“I’m sorry. About the door thing; I was being overly defensive and lashed out, but it was a dick move.”
He scoffs dismissively. “You asked and I didn’t answer. Really nothing to apologize for, Risa.”
Closing my eyes a bit tighter, I release a heavy breath, defeated and run down simply from the memories. “Yeah, I do. There are certain things that don’t need an explanation, and like recognizes like. Might not know the specifics, but it’s not my place to ask, either. So I’m sorry; not just for being an asshole and prying, but for however long it took you to get out.”
He’s silent for so long that I assume he left, and I start to fall asleep, feeling like shit. They’ve bent over backwards to try and help me; hell, saved my life in more ways than one. Yet here I am, being ungrateful and spitting on their kindness. When the bed dips behind me, fingers gently running through my hair, I groggily try to turn over, only to fail miserably.
His voice is a low whisper, the timbre as soothing as his cool touch. “And I’m sorry that I didn’t know you needed us to find you sooner.”
Chapter 8
Stryker
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“Ugh, you lied.” Risagroans, clutching her head.
As she takes her seat at the kitchen table, resting her head on the wood with her eyes closed, Mason, Bane, and I exchange a nervous look. With our advanced healing, a hangover should be impossible unless she tore through half a distillery. Add in the fact that it took her so much longer to come to after being bitten, and that she hasn’t shifted yet? We’ve gone from uncomfortable territory, to seriously worried, trying not to let panic set in.
How did I fuck up the process? Maybe I didn’t give her enough venom. Her heart had technically stopped when I bit her; maybe I got to her too late and it didn’t work throughout her system enough? Sure, Bane and Mas tried, but that was days later, after the damage was already done. It can’t be too late to fix this, she’s just a late bloomer. It’ll be okay... it has to.
“Here.” Placing a bottle of water in front of her, I head back for another when she guzzles it down greedily, downing half of it in one pull.
Bane finishes up breakfast, sliding a plate in front of her that we have to coax her into touching. There might be some sort of glitch with her transition, but she clearly gained advanced healing, if nothing else. There’s no way she would have survived the accident otherwise, and without a mark to show for it. Running on that theory; food, blood, and rest speed up the healing process for us. The same facts should apply to her, even if she requires more time for them to take effect, so we’re pretty much struggling not to shove the food down her throat as she slowly picks at it, giving her stomach a chance to settle.
By the end of breakfast she’s looking better, but I can’t help overanalyzing everything. It was weird enough that her golden skin paled so much during the course of her transition, and though it has a healthier glow to it now compared to how she came downstairs, it’s still not returned back to the way we found her. Her eyes haven’t either, and I’ve never once heard about someone’s features changing upon being turned more than muscle tone.
“So what’s on the agenda for today?” she asks, violet eyes less dull than when she woke up, brightening as she recovers.
“I was thinking maybe tonight we’d try walking you through the steps to shift. That way when the time comes, it’ll be easier.”
She gives me a wary look, but Mason interjects to try and soothe her unease. “It’s a bit harder on turned ones the first few times, since humans tend to naturally fight against the unknown. By coaching you through the process ahead of time, you’ll be more prepared for when it happens, leaning into the feeling rather than freaking out.”
Finishing off another bottle of water, she takes her plate to the sink and automatically starts cleaning up. Her movements are stilted, voice devoid of emotion. “So we’re meeting the rest of the neighbors first, I take it?”
Her tone instantly sets me on edge. The desire to resolve whatever’s upset her drives me to my feet, needing to be between her and the unseen threat that’s making my muscles twitch. “If you want to, we can, but honestly, we’re not very social. We’re on good terms with everyone, though, so it’s not a big deal if you want to reach out and introduce yourself, make some friends. If not, I was thinking we could take it easy today; hang out and watch some movies. There’s a better atmosphere in the forest at nightfall, so we can have a lazy day and head out at dusk.”
