Page 38 of The Rust in Her Hair

My hands shake as I bring them up, trying to shield my face.

He found me.

Crispin actually found me.

I don't know how, but it doesn't matter. Crispin is looming over me, and I'm cornered, and this time there's nowhere to go.

I’m trapped, and he can do whatever he wants to me.

My body tenses, bracing myself, as I pull in a jerky breath. I wait for Crispin’s clove and whiskey scent, but it doesn't come.

Instead, I smell pine and fresh air. Cool and clean. Like standing outside after the rain.

That's not right.

For a second my mind just stalls out completely, not understanding. Nothing about that scent matches the man who should be standing over me right now.

Moving slowly, I drop my hands and force my eyes open, looking up at the alpha standing in front of me.

He's massive, built like a freaking wall. Thick muscle is stacked under a flannel shirt that looks two sizes too small for the width of his shoulders. He has dark hair and a few days of stubble along a sharp jaw. His eyes are locked on me, blue-gray and startlingly intense, like he can’t believe what he’s looking at.

"Adrian." A voice cuts from somewhere behind the alpha. "What the hell are you doing?"

Owen.

Relief slams into me so fast it steals the air right out of my lungs.

"Owen?" I whisper, craning my head so I can see him.

Then he appears. He peers around the wall of the alpha's shoulder, his brow furrowed in confusion. The second he sees me, his whole expression cracks open, confusion collapsing into something closer to shock, his eyes dragging down the length of me and back up again.

"Lyra?"

He moves around the alpha and is on his knees in front of me before I can say a word. His hands hover over my legs, not quite touching. It’s like he's afraid touching me might hurt.

"Oh, my god," he whispers, his eyes fixed on the blood there. His jaw tight. "What happened to you? Who did this?"

But I can’t get the words out.

Shame crashes into me all at once, hot and suffocating, worse somehow than anything that happened last night.

I want to hide my legs, cover myself, disappear into the shelving at my back. "I…um…"

Tears flood my eyes and I blink hard against them, refusing to let them fall right now.

"I didn't know where else to go," I manage to say, barely holding it together. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey, it’s okay." Owen's hands come up to my shoulders, hovering like he doesn't know where it's safe to touch. "Don't apologize. God, Lyra, what happened?" He doesn't wait for an answer. His eyes drop to the blood again and something dark moves through them. Fury he's clearly trying to keep leashed. "Okay. Okay, we need to get you up. Can you stand?"

"Yeah," I say and he slides one arm under mine, careful, helping me up onto shaking legs.

"Can you walk?"

I nod, then glance past him, up at the alpha still filling the doorway. Just the sight of him has me tensing before I can help it.. He's too big, too close, too much of a stranger standing between me and the only exit in this room.

Owen catches the look on my face immediately.

"This is Adrian." Owen keeps his voice low, gentle. "He’s my friend. You can trust him. He's not going to hurt you. I promise."