Page 43 of The Vixen

“Did anyone mention what the girl looked like?” I ask as I stride behind Aiden’s huge, commanding gait, my steps ticking tallies in my head. We’ve walked one thousand seventy six steps, and as far as I can tell, nothing else is remotely close to the ominous building.

“No.”

“Nothing? You didn’t get aglimpse?”

“You’ll see soon enough, Mr. Hansley,” he says as the Bower comes into view.

By his calm demeanor, my guess is Liberty hasn’t arrived.

But then we step through the doors, and I see Luna. Her hardened stare tells a different story.

“Good morning, Head Keeper,” I say, tipping my head in a little bow just to score some brownie points with Aiden.

Eyes lingering on me for a few more seconds, Luna breaks away to address Aiden. “Thank you for escorting the Dreg. You may go.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Dreg.

The word echoes in my skull as Aiden walks away, but I keep my face neutral. Luna has been especially guarded over the last few days, but in that time, I’ve learned a few things.

She only calls me Dreg when she’s distancing herself. Or when she’s about to punish me.

“Have the women arrived?” My voice is casual.Toocasual. Almost flippant. I’m trying too hard.

Luna’s eyes narrow.

“They’re all right, aren’t they?” I relax my cheeks into an almost frown.

Instead of answering, Luna reaches by me to slide a panel open on the wall, revealing a monitor showing two rooms. Two women. Very different dispositions.

Aubry’s behavior is predictable. Scared. Frozen. Waiting for someone to tell her what to think, what to do, what to feel.

Liberty’s behavior is even more predictable. Wild. Erratic. Fucking moronic.

Blowing out a breath, I lean in closer, as if I need to get close to see Liberty going off the rails. Lying on her back, she kicks at the door—very Liberty style.

For a moment, I’m taken back. Same girl. Different monitor.

Watching as she sat for days in a cell, wasting away in stubbornness I knew with certainty was incurable. Twice I slipped a knife into my pocket and opened the basement door, only to close it again. I’d stood with my forehead pressed againstthe door knowing,knowingthis woman was an infectious disease.

But with Angel’s insistence, I brought her upstairs anyway. Let her infect my home. Let her ruin my life.

“How long has she been like this?”

“Since she woke up an hour and a half ago. When Thorne tried to calm her down, she used his face as her scratching post… This is unacceptable, Dreg.”

She got to Thorne. Good for her.

“I know, just … give her time. I told you she wouldn’t adjust right away, but shewilladjust. Trust me, she’s?—”

“Idon’ttrust you,” Luna snaps, her arms crossing over her chest. “I willnevertrust you, so save your breath and address this before I’m forced to.” She waves her hand toward a reinforced steel door down the hall.

That’sthe room she’s in? Kudos on the soundproofing.

“All right.” I nod. “Yeah. Let me just talk to Aubry, then?—”

“Handle theviper.Now.”