She must know the answer, but she needs to hear it out loud before she can begin to relax, to believe the danger has truly passed.
“Yes.”
She absorbs this quietly, gives my arm a gentle squeeze and nods slowly. “Good.”
The simple word surprises me. No horror, no revulsion. Just acceptance that the people who terrorized her got what they deserved.
“Thank you.”
She shifts her weight as if she needs to steady herself, blinking rapidly, one bare foot stepping back to keep her balance.
“We should go,” I say, taking hold of her elbow to keep her shivering body steady as she takes small, unsure steps across the cabin floor.
When we get closer to the door, I remember what’s waiting outside. The carnage I left behind in my rage. Blood and gore scatters across the forest floor like something from a slasher movie.
“Wait.” I stop her at the threshold, moving to block her view. “Don’t look. Just keep your eyes closed.”
I’m a fool. A dangerous fool. This woman will never feel safe with me after what I’ve done today.
“What...”
“Please, Emma. Trust me.”
She does, closing her eyes and letting me guide her around the cabin to where the cars are parked. But I can see her face in my peripheral vision, and the way she tenses when she catches the metallic scent of blood in the air. The slight hitch in her breathing when we pass close to what’s left of Kozlov.
She knows. Maybe she can’t see it, but she knows what I’ve done.
Overkill. Blood lust. Feral. Broken.
These are the words that bombard me. Words I’ve heard before when I was banished from our clan. My hands shake as I help her into the passenger seat and close the door, the enormity of what I’ve done crashing over me. Not killing them, I’ll never regret that, but how I did it.
The violence. The beast I become when pushed too far.
What kind of mate puts their own desire for vengeance above the needs of the one they’re meant to love more than anything?
“Bodhi?” Emma’s voice comes through the car window. “Aren’t you getting in?”
I look at her sitting there, this incredible woman who somehow survived an ordeal that would have broken most people. She more than I deserve.
“I’ll be right back,” I say. “Just need to check the perimeter. Make sure we’re safe until backup arrives.”
Her brow furrows. “What’s wrong?”
Everything. Everything is wrong.
“Nothing. Just being cautious.”
Emma nods, but as I turn to go, she reaches through the window and catches my arm, the first time she’s touched me since she found out what I am.
“Bodhi.” Her voice is soft but firm. “Thank you.”
Before I can respond, the sound of approaching engines cuts through the night. Headlights sweep through the trees, and I tense, ready to shift again if necessary, until I catch a familiar scent on the wind.
Beau.
“It’s okay,” I tell Emma. “They’re with me.”
Two black SUVs pull into the clearing. Chase is out before his vehicle has even fully stopped, with Beau right behind him, both dressed in full tactical gear that’s now completely unnecessary. They take in the scene before them, the shattered door, the blood, and me standing naked, covered in gore, and exchange a look.
