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roll off his face and his body trembled with barely suppressed need.
Yeah, I know.
With a little piece of him dying inside, Jude nodded curtly and
stepped through the door, waiting for Whitley to join him before
jogging up the path that led to the main house. The trip wasn t long,
taking barely more than a minute to reach the back door.
66 Gabrielle Evans
Jude peeked in through the glass, smiling when he found Lucia
moving about the kitchen. Pushing the door open, he held his finger to
his lips to silence her when she spun around with a gasp of surprise.
Her eyes were wide, but she nodded her understanding and
pointed toward the ceiling. Your pickup will be waiting out front,
she said quietly then went back to her chores as though two men
hadn t just burst into her kitchen.
Checking over his shoulder to make sure Whitley was still
following, Jude led him through the house and up a winding flight of
stairs. Hurrying down the hallway, he paused at the last door on the
left and pressed his ear to it, checking for any sounds inside.
When he heard nothing, he motioned for Whitley to stay put while
he raced back down the hall, into his father s study, and straight to his
desk, rifling through the drawers until he came up with the key to the
room. Once he had the piece of metal firmly in his grasp, he darted
back to his mate, slipped the key in the lock, and turned it at the same
time he turned the doorknob.
The minute they stepped into the room, a loud scream rent
through the air, and Carter bared his teeth. His eyes were wide and
crazed, his nostrils flared, and he snarled viciously at them.
He looked like he hadn t been bathed or fed in days. His clothes
hung off of him like pieces of scrap material, and his hair appeared
tangled and matted. There were fresh burns and bruises littering the
exposed skin, and Jude wanted to find his father and tear him apart
slowly.
Carter, we re going to get you out. Just hold on, okay?
If he understood, Carter gave no indication of it as he threw
himself against the bars of his cage and roared at them.
Jude shook his head sadly and turned back to his mate. We need
to hurry.
Whitley stood frozen in place, his eyes wide and his mouth
hanging open. Why didn t you tell me? Jude, this is fucking crazy. I
can t do this.
Splash and Elegance 67
Whit, you have to. Jude resisted the urge to grab the man and
shake him. I know it s bad, but he s my brother. He s just a kid, and
he doesn t deserve this. Please!
Bad? Whitley shook his head slowly. This isn t bad, Jude. This
is so much worse.
It s not that bad. He had to believe that it wasn t, and Carter was
only in the first stages. Everything would be fine. He hadn t lost him
yet.
Jude! Whitley yelled at him. He s feral.
68 Gabrielle Evans
Chapter Eight
Well, Whitley finally understood why Jude couldn t go to the
elders with this. No way in hell would they allow him to free Carter
without executing him on the spot.
How did this happen?
Can we talk later? Jude pushed a hand through his dark hair and
groaned. We don t have a lot of time. Just shut down the cage so we
can get out of here.
And just what do you plan to do when we get him free? He s not
in his right mind, Jude. He doesn t know who you are, and he d just
as soon attack you than hug you.
I ll deal with it. I just need you to get the fucking cell open!
Jude roared at him.
Whitley jumped and stumbled back a few steps before regaining
his composure and dipping his head. He was doing this for Carter,
because no matter if the kid had lost his mind or not, what had been
done to him wasn t right.
Thank you, Jude said reverently when Whitley dropped his
backpack by the door and hurried across the room.
Whitley ignored him. It was already difficult to concentrate with
Carter screaming and snarling and his own body overheating because
of whatever curse the elders had saddled them with. He was so furious
with Jude, he almost wished he had the guts to just leave and never
look back. Now that he was faced with what happened when a shifter
went feral, he was too chickenshit to want something like that to
happen to him.
Splash and Elegance 69
Skirting around to the back of the portable cell, he knelt near a
small metal box attached to one of the steel bars. Carter darted across
his cage and his arms shot through the bars, forcing Whitley to
scramble back out of his reach.
Carter jerked back and howled when the skin on his arms began to
sizzle from the electric current running through the bars. That didn t
stop him from trying it again, though.
Jude, I need you to distract him. The control box being
connected to the actual cell was the worst design Whitley had ever
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