Free Fate Succumbs by Tammy Blackwell Page B

voices,”
Talley said, digging an elbow into my ribs.
    “ Why?” I said a little too
loudly. “I don’t care what he thinks.”
    “ Scout, please don’t
provoke the extremely Dominant Shifter who is very angry with you
at the moment.”
    “ The moment? Try ‘the
life’.” I scowled towards where the boys were now removing some
part of the car which was probably necessary for it to operate. I
hoped they knew what they were doing. “And I’m the one who has a
right to be angry here. How could he not tell me that Jase was only
following his orders? Do you have idea what it was like for me to
stand there and hear him say those things? To think that he didn’t
care they were going to kill me?” I wanted to cry so I screamed
instead. “And your mother. God, Talley. I mean, it was like she
hated me.”
    Talley’s head jerked down and her fingers
immediately went to her hair.
    “ Talley, your mom was just
putting on a show, right? Like Jase? It’s all part of Liam’s Let’s Torture Scout Plan?”
    “ You have to understand,”
Talley said in a small voice, “my mother was raised with some very
strong beliefs. And with my dad being so close, close enough to
prod and provoke…”
    “ She wasn’t
acting.”
    “ She was doing what she
thought was right--”
    Betrayal hurts just as much the second time
around. “How could she? She’s your mom. She taught me how to skip
and play hop-scotch…”
    Talley’s eyes were
overflowing. “I know. I know. I’ve tried to talk to her, but I’ve got to play
the part of a good little Alpha Potential, and…” A sniffle and lots
of rubbing of the cheeks. “I’m sorry, Scout. So, so
sorry.”
    I wasn’t going to cry again. I refused.
Anyway, Talley was shedding enough tears for the two of us.
    “ It’s not your fault,” I
said, meaning it. Like we have any control over our parents. I
mean, mine are pretty great most of the time, but when your dad is
the superintendent for the school? There are lots of times you have
to apologize to your friends for things he does. Sure, he never
tried to get any of them killed, but he did make us switch to a
schedule that made our summers super-short. When you’re thirteen,
two weeks less summer vacation feels like someone is trying to kill
you. “I don’t blame you. I would never blame you.”
    A wrench or socket or some such thing landed
with a thunk on the porch. “Just me, right?” Jase said, squinting
against the afternoon sun.
    “ What are you talking
about? I don’t blame you for Mrs. Matthews’ turning me over to the
Alphas.”
    His jaw muscles twitched. “You sure? I mean,
why not? You believed I would willingly stand there and let them
take you.”
    Well, it looked like we were going to do
this now.
    “ I overheard you talking to
Sarvarna,” I said, sounding way more aloof than I actually felt.
“She offered you a way out of being mated and a position in the
Pack. It was a good bargain.”
    “ A good bargain?” Jase’s
voice was about two notches louder than necessary. “Seriously? My
sister’s life in exchange for a place in their corrupt ranks? You
thought I would want that?”
    There may have been a time
when I would have apologized, quelled at his anger. Jase always had
the stronger personality of the two of us. He led, I followed. But
no more. Things had changed. I had changed.
    “ How was I supposed to know
any different? Did you send me a message?” I turned to Talley. “Or
you? Did you try to send me a brain note saying, ‘Don’t worry about
Jase. We have a plan.’?” Now I was getting loud.
    “ Do not yell at Talley.”
    “ You let me sit in that
cell and think you didn’t care.”
    “ I was trying to save
you!”
    “ You didn’t come to see
me!”
    “ I had a role to
play!”
    “ But you didn’t come see
me! You left me! Alone!” I swiped away a single escaped tear. “What
kind of brother doesn’t even come and say goodbye? Even Sarvarna
would have understood the need for