A throat cleared.
I jerked my head to find Everly watching us through narrowed eyes, her suspicion as sharp as the blade she wielded in times of battle. Elias stood at her side, his own attention fixed on the hand Brenton clasped.
Heat crawled up my neck. A part of me wanted to shrink away from the weight of their scrutiny, to pull free and stand on my own. Brenton’s grip eased, as if he expected me to do the same.
But I didn’t let go. Instead, I tightened my fingers around his.
“We have breakfast,” Elias said, breaking the silence. He lifted the tray in his hands. “Shall we eat by our tents?”
Brenton shifted his body. Subtle and deliberate, so he walked between Everly and me as we followed Elias. Everly’s gaze lingered on me, and Brenton brushed his shoulder against mine, drawing my attention to him.
When we sat, he angled his body as if he were a barrier between one of his closest friends and me. A protective, steady wall.
Part of me liked the gesture. Another part bristled.
When he piled food on my plate, I leaned forward, forcing Everly to meet my gaze.
“Is there something you wish to speak to me about?” I asked her.
Heat flared behind her blackening eyes. “What are your intentions?”
A growl rumbled low in Brenton’s throat, his hazel eyes darkening to match hers.
I laid a steadying hand on his thigh while I lifted a brow at Everly. “My intentions with what exactly?”
“It is not our place to question Finley about her intentions,” Elias cut in, his tone serious. “Brenton is capable of making his own decisions.”
“And we’re the ones who watch him suffer,” Everly snapped.
My back straightened, and I clung to my senses, resisting the urge to slip into my primal instincts where my magic prowled, hungry and familiar.
“Then you won’t have to bear it,” Brenton said. “If things between Finley and me don’t work out, I won’t turn to you.”
His words landed like a blade through my chest.If things don’t work out.He had said them so casually, so callously, as if it were a possibility he’d already made peace with.
How could he say that when the kiss we’d shared still warmed my lips? I wanted to demand he take the sentiment back.
Instead, I averted my attention to my food, forcing one bite after another. And when he brushed his leg against mine, I jerked up, quickly disposing of the food I hadn’t eaten, and rushed to the nearby woods.
Because I couldn’t let anyone see how much the thought of losing him gutted me.
Chapter
Twelve
BRENTON
I setthe plate of food carefully on the grass, every movement slow when all I wanted was to bolt after Finley. Rising just as slowly, I felt Elias’s hand circle my arm.
I shook him off with a sharp jerk, my glare cutting through Everly before I turned and ran after my mate.
I caught her scent before I reached her.Salt. Tears. My pulse pounded in my ears, drowning everything else out.
I didn’t think, didn’t slow down. I pulled her against me the moment she was within reach. My arms wrapped around her as if I could shield her from whatever had hurt her.
She didn’t resist, but pressed her face against my throat, burrowing in as if she wanted to disappear inside me. A low rumble built in my chest. Half growl, half vow. No one would ever make her cry again.
Just as quickly as she’d melted into me, she shoved against my chest. Not hard but it caught me off guard, and I stumbled back a step.
