Page 93 of Plug and Drain

Arken inclined his head. “I’d just been to your room looking for you.”

Susie averted her gaze. She couldn’t exactly tell Arken she’d actively been avoiding him.

Thankfully, he changed the subject.

“Those wolves who were here…is this the first time they’ve tried to harm you?”

His question opened up a raw wound, letting shame seep into her veins as she contemplated how to answer. She felt exposed. That incident was not something she wanted to share with Arken, or anyone else for that matter.

“There is nothing to be ashamed of,” Arken said, his words illuminating the dark misery that had descended over her. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

He held her gaze, and Susie took a steadying breath and nodded.

She would tell him. Because if he was half the man she hoped he was, he needed to know what was happening in his academy. And maybe, he wouldn’t judge her.

“There was another time,” she began, crossing her arms and hugging herself, “when they really did hurt me.”

And then words failed her, and she didn’t know how to continue.

Arken looked stricken. “When?” he demanded.

“Last week,” she admitted. “There were more of them, and they forced themselves on Molly in her room. And…and on me.” She swallowed hard. “I tried to stop them, but…it didn’t end well.”

Her words seemed inadequate to describe the trauma and terror of the attack. It had destroyed her emotions and left her feeling feeble, inadequate…and empty.

And it hadn’t even been the first time someone had forced her. But what Oscar and his gang had put her and Molly through was the worst she’d ever experienced.

The seconds stretched, and something shifted inside her as Arken continued to stare, his hardened expression impenetrable.

A painful realisation pierced her heart, making her wilt beneath his stare as she felt it tear in two. He didn’t believe her. Or he blamed her.

He thinks this is my fault.

And even though she knew that wasn’t true, she felt her soul curl up miserably. She didn’t know whether to give up or lash out, and she took a deep, calming breath before she spoke.

“What Oscar and the others were about to…do…” she frowned, wishing she could explain how she felt more eloquently, without her voice quivering with fear and pain. “It’s not what I wanted. They didn’t give me a choice.”

Arken’s expression darkened.

Does he believe me?

“There’s a lot you don’t know about the academy,” she continued, throwing caution to the wind as she opted for honesty. “Things that happen, especially to shifter students.”

She hoped he didn’t know. If he did, he was turning a blind eye.

“Apparently so,” Arken said, his jaw tensing.

Susie bristled and lifted her chin in challenge. “You’re angry at me.”

He tilted his head at her, his gaze growing intense.

Her heart pounded.

He doesn’t believe me.

And then Arken crossed the distance between them, and he didn’t stop until he was standing right in front of her, one hand warm on her waist as the other brushed the side of her cheek.

“Yes, I’m angry,” he murmured. “But never at you.”