7. Astrid

7

ASTRID

M y raven perched in the tree near Xander's house, staring at him through his living room window. We'd been here for almost an hour now, watching him meticulously plan something.

What was he up to?

He looked like I did when ideas were flowing while I plotted out a storyline—his pen scraping across the sheet of paper in front of him rapidly while a look of complete focus twisted his expression. If it hadn't been for the strange cold darkness that surround him lately, I would have thought nothing of his excitement.

Energy doesn't lie, though.

I knew something was off with him. Plus, it didn't help that Dean clearly had felt the same or else he wouldn't have confronted me, thinking I was stalking him for Xander.

Funny, I'd claimed I wasn't a stalker and now, here I was, stalking my brother.

Xander suddenly pocketed the paper he'd been jotting things down on and disappeared from my raven's line of view. She shook out her feathers, debating on moving to a new branch, but before she could fully commit to the idea, he came out his front door. My raven slunk back on the branch, hoping to not be noticed. However, from the ecstatic look on Xander's face, he wouldn't have noticed her if she'd been right in front of him.

My brother was on a mission.

Shifter magic pulsed through the air, and in the next instant, Xander's raven soared through the sky. I didn't know where he was headed, but I knew my raven would follow him.

She waited for a heartbeat and then flew after him.

My raven had no idea where Xander was headed either, but a heavy sense of dread uncoiled in us as we followed him. When a small house came into view along with a gray truck, I knew immediately where we were.

Dean's house.

The only reason I knew this was his place was because I'd been there when Lucius stepped out of the woods and got into Dean's head for the first time. He and his wolf had fought as hard as they could, but in the end, neither of them had been a match for Lucius' powers of mind manipulation.

None of us were.

Xander's raven landed on the soft foliage at the edge of the woods and immediately stepped to the side so my brother could take center stage again. My raven perched on a tree branch, watching as he crept toward Dean's house. The darkness of night seemed to stick to him while he walked.

What the heck was he doing here?

Once he was almost at the house, my raven dropped to the ground at the base of the tree she'd been perched in and stepped aside for me. Panic pumped through me as my gaze zeroed in on Xander. He was making his way to the back of the house with a sinister look of joy twisting his facial features.

"Xander, what are you doing here?" I asked him in a hushed tone.

His head snapped in my direction, and I saw his eyes grow cold. "Are you following me?" he demanded, stalking toward me.

My heart pounded, but I nodded while still holding his icy gaze. "I've been worried about you. You're not acting like yourself."

My eyes shifted to the house for a split second. The last thing I wanted was for Dean to hear us and come storming out because I could guarantee that wouldn't end well for any of us.

A cruel grin twisted Xander's lips, but the coldness never left his eyes. "I'm not acting like myself?"

"You're not," I insisted. "I mean—stalking a wolf? What are you thinking?" I waved a hand at Dean's house.

"The only one stalking anyone is you right now. You shouldn't be here."

"Neither should you," I countered.

A heartbeat later, I realized the words had been a mistake.

Xander's expression grew even darker as he erased the remaining space between us. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but I could have sworn I saw his pupils narrow into vertical slits, cold and predatory like a snake's. My stomach clenched and panic unlike anything I'd ever felt before hit me so hard my knees grew weak.

"Are you protecting him?" Xander demanded.

It took me a moment to realize who he was talking about—Dean. All I could think about was how there was no way I'd witnessed his eyes change like that. There was no way they'd elongated like a snake's.

No way.

Right?

"Are you one of them?" Xander pressed, his face now contorted in rage.

My heart kickstarted inside my chest. What was he talking about?

"One of who?" I asked, taking a step back.

He'd lost it. Completely lost it.

"A traitor like Dean. Someone who doesn't see how blessed you were to have been chosen by Lucius to be part of something far greater than you could have ever imagined," he said.

Ice trickled through my veins, and I wanted to throw up.

Was that how he saw things?

"What happened to us wasn't a blessing," I seethed. "It was a freaking nightmare."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." He shook his head slowly, his cold eyes never leaving mine. "I can see whose side you're on now. Such a pity."

I'd never been scared of my brother before, but right now, I was terrified.

Cold dread settled in my core as Xander stepped closer, erasing the tiny bit of space I'd inserted between us.

"Astrid, I thought you were better than that," he said in an almost teasing tone.

Before I could respond, I felt a familiar nudge inside my head. It was almost as though my brain suddenly itched, and I knew exactly what it meant.

Fear paralyzed me.

There was only one person who'd ever been able to get inside my head like that, but he was dead.

How did Xander have access to Lucius's ability?

The thought swirled through my head, causing my raven to bristle. She didn't care how, all she wanted was for me to get out of here—to set her free—but I was too scared to do anything.

Another nudge propelled through my head. This one was more forceful than the last, but not strong enough to overtake me. One look at my brother had me realizing that he knew this.

He was toying with me.

A smirk had formed on his face. The sight caused my raven to go crazy. She urged me again to give way to her so she could get us out of here because she could also sense there was something seriously wrong with him.

I ignored her, though.

Flying away wouldn't get me the answer I needed. It wouldn't let me know if this was truly my brother or some twisted doppelganger with Lucius's abilities. Staying put was the only way to figure that out. Staying also meant that I needed to fight.

Lifting my chin defiantly, I locked eyes with Xander. However, that was as close as I got to fighting him because in that next instant, my brain felt like it was being hit by a jackhammer repeatedly. I screamed, my hands clutching the sides of my head while I fell to my knees.

"Xander," I whimpered. "Stop."

"Xander isn't here anymore," he whispered, before amping things up, making my head feel like it was about to explode.

Tears trickled from the corners of my eyes as I gripped my head tighter, the pressure building to unbearable levels. Even if I wanted to give way to my raven now, I wouldn't be able to. She felt everything I was.

The pain was crippling.

Another scream worked its way up my throat. My senses became overwhelmed, and I felt as though I was on the verge of passing out.

"Stop!" I managed to scream again.

I lifted my gaze to meet his and noticed the twisted look of pleasure spreading across his face. I knew then that no amount of pleading would save me. My vision blurred as the assault on my mind taxed my body, and the pain became too much. Panic pulsed through my veins.

I'd seen this before.

Lucius had punished those who fought against his control like this. It was how he'd kept us all in line. I'd never witnessed him kill someone this way, though.

However, Xander felt like he was doing just that—killing me.

Was this how I died? At the will of my older brother?