The way he spoke did nothing to hide his annoyance. For the past few days, Ronan had been incessantly focused on ensuring my health was a priority, from the salve, to making sure I was getting enough to eat, and ensuring I was drinking more water than I’d probably ever consumed. I’d never had someone care so much about those little things before, and it made me feel like I was special to him.
“Yeah, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed like he probablydoeseveryday,” I mused before giving him a quickhug. “Apparently, I’m supposed to train with him today. It’s going to be weird not doing that with you.”
He dropped a kiss to the top of my head as a trill sounded from behind him.
Ronan’s and my laughter rang out as the small wyvern darted directly for my chest. I had to take a few steps back before he collided with me to ensure he didn’t whack into Ronan. Pulling him up to my face, I placed a kiss on his snout after he stuck it out, clearly accustomed to our morning ritual and making his expectations clear.
With words of encouragement from Ronan, and a quick lick on the cheek from Niz, I felt my mood lightening before heading out the door to follow Steele.
The giant asshole was two-hundred yards away from the house already, and I called out, “Could you wait up!”
He didn’t wait, and he didn’t respond. Of course he didn’t. With a growl of annoyance, I jogged until I caught up with him. As my feet slowed to a fast walk to match his longer gait, he held his hand up and demanded, “Dagger.”
My eyebrows hiked up at his tone. “Has anyoneevertaught you manners?” I questioned, giving him a look of uncertainty. “After meeting Amelia, I feel certain that shetried.So did you just forget about them?”
Saying that aloud made me realize I still knew nothing about his parents. I hadn’t heard anything about them, so part of me just assumed Amelia raised him.
He didn’t waste a second before responding, keeping his eyes trained on the path ahead of us as he did, “I’ll show you manners when you deserve to see them.”
I stopped walking, fed up with this bullying nonsense and hating the way anger swirled within me when I was around him. I’d faced a lot of shit in my life, and I still wouldn’t considermyself an angry person. I didn’t want to keep walking around with this animosity festering between us.
“Why do you…hateme?” My tone dipped with a hint of vulnerability that I wasn’t happy with because it left me feeling like it showed him a weakness that he could exploit. “What did Ieverdo for you to decide that I was the dirt beneath your feet on sight?”
There had to be something about Steele that was redeeming. He was respected around here, and Gabe was his freaking roommate and friend. He was in charge of an entire army of fallen angels. I didn’t believe he got there just because of his family connections. So why was he trying so damn hard to seem so off-putting? I just didn’t get it.
“I don’t hate you,” he said, shocking me with his matter-of-fact tone and admission. He quickly squashed my shock as he continued, “You’re just not worth the hassle your presence brings and I think it’s best if you leave.”
Was this how it would always be with us?At each other's throats with every breath, trying to one up and hurt each other? If I was to make this my home, something told me the days would be long and the years hard if I continued on this path with him.
My chest rose as I sucked in a deep breath, hoping that if I was the first to let down the guard we always seemed to have around each other, that he’d lighten up. Vulnerability was the only thing I could think of, and thankfully I didn’t see anyone else out on the path this early, giving me a chance to say what I had to say to him in relative privacy.
“I have nowhere else to go,” I admitted, and I watched as he pulled to a stop. That was a win in and of itself. “I left everything I knew behind for a chance at a better life. To find a place that I felt valued. To find ahome. One in which I don’t have to fear waking up each day.”
Emotion clogged my throat as I spoke, and my eyes pricked with unshed tears. It was my truth, and to share it with someone seemingly hellbent on making me hate him was fucking scary.
Of all the things he could have said back, he still managed to shock me to my core with his next words. “Who gave you all of the bruises I saw on you the other night?”
I nibbled my bottom lip, unsure of how I wanted to answer. On the tip of my tongue was the urge to tell him it was none of his fucking business. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure why he would ask if it wasn’t from a place of caring, even if it was just the tiniest part of him. I’d been the one to open this conversation up on a more personal level, so maybe this was him attempting to connect.
Whatever his intentions, for the first time, I didn’t feel anything malicious in them. I’d take that.
“My father,” I answered softly, unsure if my voice even traveled far enough for Steele to hear my answer.
The wind wrapped around me, tousling strands of my hair loose and blowing it into my face as I stared at him, waiting to see what he had to say in return. The energy in the air was filled with tension, and it felt like a make-or-break moment for us. Here I was trying to be civil with him, even after he’d proven time and time again since we’d arrived here that he wanted nothing to do with me. Was he just going to spit in my face again?
His dark-stubbled chin appeared over his shoulder as he turned to look at me out of the corner of his eye. His expression was solemn, and my mouth parted in surprise as he said, “I’m glad you got away then.”
My eyes widened.Did he just…
He took off before I could even process the fact that this was the first semblance of decency he’d shown me, and I rushed to catch up to him. The way he stuck his hand out and demandedthe dagger felt likedéjà vu, acting like I hadn’t just told him an intimate part of my life and that he’d shown me compassion for the briefest moment. Apparently this was just another Tuesday for Steele.
I wasn’t sure that I’d ever understand him, and that was okay. We just needed to learn how to exist with one another.
I was still struggling on what to make of the moment we’d just had, so all I could do was huff before placing the dagger in his hand.
And then he took off sprinting, leaving me in the dust.
“What the hell, Steele!” I yelled, propping my hand on my waist as the dust he kicked up swirled around me.
