Forging Day (Crucible of Change Book 1) by Noelle Alladania Meade Read Free Book Online Page A

Derek had to be older than me.
    “I haven’t seen you with him at events before.”
    “This is the first year he’s brought me. He said I’d cause too much trouble when I was underage. And I don’t mind dressing like this. With this much skin showing, he doesn’t dare leave any marks.”
    I flashed on Colby grabbing me, and a stranger in an elevator watching, and had to choke down my gorge. When I opened my eyes again, she was staring at me, a glimmer of understanding in her eyes. I forcibly pulled myself together. Between deep breaths, and by focusing on the here and now, I held onto my composure by my fingernails. “What’s your name? And how old are you?”
    “It’s Theresa, but I go by Tessa. I just turned eighteen last month.”
    Oh, really… “And how long have you lived with Derek?”
    “Since I was nearly fifteen. I couldn’t stand to live with my meth-head mother and her latest drugged-out boyfriend any more. I didn’t want to be some fourteen-year-old reality-show mom, and at least Derek used rubbers.”
    I hadn’t heard Kat come up. “That bastard! I’m calling the police.”
    “No!” Tessa looked like she was ready to run. “I’m not dealing with any cops. If you call them, I’ll deny everything.” Her shoulders slumped and the fight drained out of her. “I don’t want to go back. I’m tired of being his blow-up doll, but I’m not talking to the cops.”
    I gestured for her to sit back down. “Are you serious about not going back? We can help if that’s what you really want.”
    “I’m sure. There’s nothing for me in Colorado Springs. I put all my stuff in the car while he was getting ready—just my clothes and my diary. I was sure I could find someone to give me a ride into town and I’d just figure out what to do next after that. God knows I can’t do much worse. I already ruined everything else. I’ll just keep playing along until Sunday—and then I’ll disappear. What’s a few more blow jobs, give or take?”
    Maybe I’d been too stupid to save myself, but I was determined to save her. “ No . If you want away, you’re not going to act like his slave while we all pretend we don’t know he’s a walking piece of shit. You can stay with us at our camp. There’s plenty of room. But if you think he’s not going to take ‘fuck off and die’ for an answer, we can always pack up and go home early.”
    She flew at me, pulling me into a desperate hug. “I promise you won’t regret this! I knew you were the one. When you faced him down at court—I saw it. I knew.”
    I was uncomfortable with how she was looking at me, like I was her knight in shining armor, but I wasn’t going to push her away, either.
    I hugged her back. “Why don’t you let someone go with you to get your stuff? Like I said, we have room at our camp. We’re not going to let Derek bother you again.”
    Kat whispered in my ear, “I’ll update the boys,” and headed off with Tessa toward the Beast Lords encampment.
    I had an uneasy feeling about this. For some reason, Derek didn’t strike me as someone that easily let go of his toys, especially toys as pretty as Tessa, with her rich mahogany hair and dark brown eyes.
     

 
Report 1
    Interoffice Memo
     
    To: Dr. Wxxxxx
    From:Dr. Hxxxxx
     
    Dr. Fxxxxx is getting even more erratic. He says he’s on the verge of something big, but he’s kicked his assistants out of the lab. I know he’s done it before, but it feels different this time. I strongly suggest you report this up the chain, or at least increase monitoring.
     
    Gaming at 8, you in?
     

 

Chapter Five
    Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
     
    I wasn’t very productive at that point, but I stayed at the kitchen. All I could think about was Tessa, and the strong urge to denounce Derek as a child molester and use him for target practice. Berto showed up, delivered a scroll to the head cook, and dropped into a seat next to me at the table.
    He leaned close and spoke to me quietly, probably much to