Questions bounced around me as they went back and forth. The only words that registered wereheatandalone.
Then the darkness won.
Chapter
Two
Lana
Asteady beeping pulled me out of a dreamless sleep. My limbs felt heavy but functional, and the pain had subsided to a level that didn’t make me want to scream.
It took me a minute to force my eyes open. They were still gritty and crusted, like they were when I’d fallen asleep.
My nose twitched at the sterile smell. A gasp finally forced my eyes fully open.
“Lana.” Conrad’s voice was hoarse and relieved all at once. His hand wrapped around mine before I managed to shift my eyes to him. The relief on his face was palpable, and guilt settled in my chest for worrying him like this.
“I’m sorry,” I croaked. “I didn’t know who else to call.”
Fury like I’d never seen overtook his features. “Lana, I need you to tell me very carefully why you were alone for an entire week while you went through a heat.”
Tears stung my eyes, and an excuse burned at the tip of my tongue, but there was one person in this world I could never lie to… and that was my brother.
“I called. They didn’t come.”
“You spoke to them and theystilldidn’t come?” he demanded. The horror on his face made my stomach churn. They used to be best friends growing up. He’d trusted them to take care of me. They didn’t just hurt me, they broke a lifelong friendship.
“They’d have to pay attention on the phone to actually hear me,” I said quietly. And once I started speaking, I couldn’t stop, the words spilling free as I explained the last four years, the last few spent watching my pack bonds slowly shrivel and die.
When I finally finished, I looked up at him, tears flowing freely now. I was clearly rehydrated enough for that. “The pack bond is dead. They didn’t even feel it. They weren’t there. I was alone.”
His hand wrapped around mine, holding tight. The fury was still there, but so was concern.
“I don’t understand,” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me things were getting this bad?”
“You have your own life. I didn’t want?—”
“I swear to everything holy, if you’re about to saybe a burden,” he warned. “I’m going to lose my goddamn mind. It’s taking every ounce of my self-control not to go beat them black and blue.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said firmly. “I’m not going back.”
He almost looked relieved to see the fire in me again. “I’ll be right back?—”
He tried to drop my hand, but my fingers locked onto him, refusing to let go.
“No. I don’t want you to say a word to them.”
The look he gave me was pure shock. “What the fuck do you mean?”
“I need to see how long it takes them to notice that I’ve even left,” I said with a bitter laugh. “I waited all week for them to show up. It’s in our calendars. They know my heat schedule. Ibegged them to listen and they wouldn’t even make an effort. Now, I want to see just how shitty they are.”
“None of this is your fault,” he said firmly. “You were theirs to protect. Fuck, Lana… when’s the last time you actuallysawthem?”
I blinked back tears. “A couple of months.”
Disgust crossed his face.Who could blame him?
“I never should’ve stayed this long,” I admitted. “That house was empty, and they… they let hockey change them.”
