“Do you blame me?” I smirk as I throw my sister a wink, and she giggles. “Was it your idea to bring her here?”
Dianna shakes her head. “I found her here this morning when I brought in one of the kids for a sprained ankle. She was making herself useful, and oh! How useful she proved to be!”
I grin proudly, returning my attention to Sophie.
“I'm gonna take this to James,” Dianna says, gesturing to the cups.
“I'm gonna head home,” I say thoughtfully, and my sister throws me a smile before walking away.
As I pass the bay, Sophie and I exchange glances, a dozen thoughts flashing past her eyes, a million words left unspoken between us.
I know I should give her space, but I'm going insane with this mountain of resentment between us, and it's about time I did something about it.
Not just something to thank her for what she's doing at the clinic, or for being here to strengthen me and, in turn, strengthen the pack.
But to make up for lost time, precious time, and for hurting her the way I did.
Chapter 10 - Sophie
Maybe I'm trying to distract myself, but it seems to be working, giving me a semblance of normalcy after spending the day at the pack clinic.
Even thinking the word “pack” makes me feel like I'm going insane, but there comes a point in one's life when you have to admit that not everything is as it seems.
I had somewhat of another rude awakening when I went to check on Damian's friend, James. He'd been comatose for three months, after a supposed demon attack, and the moment I pressed a finger to his neck, his veins surged with black ink that burned from his lips and disappeared like smoke.
Dianna called it magic, while I'm still trying to wrap my head around the word. She believes it has to do with the “fated mate bond” between her brother and me, and that's something I don't want to accept.
There's no way I could bethatimportant to—
“Hey, Sophie!” Dianna greets me cheerfully outside the clinic, her radiant personality instantly dousing my gloominess, even if it lingers at the back of my mind.
I push it far back, welcoming her company despite my previous resistance, deciding that she's not part of the problem. Besides, I saw the way she looked at James while he was still unconscious, and witnessed the way her eyes lit up like stars when he woke up.
Perhaps I caught a glimpse of what it looks like to be in love, and saw a past version of me that reminded me of the time I was in love.
“Can I walk you home?” she asks, and I make a face.
“You wanna walk me all the way back to Hamilton?”
Dianna giggles as she slips her arm through mine. “You still wanna go back there? After today?”
I purse my lips in contemplation, thinking about the way I spent my day. I'd naturally gravitated to the clinic when I was in search of something to distract myself, and while the patients were initially hostile when they met me, I didn't think too much of it.
Dianna says it's because I'm human, but I'm no stranger to disgruntled patients and having to plaster on a smile for the sake of their well-being. Besides, nursing patients has always brought me fulfillment, even if it's helping a bunch of were-creatures who have the ability to shapeshift and claw my eyes out if I'm not careful.
Gulp!
“What's wrong?” Dianna asks halfway back to Damian's cabin.
“Nothing,” I lie, mentally frowning at this sudden surge of awareness that has me feeling all sorts of insecure. It's like the more I'm letting go of the tight binds of resentment, the harder it's becoming to accept that I'm here, with Damian, as his—
It was so much easier to just hate the man.
While Dianna goes on listing all the reasons why she'd been missing James while he was comatose, I mentally list all the reasons to hate Damian, reaffirming that I do still hate him. By the time we get to the cabin, my chin tilts with a sort of defiance, my shoulders rigid as we walk up the porch.
“Thank you, Dianna,” I tell her with a curt nod, and she watches me through speculative eyes.
“I know things are still relatively new, but I would really like us to hang out more.” She reaches out and touches my arm gently. “After what you did today, I hope we can be friends.”
