“Right, sorry, it was a stupid question. I just… I don’t have any money on me.” She glanced up at me, meeting my gaze for the briefest moment before looking back down at her hands. Was I really such an asshole that she thought I wouldn’t buy her a fucking cheeseburger?
“You can pay me back later.” My tone was tinged with sarcasm as I pulled into the drive-through line. “What do you want?”
“Umm… I’ll just have a plain junior cheeseburger.”
I cast her an incredulous look.
“That’s it?”
She nodded.
I rolled down the window and placed our orders, my jaw clenching when I gave them hers. She’d felt so frail in my arms. I wanted to pull her onto my lap and feed her until my alpha agreed that she’d eaten enough.
But I didn’t do any of that. Instead, I paid for the food and found a parking spot.
I searched through the bags to find her burger first. It was barely big enough for a child. Westin’s hands shook as she took it.
I pulled my two deluxe cheeseburgers out of the bag, along with the large order of fries, and dug in. I finished the first burger before I glanced over, never able to keep my eyes off her for long.
She wasn’t even halfway done with hers, taking small bites and chewing slowly.
“You can have some of my fries, if you want,” I said before I could stop myself.
Her eyes met mine again, this time filled with surprise. Her reactions made me feel like shit, and I knew I deserved it. Seeing her so small and frail in the hospital made it hard to remember why I was so pissed at her. The doctor hadn’t found anything wrong—more evidence that she was faking it. But her collapse had been real, and I kept playing the interaction with the asshole nurse in my head. Could the doctor really know she was okay when he didn’t run any tests?
Westin finished her burger and crinkled up the wrapper. She looked fucking exhausted.
I quickly finished my food so I could drive her home. Was it safe for her to be alone tonight? What if she passed out again and no one was there to help her?
I rapped my fingers against the steering wheel as I pulled into her driveway. Before I could suggest she spend the night with Pack Ashwood, she spoke up.
“Sorry about today,” she said in an almost whisper. “I know this was a lot more hours than you anticipated working.”
“It’s fine,” I said.
She exited the car, and I didn’t have the heart to scold her for not waiting for me. She looked steady enough as she walked to the door, but her hands trembled as she unlocked it.
“I miss when we were friends.” Her words were so soft I almost didn’t believe she’d said them.
She slipped inside and locked the door behind her, leaving me on the porch, wishing I could follow her inside.
Because fuck. I missed it, too.
34
WESTIN
My body was exhausted and screaming in pain, but my mind refused to rest. I’d been chasing sleep for hours, desperate to put an end to the worst birthday of my life, but the comfort of oblivion wouldn’t come.
Being at the hospital brought it all back.
The harsh lights of the medical exam room at the Designation Academy. The way they’d strapped me down and ignored all of my pleas. The feel of their fingers and cold metal instruments inside me. The doctor’s disappointed shake of his head when he declared my womb “useless.”
Always being dismissed and never believed.
I thought I was tough enough to withstand another doctor calling me crazy, but it was all too much.
I pushed myself out of bed, stumbling as I made my way to the light switch. Nothing happened when I flicked it, a reminder that the electricity had been cut off. I pressed my face against the wall, fisting my hands as I held in my tears.
