If keeping secrets from one of my best friends is the price for protecting him, I’ll gladly pay it. After all, it’s my fault his mate is gone.
Rook makes a pained noise in his throat before spinning me around. My eyes fly open at the movement, but he’s already picking me up. Turning around, he presses my back to the shower, supporting me with one arm under my ass.
I hiss at the cold tile against my mostly bare back, but I don’t say anything.
The warm water beats down on him, soaking his golden-blond hair and turning it brown. His thundercloud gray eyes look particularly stormy in the dim lighting of the shower, and they’re pinched with worry as he locks eyes with me.
Placing his free hand on the tile next to my head, Rook leans down until we’re nose to nose. “I don’t know the full story of what happened to your sister. But what I do know is that you didn’t make her husband hurt her. You weren’t the one to hurther. He was. Place the blame where it belongs, Lark—squarely on his shoulders.”
“She only married him because of me!” I explode at him, banging a fist against his chest as I do so. He makes no move to stop me, leaning back and letting me take my rage out on him. “She did it to save me. She suffered to protect me. She was hurt because of me.”
I pound my fists against his chest to punctuate each admission of guilt, each damning truth about what happened to Wren. I flinch at the last hit, the bony edge of my hand protesting repeatedly striking the ridiculously hard muscles of Rook’s chest.
That’s when Rook gathers my wrists up in his free hand and pins them above my head. The tile is shockingly cold against the backs of my hands, especially compared with the burning warmth of Rook.
When he’s sure his hold is secure, he leans down and snarls, “Be that as it may, you didn’t hold a gun to her head and make her marry Marcus. And you didn’t make him hurt her. This. Is. Not. Your. Fault. I refuse to let you hurt yourself to appease misplaced guilt that isn’t yours to feel.”
Rook’s anger shocks me into complete silence. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him display this much emotion before. His uncharacteristic rage, combined with me being vulnerable and pinned, makes me crumple.
The tears that had temporarily stopped flow freely once more.
“I could’ve saved her if I knew. But I didn’t know any of it until it was too late. I’d give anything to go back and save her, Rook. Anything.” My eyes plead with him to understand that I’d undo all the damage I caused in a heartbeat if I could.
He leans his forehead against mine. “I know, Lark. I know you would. And I’m so damn sorry that you can’t. I’d giveanything to take all this pain from you.” As another sob breaks out of my chest, he lets my hands go and wraps an arm around my back, holding me to him. “Let it out, dove. Let it all out.”
Winding my arms around his neck, I collapse against him. I couldn’t stop the pitiful cries coming out of me right now if I tried. So, I do as Rook says and let it out until I can’t possibly cry anymore.
“I’m sorry,” I croak after the last of the tears dry up.
It feels like all the emotions left my body as I sobbed, so now I’m back to feeling numb and exhausted. I honestly don’t mind the numbness. It sure as hell beats feeling like someone is ripping out my heart with a rusty spoon.
“Don’t apologize, Lark. We all have times when we need to let out all the things we keep inside. It’s my privilege to be here for you when you need it.” He gives me a smile that doesn’t even begin to reach his eyes, betraying his worry for me. “Now let’s finish getting you clean so we can get you out of the shower before we run out of hot water.”
CHAPTER 29
LARK
When I emerge from the bathroom wrapped in a soft green towel, I see Hal sitting on the edge of my bed. His elbows are resting on his knees, and he’s cradling his head in his hands.
As soon as he hears me enter the room, he hops up and turns to face me. When he sees me in nothing but a towel, he stares for a long moment before dragging his gaze up to my face. “Feeling any better, wild girl?”
It felt good to get out of the soaking wet suit in the moment. But I’m regretting it as I stand here with only a towel to shield me from his heated gaze.
I shrug. “A little.”
At least I’m not covered in blood and tissue anymore. My head still hurts like a bitch, but that’s probably not going to go away until I sleep for a while.
Rook walks out of the bathroom behind me, wearing only a pair of low-slung jeans. I try not to stare at the enticing V of his hips, but I’m not very successful.
Ripping my gaze away, I force myself to look at Hal instead. He’s smirking at me, having caught me staring at his friend. “It’s up to you what we do next, but my beast is going crazy havingyou exposed out here instead of safe on our lands. Do you feel up to getting dressed and leaving?”
My eyes widen in surprise. “You’re a shifter? And, yeah, I’m good with leaving here for a while.”
I don’t really want to come back here ever again. It no longer feels like my safe haven or an escape from Oakridge Park. Instead, it feels like a mausoleum that forever enshrines all my sins.
I’ve also been wondering for months what the guys are. It feels weirdly anticlimactic for Hal just to casually drop that they’re shifters. It makes sense, though, if I’m the same as they are. I’m definitely a shifter, even if I’m unsure what type I am.
He huffs a laugh and shoves a hand through his messy brown hair. “Yeah. Didn’t you know that?”
