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“Totally on me,” Hunter agrees.
I don’t think I broke his nose because I notice he is bleeding. I stare at the dark liquid as it drips off his chin and falls to the concrete. My stomach tightens, and I sway.
“Hey, Bethany, hey, what’s wrong?” Crow sounds so far away.
I can’t take my eyes off Hunter and the blood that is running in a thin rivulet down his face.
“So much blood,” I whisper. The corners of my world go dark, and my knees collapse.
“Shit. Crow, get her out of here.”
“Where?”
“Home. Take her back to our place. We can deal with it all later. I’m going to fix this idiot.”
I’m lifted into Crow’s arms, and I turn in his embrace, inhaling that licorice that I love so much.
“This is a terrible idea,” I whimper.
Crow chuckles and sets me in the backseat. He’s really gentle when he reaches across and does up my seatbelt.
I think of the blood and fall into oblivion.
I wake up inthe bed in the room they gave me, but unlike last time, I don’t want to come out. I mean, this was the plan. Get me back here in the house, in front of them, by any means necessary, but my heart doesn’t want to take anymore abuse.
I sit on the bed and put my head in my hands as I try to figure out what to do.
It’s easier to sit in this room and imagine them on the other side of the door than get up and face them. Now that I’m here, my confidence has left me.
Why did they bring me here? We had a number of plans, but me fainting over the sight of blood wasn’t on the list. Plan for everything, but the unexpected will happen. Ryn, Aunt Auggie, and I planned for everything–except me passing out from the sight of Hunter’s blood. Totally not on the list.
I pace, wringing my fingers. Remembering that hope and the feelings that were growing inside me. I’ve put them in a glass box and been ignoring them for the last few days, but now that I’m here, I’m raw. I’m exposed.
A knock at the door has me turning in time to see Saint peer in. He spots me, and we just stand there, staring at each other. His shirt is unbuttoned down to his sternum, and I can’t help but want to touch.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“It’s not your fault.” He comes into the room and approaches me but slowly, as if he’s unsure if I will run or not. “Have you always been weird about blood?”
I shrug. “There was an incident on the farm with a chicken, and yeah, ever since then.”
Saint smiles slightly, but it disappears as he searches my face. “You came back.”
“You gave me a job. Besides.” I chuckle, turn away from him, and hope he can’t hear the anxiety in my voice. “Where else would I go?”
“Home, Bethany. When things get scary and painful, you go home.”
He’s right but wrong, too.
“What if I don’t have one anymore? What if I’m lost, and I don’t know the way?” My words aren’t a lie. My family's home doesn’t feel like home. Not since the day I met these alphas.
I force myself to turn back to face him, but it’s a mistake. Saint makes me weak. I want to throw myself into his arms and to hell with everything. Consequences be damned.
Saint’s eyes darken, and he takes another step towards me, putting us within a foot of each other. It’s the smallest distance, but it feels like miles.
“Then I guess you stay where it feels right until you remember where you are.” Saint exhales and leans in.
My body erupts in goosebumps. He’s so damn close, and the gap is closing.
