His Trouble Maker

JESSICA

This is not happening.

No.

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They've got it all wrong.

“Pierce!” | shouted, grabbing the metal prison until my knuckles turned white. The cold iron bit into my palms,

but | barely felt it. All | could focus on was the retreating figure down the dimly lit corridor. “What is happening?

What am | here?!”

|

“Pierce!” My voice cracks. “Please-"

He disappears around the corner.

Fuck.

Riot tricked me.

| look around the cell and I've realized they putinside the dungeon where...traitors are being held. Our

village got a special place for enemies or those who helped our enemies.

| shove my hands through my hair, dragging hard at the roots. My nails scrape my scalp, sharp enough to sting.

Think. Think. There has to be a way out of

this.

Why would they puthere?

Where is Grayson?

| brace against the stone wall, gulping air like | can force the panic down. After a few minutes, | hear boots.

Heavy. Fast. Getting closer.

Pierce is coming back.

| shove myself to the bars again, breath tearing in and out of me, heartbeat slamming against my ribs like it's

trying to break free. My hands ache, rave from gripping the iron, but | don’t care. | grab the bars again, clinging

like they're the only thing holdingup.

When he turns the corner, | see the way his face is carved tight, his jaw clenched so hard | can see the muscles

shaking. He's angry. Or scared. Or both.

| can’t breathe.

“Pierce,” | gasp. “What is going on? Why-why am | in here? What did they tell you?”

My voice breaks, but | can’t stop. “I didn’t do anything.”

Say something. Look at me. Just look at me.

But his eyes are locked somewhere near the floor. He won't meet mine.

His boots stop in front of my cell. His throat works, his chest rising and falling like he’s trying to force the words

out,

“Pierce, please,” | beg, my fingers tightening or the bars until they burn “Please tellwhat's happening”

He lets out a long breath.

“They found Grayson’s clothes.”

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Sat, 23 Aug

Chapter 89

My stomach lurches. “What?”

“In the woods.” His voice is hoarse, breaking apart. “Shredded. Covered in blood.”

| shake my head, stepping back like | can physically shove the words away from me.

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“No.” My throat closes. 1 can barely get air in. | laugh, but it's empty, frantic, cracked right down the middle.

“Seriously. What the hell is this? You can’t say shit like that, you-" My heart is beating so fast | think it might

rupture. | grab the bars again and pull myself closer, desperate to see something in his face that tellsthis is

all ssick mistake.

“Pierce. Look at me.” My voice shudders. “You're lying. Tellyou're lying.”

His breathing rattles. His hands curl into fists at his sides. “I'm not,” he cuts in, voice sharp, voice wrecked. “I'm

not lying.”

| shake my head, choking on the panic building like wildfire in my chest. “You have to be. You have to be lying

because Grayson doesn’t-Grayson doesn’t lose. He doesn’t die. That's not-he’s not-” My hands tear through my

hair, gripping at the roots like | can rip this nightmare out of my skull.

“You're my brother,” | gasp, my words collapsing. “You wouldn't lie toabout this. Right? Pierce? You wouldn't

do that to me.”

His face twists, his throat working like he’s trying to swallow words too heavy to say. Finally, his voice rips out,

rough and furious. “What the fuck did you do, Jess? Do you even understand what they're accusing you of?”

“Grayson’s fine-“I blurt, clinging to it like it’s the only thing keepingupright.

*)essica!” His voice cracks like a whip, snappingstraight. | flinch, blinking at the fury blazing across his face.

“You're sitting in a prison cell, and you're still worried about him? Are you even hearing me?”

| grip the bars tighter, my palms slick with sweat. “Of course I'm worried about him! He’s not-he’s not dead! He

can’t be. They're wrong.”

Pierce drags both hands through his hair, pacing like he might capart right in front of me. “You're not

listening! Everyone's looking for him, Jess. They're hunting for you.”

That shutsup. Cold settles in my gut.

“Do you know what they're saying?” His hands fly out, his voice rising. “They found your messages. To Theo. You

think I can explain that? You think | can stand up there and tell them you've been sneaking around talking to a

traitor?”

| shake my head hard, my breath catching. “That's not-no, that’s not what that was. | wasn’t-I didn’t-"

But the words tangle in my throat because | did send those messages. | did meet Theo. And now it’s all

unraveling.

“You think they care why?” His jaw clenches, his nostrils flare. “They don’t give a shit what you were trying to do.

You broke the law. You made contact with him. You disappeared right before Grayson did. And now

His throat works like he’s choking on the next part. “Now they think you tore Grayson apart.”

“No!” My voice shatters. “I would never | would never hurt him!”

But it’s not justwho needs to believe that.

It's the whole pack.

Pierce slams his palm against the bars, rattling them so hard the vibration punches straight through me.

“The Elders called for your execution, Jess. You're not getting a trial. You're not getting a second chance. They

want you dead for this.”

Execution.

They're going to kill me.

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10:28 Sat, 23 Aug

Chapter 89

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“They're wrong,” | whisper, barely able to hear my own voice over the rush in my ears. “They're wrong, they're

wrong, Pierce, you know me. You know

me.”

His face crumples, and it guts me.

“Jess-“His voice breaks. “They found the blood. They found your scent. They found the messages. What the hell

am | supposed to do?”

My breath comes in short, sharp bursts. “Fight for me. You're my brother.” | slam my palm against my chest.

“Fight for me.”

That he’s going to fight for me, pullout of this, do what big brothers are supposed to do.

But when he looks atagain-there’s nothing but devastation. Nothing but the cracks | can’t fix.

“Where's Grayson, Jess?” His voice is barely holding together. A question, a plea, like maybe-maybe-I've been

hiding the answer all along.

“I don’t fucking know!” | scream, the words ripping out ofso fast it burns. “I don’t know where he is!”

“Do you know what it looks like?” His voice sharpens, slicingin half. “It looks like you planned this. It looks

like you lured him out there.”

My throat caves in. “Pierce-"

“It looks like you wanted him dead.” His face twists like the words taste like acid in his mouth. Like saying them

is killing him, but he says them anyway.

| stumble back from the bars, shaking my head so hard it rattles my teeth. “No. No. You know me. You fucking

know me.”

His breathing is ragged now. His whole body trembling like he’s breaking apart just as fast as | am.

“You think | don’t want to believe you?” His voice cracks. “But | can’t make the evidence disappear, Jess. You

didn’t just betray Grayson. You betrayed the whole pack.”

“I didn’t,” I choke out. “I didn’t. | didn’t-"

“They found your scent on the trail. They found your claw marks. They found your messages with Theo. Do you

know what that looks like to everyone else?” His voice drops to a whisper. “It looks like you seduce Grayson so

you can offer him to the rogues.”

Pierce just stares at me, his throat bobbing, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

“They already decided, Jess.” His voice is hollow now. “The pack voted. The Elders approved it.”

| clutch the bars, my throat closing. “Approved what?”

His jaw lightens, his eyes dull. “Your fate. They're holding the execution trial at the next full moon. Five nights

from now.”

“But what about.”

“Even if Grayson walks back into the village tomorrow-alive, breathing, whole-"

His voice cracks like he’s trying to save us both.

“I'll save you, Jews fucking save you from this?

But when he says it, we both know it’s a lie. The pack doesn’t care of Grayson’s alive. They care that | broke the

law. They care that | betrayed them. Even if he’s breathing, I'm still going to die.

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