharp and painful.
"No. No, I wouldn't have." My voice hardened. "I told you what would happen if you disobeyed me."
My wolf lifted his head inside me, ears pinned forward.
"Punish her," he growled.
"She deserves worse," I answered.
We sank into silence again.
Only my heartbeat echoed.
Only her framed face watched.
"Tessa," I whispered again, this time softer, almost vulnerable. "I gave you a chance. I gave you time. I gave you a direct order. But you…" My voice faltered as my throat closed. "...you made your choice."
My palm opened slowly, fingers trembling as though pulled by a string.
"You disobeyed. Now I have more reasons not to be soft on you."
I reached out.
My hand touched the cool glass over Anabel's portrait. The cold stung my skin, grounding me, steadying the rage boiling beneath.
"I lost her because of you."
My voice broke again, lower, shrouded with something far darker.
A tear fell.
Then another.
Then I let them fall freely.
"You made me lose her," I whispered, forehead lowering until it almost touched the frame. "You were supposed to protect her. You were supposed to keep her safe. But instead…"
A choked sound ripped from my chest.
"...you left her to die."
My wolf whined deep inside me, a sound I hadn't heard from him in years. A broken plea. A memory.
A wound.
I swallowed hard.
My breath trembled as I forced myself to meet Anabel's painted eyes again.
"Tessa," I growled, voice dropping to a low, lethal whisper, "I will make you pay for her death."
The words echoed around the room, reverberating off the shelves, the walls, my bones. My wolf pushed forward, eyes burning, claws scraping under my skin.
"Say her name," he commanded.
My fingers pressed harder against the portrait.
"Anabel…"
My breath shuddered.
My rage solidified.
My fate cemented.
I leaned closer, voice steady now, cold in a way that left no room for mercy.
I placed my hand on the portrait and said, "Anabel, I will make her pay."