Those bright, golden eyes bore holes in my face as I lick my suddenly chapped lips. “And though I was hungry enough to make my head spin, I felt ten times better than usual by the end of the week. So I grabbed a bag, stole the cash from Mom’s stash beneath the floorboard under their bed, ran, and never looked back. Bought a shitty car, drove several states away, and got a job at the club before I burned through all of my money. It’s why I jumped at the chance to move in with Blake way too soon and overlooked all of the red flags in favor of gaining some security, a sense of normal.” Two of his fingers gently caress my neck, belying the aggression emanating off of him.
My eyes burn. “I needed somebody to love me, and thought if I tried harder, everything would work out. But I couldn’t fix anything, and by the time I realized that he didn’t actually care about me, I couldn’t find a way out. I traded one hell for another, and even though I wasn’t sick anymore, I’d managed to isolate myself worse than before.”
A few tears start to streak wet paths over my cheeks, trailing down onto Bane’s fingers. “And at that point, that was the only interaction I’d really had with people. I thought that’s just what they were like, and it was my fault for being a burden, that I was wired wrong.” My chest shakes as a sob slips out, unable to stuff everything back into the dark pit I keep it locked in. “Because I couldn’t figure out why they’d all want to hurt me when I didn’t do anything wrong.”
My next sob is cut off by Bane pressing his lips to mine, his hand sliding up my jaw to cup my cheek. Barely breathing, I freeze for a fraction of a second before leaning into him. There’s nothing harsh or demanding about it despite the fury radiating off of him in waves. My enhanced abilities equivocally short circuit when I lose the battle of trying to hold back tears, overwhelmed by so much internally that my supernatural senses don’t stand a chance. I can’t hear the heartbeats of anyone in the room, can’t latch on to any of their scents.
I’m left only with the bond they put into place in a bid to save me, tugging me in three directions like something wants to pull me apart, only so that it has a chance to put me back together as something new.
“Because you deserve better,” he murmurs against my lips before slowly breaking away. “And I’m so sorry that it took your death for anyone to realize that you needed help.”
Another sob wracks my body, tears openly streaming down my face and dripping onto my lap. Mentally breaking down, I can’t manage to articulate anything. For the first time though, I don’t have to hide it, needing to stifle my sobs on some bathroom floor before plastering on a fake face and pretending that everything’s okay.
For a little while, I can just be broken, because they are too.
Mason smooths the hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear as he crouches beside us. The understanding I see in his eyes has me crying harder, not knowing what he’s been through, but hating that he went through it. It makes me feel awful, the relief that comes from someone else’s suffering. While it means that I’m not alone, it brings to light that there has to be so many people that think they are, because they haven’t found anybody that gives a damn yet, and it’s possible they never will.
“And you think all of that wrecked your system enough that even turning you couldn’t fully heal it?” he asks, prodding at the raw vulnerability. But if there’s one thing I can count on Mason to be, it’s direct.
Sucking down air, I nod rapidly, striving to steady my breathing enough to actually speak, though my words come out clipped between gasps and wrenching sobs. “Look how long it took me to wake up when you said it should only be a day? And I still haven’t shifted, and probably can’t because everything you guys were explaining in the forest; I didn’t feel any of it. And now my blood’s defective too, and-“
I’m cut off as Mason palms both of my cheeks, kissing me hard. When he pulls back, his normally bright blue eyes are little more than slits, barely in control of himself and on the verge of shifting. “And you’re alive. It doesn’t matter if you never shift, Risa. You very well might only have heightened senses and a killer survival instinct based on that tunnel vision you developed in the forest last night, but so fucking what? It doesn’t matter to us. We’re just thrilled that we found you.”
He rises to his feet, kissing me as he does so until I’m pressed back into the arm of the couch, stretched out over Bane’s lap. “Let us prove to you that better people exist than the ones you’ve met. Stay here with us, hidden away from the rest of the world where we can protect you.”
Stryker grabs Mason’s shirt, pulling him back a step so that I have room to breathe, only for him to crowd my space. “But make no mistake, gorgeous.” Leaning in, he rests his forehead against mine. “Your parents, that manipulative bastard? Wewillkill them one day, and we’ll spend every one before and after that trying to convince you that it isn’t nearly as hard to love you as you seem to think.”
Chapter 11
Bane
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Tossing the thin blanketoff, I scrub a hand down my face, getting up to take a piss. Stryker’s passed out on his stomach on the other side of the bed, snoring, and I toss another pillow over his face in the hope he’ll suffocate into silence. Bunking together usually isn’t a big deal; I could typically sleep through it if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve been so high strung these last couple of weeks.
Keeping my steps light so that I don’t wake anyone else, I head down the hall to the bathroom to relieve myself. Fairly awake now, I drag my feet on the way back, knowing I’m not going to fall back asleep anyway. Risa’s story is on constant repeat in my head, while Mason and Stryker have gotten quieter over the last few days.
