“I’m sorry, I know this is all such a fucking mess, but I want you to know we’re here for you and not going anywhere.” His promise threatens to break the box back open, so I pull away from him, straighten my shoulders, and face him.
“So, what now?” I ask, and I don’t miss the hurt look in his eyes. I ignore it, wrapping my heart in a steel box. She’s too fucking dumb to protect herself, so I guess that's my job now. Whatever feels good, whatever makes me happiest, is now off-limits.
Everything ends. Especially happiness. I won’t stand at the edge of a cliff, ready to jump, when I know there’s nothing but pain waiting for me at the bottom. Instead, we’re growing wings and flying the fuck away. Far away from everything that will hurt us. From the things that threaten to destroy us from the inside.
“There’s a meeting at the Primal Moon Alpha’s house in two weeks. I want you to come with me. I need to keep my eyes on you on the nights you are mine. Since Coal doesn’t care enough to keep his eyes on you,” Dean growls. “You’ll also sleep in here when you aren’t with Coal.” The last part isn’t surprising, since Avowed Humans often stay with their Wolves. However, attending a pack meeting is something only the servants of the Alpha’s family do, and only to serve them during that meeting. “The meetings, for the sons of the Alphas and a few other pack members here, onlyhappen once a month, so with luck, we’ll be out of there quickly.”
“That sounds like a terrible idea. I don’t go to the Alpha’s house anymore. Coal will be there. Michael has been known to get violent around me. Quil will be there too, and he’s a fucking demon.” I’m rambling a bit, but I can’t help it. If he’s given the chance, he’ll torment me in front of his father, in front of the entire pack. No good has ever come from me, Coal, Quil, and Michael being in the same vicinity.
“He won't touch you unless he wants to start a war with me. On days that you’re mine, he isn’t permitted to touch you in my presence at all,” Dean says, his face darkening.
“Okay, and if you’re not around?” I ask, because it’s Coal’s home, and it’s not like I'll be glued to Dean’s side. As Quil just demonstrated outside, if Dean isn’t around, I’m fair game. “And what about Michael? You might have the upper hand with Coal, but not his father.”
“I’ll protect you, Delilah,” Dean says simply, and I shake my head.
“We’ll both protect you, but we can’t leave you behind. There are too many risks,” Matteo adds, and I frown.
“What risks?!” Shit, I’m forgetting my place again. I step back, mentally preparing for their anger, but neither man seems bothered by my shouting. At least, not because I forgot my inferiority.
“I already told you there’s a lot we can’t explain. You’ll have to trust us if you can.” Matteo gives me a sad smile. He knows all too well how hard that is for me.
I look away because if I look into those amber eyes too long, my dumb heart starts to race. That bitch is on timeout.
Delilah
After Dean and Matteo finish making breakfast, we head out. I leave Dean, and head to my first class.
Matteo doesn’t walk with me, and I haven’t spoken to him again since we left the room. What do you even say in this situation?Thanks for being my safe place, until you weren’t.
I’m a short girl, barely five-two, and at sixteen, Bunny, in his Wolf form, had been as tall as I was.
We had lain in the sun by the river for hours. I had curled into his side, just listening to the water. My busted lip and aching jaw, making me quiet. I had asked him to shift. I needed a friend, and I wanted to be held, just once. But he refused. I understand now, but at the time it hurt me. I had gotten into the water, trying to escape the stormy feelings inside my chest, and drifted too far out. Bunnysaved me from drowning, but still never shifted. He growled at me so aggressively that I thought he was going to hurt me. I stopped going into the woods after that. I wanted to know who the boy behind the Wolf was, but he didn’t want to show me. He didn’t trust me, or care for me, like I had cared for him. At sixteen, I was still stupid enough to believe in fairy tales, naive enough to think that the white Wolf might be my white knight…
Rather than continuing to have my heart broken, I stopped going to see him. Told myself, if he wanted me, he’d come for me.
My gloomy thoughts are derailed when Coal snaps at me from the back of the room. I head over to him, taking my seat beside him. Today isn’t his day, but I’m not going to argue.
“What happened yesterday? You missed class, and instead of tending to me in my room, you were nowhere to be found.” The way he growls at me is angry, but the look in his eyes almost resembles concern.
“I woke up in the woods outside the Academy. My shoes were gone, and my head was pounding. I’d been knocked out sometime after I left the dining hall. I spent a while walking back to the Academy, barefoot. If you don’t believe me, I’m sure there’s a trail of blood from last night,” I respond. Pulling out a pen from my bag, I motion for him to hand me whatever work he’s about to make me do for him. He ignores my hand and turns to face me fully.
“What?” he asks, eyes wide. We’re the only ones in the room right now and having his full attention focused on me makes me squirm.
“What, what?” I frown. “You're not the one responsible? I was told Jessica was overheard bragging, and she’s yourfuck buddy or whatever.” I was kind of betting it was his doing, even if he didn’t do it himself. He sneers when I say the girl’s name.
“No, Delilah. Were you hurt anywhere else?” he asks, looking over my body closely, making me fidget. When Matteo walks in, Coal straightens, and when I look back at him, he’s got a scowl firmly in place.
“No,” I answer, but Coal only nods.
Was he worried about me?
The rest of my Tuesday classes were pretty calm. At lunch, I ate with Dean in his room, and it was awkward and quiet without Matteo there.
I was scolded in combat and forced to run, with no breaks, for missing it yesterday; but thankfully, because Dean was there, he informed the teacher I had been doing something for him.
That was a lie, but the truth wouldn’t have done me any good. I’m on my way to meet Dean in his dorm now since the day is over. I’m showered and wearing regular clothes. I look down, running my fingers over the old cotton material. There are a few holes in this shirt, considering it used to belong to my mother and is probably older than I am.
I decided not to wear my nicer clothes since I’ll likely just be making dinner, and then falling asleep on Dean’s couch. I lift my hand to knock, feeling a bit self-conscious now because of my raggedy clothes.
