They?More than one person hurt Wolf?
Monty’s eyes skim over the mess of scars, so many ragged wounds that didn’t heal right.His face hardens, tendons straining like they’re the only thing holding him together, and he crumples in the same breath.
“I should’ve been there.”His hand hovers above Wolf’s shoulder, fingers twitching like he wants to touch but doesn’t dare.Then the words pour, coarse and thick, meant for a son too far under to hear.“I should’ve taken the knives for you.I would’ve bled for you.Every cut should’ve been mine.”
Just like that, Alaska’s richest man is unrecognizable.Stripped of his arrogance and billionaire swagger, he embodies a father’s wreckage.
“I need to move you, Wolf.I’m so sorry.”He slides his arms under Wolf’s trembling frame.“You’re safe now.I swear it.”
Wolf thrashes and weakly swings punches like a cornered, injured animal.Monty doesn’t waver, lifting him as I hold the towel in place, covering Wolf’s nudity.
We shuffle out of the bathroom, and I wonder if we’ll make it to the bed.Wolf is all muscle and mindless panic, bucking and snarling.But the shivering wrings him out fast, draining what little fight he has left.
His head lolls on Monty’s shoulder, and he releases a terrible, breaking sound, choking on air, until his anguish tumbles into sobs.Crushing, soul-deep sobs.
A ball of fire swells in my throat, and guilt buckles my stomach.I want to puke.Jag did this.Or lit the match that set it off.And I’m the one who brought Jag into Wolf’s life.
What did Jag do to trigger Wolf’s breakdown?
You know, and you’ll think about it tonight when you’re alone.
I do know.And it makes me sick with self-loathing.
Monty carries Wolf into the bedroom and eases him onto the bed, layering blankets over him, his movements clinical but so heart-wrenchingly tender.
I want to be the one to care for Wolf like that.And isn’t that a selfish thought?He deserves so much better than me.
“You’re safe.”Monty tucks the corners snug and sits on the bed beside him.“Nothing can reach you.”
Unresponsive, Wolf doesn’t appear to hear him.
“Breathe with me, Son.In.Out.Slower.Slower.That’s it.”He rests a hand on the blanket where Wolf’s chest rises and falls.“Rest now.I’ve got you.”
I stand uselessly at the foot of the bed, arms crossed over my middle, my sinuses burning with barely contained tears.
Monty looks at me and gestures toward the empty spot on Wolf’s other side.
“It’s me.”I clutch at my throat, wanting to help, knowing I’m part of the problem.“I brought this into his life.I’m hurting him.”
I should go.
“I don’t know what’s going on between you and my son, but it isn’t nothing.”Steel edges his calm voice.“You feel something.He feels something.It’s new and fragile, and if you leave him now…” His gaze drops to Wolf, cocooned in blankets, breath hitching shallow.“That will hurt him far worse.”
“You don’t understand.”I remove my phone, open the browser, and angle it toward him.
Gavin’s obituary glows on the screen.
“My ex-fiancé is dead.”My chin trembles.“Wolf will be next.”
Monty stares at the screen, and the air in the room shifts, chilling my skin.His blue eyes turn back to me, frosty cold but not surprised.He already knew about Gavin?
His expression goes stone-hard, calculating, like he’s already assembling a plan in the back of his mind.
“Not while I’m breathing.”His snarling tone triggers my fight-or-flight instinct, but beneath the growl lies a comforting protectiveness.“No one will take him.Not the ghosts in his past.Not the monsters in yours.Whatever is hunting you, hunting him, will go through me and his brothers first.”
My mouth opens to respond, but nothing comes.Then, to my horror, a ragged sob breaks loose from my throat.My hand flies up to meet it, too late.Hot tears spill faster than I can wipe them away.
I choke, trying to breathe, but the air won’t come.It gathers in my chest and collapses into more sobs.Holy fuck, I’m crying.Ugly, heaving tears I haven’t let myself shed since I was a little girl.
