Page 151 of Monstrous Serpent

Rua walks over to my uncle’s body, retrieves his knife, then points his lollipop at me. “If you’re going to use my shit, take care of it, you big oaf.”

I grunt, jaw clenching.

Rua walks off, but Atlas and I stay a moment, looking at my uncle one last time. My family’s no longer a threat, but Cody doesn’t know what we really are.

Not sure he’ll accept it.

But no more secrets. Not after tonight. Which means we tell our little Titan everything.

Chapter 38

Cody

Someone needs to turn these fucking monitors off before I lose my mind. Between the noise, nurses, doctor, and pain, I can’t fucking sleep. And I’m exhausted to the point that I might cry, which is embarrassing.

Still, I need to be certain. Need to make sure this morning wasn’t a dream.

I wiggle my toes.

They move. Thank fuck. Could do without the pins-and-needles. Can’t wait for that to go away.

“Look who’s finally awake.”

Atlas.

Opening my eyes, I scan the room, sucking in a breath at the sight of him. A hot, sharp streak of pain ignites through my lower back. I groan, pressing my lips into a tight line.

“Easy, Little Titan.”

“Hunter?” I turn my head slowly, blinking when my vision lags a beat. “You’re here. Both of you.”

He nods, brushing hair off my forehead. “You moved your toes.”

“Mhm. They even made me stand this morning. But fuck doing that shit.” When my eyes finally focus, I notice his cheek is swollen. Covered in red marks too. “Please tell me you’re done fighting. I can’t—”

“We’re done.” Atlas squeezes my hand.

I turn toward him, stopping midway when the room spins. Fucking pain meds. My lungs seize when I finally get a good look at him. His face. Oh, my god. Hunter did that? I swallow hard, tears forming in the corner of my eyes. “Atlas.”

“I’m okay.”

“No. No, that’s not okay. Hunter—”

“It wasn’t him. Well, not all of it.”

My gaze drops to the cut on his cheek. No, not a cut. A slash. “Who—” The words catch in my throat. “Atlas, who did that?”

The beeping from the monitor picks up.

“Cody, calm down.” Hunter cards his fingers through my hair. “Everything’s okay now.”

I close my eyes, tears spilling over. My heart thunders in my chest, the monitor chirping faster beside me. Pain surges through my lower back with every broken breath.

Can’t even cry without it hurting.

Fuck this shit.

“Little J, easy.” Atlas threads his fingers through mine, holding my hand tight. “You know, I’m supposed to be apologizing to you for—”