I shut the shed door and slid down it until I sat on the cold boards.
A tremor ran from my fingers up into my arms, and I pinned both palms down until it quit.
The bait bucket water showed my face, and my eyes were still lit up like coals.
I turned my head away and told myself it would fade.
Oren had not gone back to sleep. He sat up with the blanket around his shoulders.
Oren: You are on the floor in the dark. What happened out there?
Aria: Nothing happened. I am just tired.
He crossed the boards and took my hands before I could hide them.
Oren: You are shaking like a leaf. And your skin is freezing.
Aria: The wind on the wall cuts through everything. I will warm up.
He turned my chin toward the lamp, and I knew what he was looking for.
Oren: Your eyes are doing the lamp thing again.
Aria: You are half asleep. Go lie down.
Oren: You smell like him. Like the Alpha.
My face went hot, and I hated that my little brother could scent a lie on me.
Aria: I saw him on the wall. I told him to drown.
Aria: That is all. He does not get to matter in this shed.
The lie sat in my mouth like blood from a bitten tongue.
A boot hit the door before I could speak, and the wood jumped in its frame.
Jarvis filled the doorway with a lantern in his fist.
Jarvis: Well, look at this. Both rats, awake and cozy.
Aria: Get out of my shed.
Jarvis: Shut your mouth, scrap, before I shut it for you.
Jarvis: Everyone on this quay knows what you are. A whore who opens her legs for tonic and calls it family.
Jarvis: You think the Alpha's cock makes you special, bitch? He has not even claimed you.
His hand closed over my wrist, right on the marks the Alpha had left.
He squeezed until the bones ground together, and I saw spots.
I fought his grip, and he answered by throwing me against the boards.
Splinters bit through my cheek, and blood ran warm down my jaw and onto my collar.
Jarvis: There it is. She bleeds just like any other whore.
Jarvis: Your Alpha is finished with you, so do not look at me like that.
Jarvis: That boy has no collar, so at first light I drag him to Mott myself.
Jarvis: I will hold his head while they nail it on, and you can watch him choke.
Every word landed, and my legs went weak.
Aria: Touch him and I will cut your throat in your sleep. I swear it on my mother.
Jarvis: Big talk from a bleeding rat. Keep the boy warm.
He let go and took his lantern with him, and the shed went dark again.
Oren was in front of me, his hands out, his face white as fish belly.
Oren: Your cheek is open. Aria, you are shaking worse than before.
Aria: I slipped on the ramp. The boards get wet at night.
Aria: Listen to me. Nobody puts a collar on you. Not Jarvis, not Mott, not the Alpha.
Aria: If I have to steal every vial on this island, I will keep you safe.
I said it with blood drying on my chin, and I meant it.
There was still a single vial buried in the bait bucket, under all that stink.
One vial would not last the week, so I would steal more, and soon.
My eyes itched with heat at the thought of him, and I swallowed the glow down with the fear.