Pack of Wolves by Maggie Claire (read along books .TXT) 📕

Windwalker boy do it first. She has other fears too, a deep-seated loathing of being underground. Spending time in the Pith caverns was especially hard on her too. She loves being in the open air, under the stars….

Sensing that she’s lost her hold over Cyrus, the false Iris backs away from him, planning a new, more excruciating torture. The veil in his mind grows heavier and Suryc’s voice fades away as the false Iris heals her broken, bloody body. Every inch of her skin is now clear, smooth, and supple. Turning her eyes to Wolf, who’s been a silent, watchful party from his perch on the couch, Iris slinks over to his side. “My love,” she whispers as she carefully turns Wolf’s chair so that his back faces Cyrus. The false Iris crawls onto Wolf’s lap, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. “You’ve always been so kind to me. You’ve given me everything I’ve ever needed. How could your brother ever think I would want another?” She kisses her way along Wolf’s neck, but her eyes stare deeply at Cyrus, challenging him, begging him to cry. Her fingers nestle into the hair at the back of Wolf’s head. “How could he think he could ever compare to you?”

“Stop this!” Cyrus shouts suddenly, straining hard against the bindings holding him to the wooden chair. “Please, I’ve had enough!” She couldn’t still care for him! Not after everything she’s learned. Even if she never forgives me, there’s no way she would choose him!

“Oh, now I see it,” the monster whispers as she pulls Wolf’s arms around her waist. “I knew it would hurt you to see her loving another.” She sighs as Wolf’s hands paw their way across her body, reaching up to cup his cheek. “But I think it tortures you even more to think of her loving your brother! Salt in the proverbial wound?”

Iris believes herself to be weak. She thinks that she is feeble minded, and it makes her very insecure. Siri told me that she second guesses almost every action in her life, with only a few exceptions. Suryc’s voice rumbles through Cyrus’s mind, jarring all his jealousy until it is numbed. Her greatest moments are the ones where she acted without overthinking. She doesn’t regret ending Hawk’s misery or hunting Creeper. Siri even said that after the Carreglas revealed some of Wolf’s true nature, Iris was relieved that she’d never told Wolf that she loved him. She’s grown to hate him, Cyrus. And she’s still kicking herself for ever helping that boy from Déchets. That failure is tearing her apart. It’s all an illusion, Cyrus! Don’t get lost in your feelings!

A loud crack draw’s Cyrus’s focus back from his Ddraig. The false Iris skids across the floor, a hand covering one cheek as her eyes glitter with tears. Wolf stalks closer, lashing out to kick her. Iris croaks out a soft wail, scooting away from Wolf until her back hits the wall by Cyrus’s chair. Fear hunches her shoulders as she cowers. “Please! Don’t hurt me! Cyrus, don’t let him hurt me!”

“I’ll do what I please, woman,” Wolf growls, raising a hand to backhand her again. “It brings me joy to punish you for doubting me even once!” Iris crawls toward the door, but Wolf only catches her ankle and drags her back. “I protected you! I pampered you and sheltered you when you had no one! Time and time again I proved that I loved you! And still, you chose to go with him! How could you betray me?” Wolf drops to his knees over Iris’s shivering form, pinning her arms by her sides. Her feeble attempts to free herself are no match for Wolf’s strength. He leans down over her neck, nipping her skin with his pointed teeth. Iris stills her body so that Wolf’s teeth do not draw blood. “You are mine!” He roars, his voice wild with his rage.

A look of genuine fear crosses Iris’s face. For a brief second, her visage melts away to the Vibría’s true image. The boy eyes Wolf warily, wondering if his visions have worked on his leader rather than his prey. Wolf’s crazed expression calms marginally, and he shakes his head a couple of times as though he’s coming out of a daze. Then, nodding once to assure the boy that he’s back to his normal self, Wolf launches into his fury once again.

“Please, don’t do this!” The false Iris returns, her voice full of unshed tears as she pleas for her safety.

“Stop that!” Cyrus demands, thrashing against the straps that secure him to the chair. The brief exchange between the Vibría creature and Wolf happen too quickly for Cyrus to notice. Now, all Cyrus can see are his beloved’s tears and the colorful bruising already flowering on her cheek. “Leave her alone! She’s done nothing to you, Wolf! Take all your anger out on me, not her! Wolf!”

“What did I do?” Iris whispers as Wolf’s hands paw their way along her body. “Please.”

“Oh, shut up!” Wolf howls, swiftly standing and jerking Iris upright by her hair. A wicked gleam overtakes his eyes as he drags her body in front of Cyrus’s chair. Pulling a knife, he presses the blade against Iris’s throat. “Tell him everything you’ve held back before you die,” he commands, his hand quivering with his restraint.

Iris’s tears fall as she smiles wistfully at Cyrus. “I’m sorry,” she hiccups as she pours her heart out her mouth. “I blamed you for a great many things that were never your fault.”

Wolf slams his palm into the back of Iris’s head, the force causing the blade to bite into her skin. Though superficial, blood oozes down her throat almost immediately. “Tell him how you love him! Tell him that even though I’m the one you’ve depended on for years, he’s the one that has your heart! Tell him how—”

“Wolf, stop it!” This isn’t Iris. She’d never in a million years say such things to me.