With every step that Devin took, Charity wanted to run after him. It was silly, she knew that, but her stomach cramped and she kept wondering if this would be the last time she’d see him. After all, Honor was still out there with her evil plans. Who knew what she was cooking up now? The only thing that stopped Charity from running after him was knowing that if her parents came, he would end up being arrested.

The cops glared at him as he left, and one of them sent her a furious look. She resisted the urge to glare back and sat down instead. Perhaps waiting for her parents wasn’t the best idea. She wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to hold her temper when they walked in and she remembered that they had nearly gotten Devin arrested for something he didn’t do.

At the same time, she knew that Devin was right. She needed to be here for Hope. Whatever Honor was after, it was clear that she had shot Hope to get at her. Perhaps Hope was trying to stop her. Perhaps Honor had thought Hope was her. Whatever it was, Charity wasn’t going to be able to think about anything else if she left the hospital before she was able to see and speak with her sister.

Unable to sit still, Charity took to pacing again. When the sound of her feet hitting the floor became too much for her, she marched over to the nurses’ desk and leaned on it. The nurse looked up with a kindly expression.

“Can I see my sister?” Charity asked.

The nurse shook her head. Apparently, she had been expecting this line of questioning. “I’m afraid not, my dear. She’s just come out of surgery and is still heavily sedated. I will let you know when you can go see her.”

“Thank you.” Her voice sounded oddly cowed to her own ears, but Charity didn’t spend any time as she retreated back to the uncomfortable chairs. There wasn’t even a TV in the room to distract her from her thoughts.

Leo’s soft question returned to her. Why were you going to just let them arrest you? She shivered as she considered it. Was it her? Had he stepped back, ready to sacrifice his freedom and the wellbeing of his pack because he didn’t want her to get caught in the crossfire? She didn’t want that from him. If she was the reason that his pack fell apart, then how was she meant to be in his life?

Her hand drifted to her stomach. She wouldn’t regret her relationship with Devin, nor the child growing inside of her. But he couldn’t give up everything he’d worked so hard for, just for her. As touching as it was, it wasn’t good for either of them.

No. Once they were able to talk again, they were going to have to have a serious conversation about this. And she was going to help him every way she could.

***

Hope was still unconscious by the time her parents arrived. Hope’s husband was with them. Charity stood to greet them, and Hope’s husband got right into her face.

“This is all your fault!” he shouted. “You go and get yourself mixed up with a shifter, and then you get my wife tangled up in it, too. As if it’s not bad enough that you’ve gotten yourself knocked up. You’ve put her in danger, and now look at what’s happened! Where is he? I’m going to kill him for hurting my wife!”

“Devin didn’t hurt anybody.” Charity’s hands clenched. Her nostrils flared as she struggled to gain control of her temper. “Honor shot Hope. Devin had nothing to do with it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” her father said. “Honor wouldn’t hurt a fly. That shifter has brainwashed you. I can’t believe that a daughter of mine would be so stupid! First you let yourself get wrapped up in this business, and now you won’t see plain, simple truths. That beast is dangerous!”

“Devin isn’t the one who shot Hope! That was Honor!”

Her mother let out a long, plaintive wail that made Charity flinch and cover her ears. Part of her wondered why she was even trying to reason with any of them when they clearly weren’t listening.

She was proven right with the next words that came out of her mother’s mouth. “That shifter is tearing this family apart. Oh, Charity. You were going to be our little star. We had such high hopes for you, going off to college. You had so much potential. And you’ve thrown it all away on a shifter? I never thought the day would come . . . and now my family has fallen apart.”

“If you’re looking for someone to blame for ripping this family apart, maybe you should look at Honor, who shot Hope. And him!” She pointed at Hope’s husband. “He’s cheating on Hope. But you wouldn’t care about that, would you? Because as long as he wears that cross around his neck, you don’t care what he does. You’re all a bunch of hypocrites.”

“Charity Gatiss, don’t you dare talk to your mother like that,” her father started.

“I will talk however I damned well please!” Her voice rose to a shout. The cops started to head over her way. She didn’t care. “You want to know who tore this family apart? Look in a mirror. Then pick up a bible and read what it actually says.”

The cops were right there by this time. Charity ignored them as she headed for the exit. She didn’t care about them or her parents or any of them. She had made Devin leave because she knew that her parents would attack him. Obviously, she should have been more worried about herself. Staying was a bad idea.

Tears flooded her eyes as she left the hospital. As much as she wanted to stay for Hope, she couldn’t. She couldn’t just be there, waiting with them. The decision had already been made, but this only made it more obvious. She had to cut them out. She couldn’t keep going on trying to battle their hate. She didn’t have the strength.

She pulled Hope’s phone from her pocket, intending to call Devin. But as she rounded a corner of the large brick building, something heavy hit the back of her head.

Darkness consumed her.

***

When consciousness returned, the first thing Charity realized was that she was tied up. Her head pounded as she lifted it. Her arms were secured behind her back and ropes wound around her stomach and legs. Dark splotches still moved over her eyes as she glanced around. She was in a dank little motel room. It looked like it had been decorated in the 60s and ignored since then. Charity wouldn’t have been surprised if she saw rats.

Her gaze landed on Honor. Charity tensed at once.

Honor smiled coldly at her. “Welcome back to the land of the living, sister. I hope your head doesn’t hurt too much.”

Charity glared back at her.

“How is Hope? I heard that she came out of surgery, but I couldn’t find out anything else.”

“Like you care.” Charity tested the ropes holding her. There was no give to them. Her hands and feet were both numb. How long had she been tied up here? “You shot her! She could have died because of you, so don’t you dare pretend like you care.”

Honor’s face fell into a deadly glare. “Pretend? Of course I care. She’s my sister. I love her. Poor Hope, she’s just a bit stupid. Too easily pulled into whatever web of lies you’ve woven around yourself and that shifter. The bullet was meant for you. But she was going to warn you. It’s your fault.”

“You shot her. That is nobody’s fault but your own.”

Honor tapped her fingers on the little desk she sat next to. “Still as unreasonable as ever. Always acting like it’s somebody else’s fault. You betrayed our family. Threatened to undo all my hard work. What was I supposed to do? Shifters are destroying the human way of life. They want to steal everything from us. And you? You’re helping them.”

There was a large knife beside Honor’s fingers. Charity’s blood ran cold as she saw it. Her heart pounded. As hard as she struggled not to show fear, she felt it radiating from every pore in her body. Swallowing hard, she looked back at Honor’s face. There was no pity or remorse in her eyes.

Did she even believe what she was saying? Or was there just something broken inside of her, something that demanded blood and pain? Had she merely decided that this was the justification she’d use to feed her lust for killing?

“I’ve calmed down now.” Honor actually smiled at her. “And I have come to a decision. I am going to offer you your life, as well as the life of your unborn child. That’s what you want, right? I’ve heard that a mother’s love for her baby gives her strength to do things she wouldn’t otherwise do. Maybe it’ll give you the strength to be reasonable.”

“Honor, I’m not the one who shot our sister.”

Honor’s face dropped. She slapped Charity hard across the face, making her cry out. Honor stood, hands clenched as she paced back and forth. But she didn’t reach for the knife. That was a positive, at least. Charity swallowed hard. Trying her best to keep her voice soothing, she spoke again.

“Okay. I am going to try to be reasonable, Honor. I know that you didn’t want to hurt Hope. It was just the situation. Everything fell out of control. So why don’t you tell me what I can do to help you now?”

Glittering eyes turned toward her. “Prove that you are still part of this family.”

How was she supposed to do that? “What do you mean?”

“You’ve tried to turn Hope against me. Prove that you’re not beyond help, Charity. We’re sisters. Help me. All I want is the shifter behind bars. I don’t care if he dies or not. Just admit what he did to you, that he used his pheromones to make you sleep with him.”

“Shifters don’t have—”

Honor cut her off, her voice hardening again. “Tell the cops that he raped you. Tell them that you were too afraid he was going to kill you to come forward before now. Tell them that I had that gun to protect you and that he took it and shot Hope. That will ensure that he is locked away. His pack will fall apart without him, and you and me? We’ll be free to be sisters again.”

Charity stared up at Honor. Her jaw clenched and she said nothing. She couldn’t even play along. No, there was something else going on here.

Honor’s expectant smile slipped away. Her face hardened, and she marched over to the table again. She picked up the jacket laying there, revealing a camera underneath. She turned it off and turned back to Charity.

“I see we’re going to have to do this the hard way, then.” She picked up the knife. “I’m sorry about this, Charity. But sacrifice is necessary.”