I stood where he'd left me, the adrenalime had drained my body,leaving only a hollow, shivering cold. I looked at his back, at the tense set of his shoulders. I remembered the frantic speed with which he'd moved, the raw, snarling fury as he tore the vampires apart. Not just to protect his asset. It was too personal.
And then I remembered his words, the ones that had slipped out in his anger: "And I would have felt every second of it through the bond."
My gaze drifted to the dark, wet splatters on his shirt. Vampire blood. But not all of it. On his left side, just above his hip, the fabric was torn and a darker, richer red was slowly seeping through.
He was hurt. Because of me.
The fight, the defiance, the fear… it all crumbled, replaced by a heavy, aching guilt. He was a monster.But in that moment, he was the monster who was bleeding because of my ignorance.
My voice was small, broken, when it finally came out.
"I'm sorry."
He didn't move.
"I… I didn't know." I swallowed,"I didn't know you could get hurt because of me."
It was the most vulnerable thing I could have said. Apologizing for causing him pain. Pain I had inadvertently incurred
He went very still. Was it me or was the room just getting smaller.
He didn't turn. He didn't accept it. He didn't even acknowledge it.
But he also didn't shout. He didn't call me stupid again.
He wasn't just angry. He was disgusted. And a horrible, new thought wriggled into my mind, fed by the bond's strange empathy.
He hadn't just been furious that I almost died. He'd been furious that he would have felt it.
My voice was a broken whisper in the heavy quiet. "I'm sorry." I wasn't even sure what I was apologizing for. For being a burden? For almost making him feel my pain? For existing?
He didn't acknowledge it. He pulled out a cheap-looking burner phone and punched a single number.
"Jax. Get back here. Now." A pause, his eyes flicked to mey eyeswith pure impatience. "No. The situation has changed. She's... unmanageable. I can't focus with her here. You're on guard duty until I return."
Unmanageable. Was I a tool to him ?
You call tools Unmanageable not People.
He ended the call and strode to the bedroom door, yanking it open. "Get in."
I didn't move. "Where are you going?"
"That is no longer your concern. Your only job is to be where I put you." When I still hesitated, the air grew cold. "Get. In."
I walked into the small bedroom, my shoulders slumped. He didn't say another word. The door closed behind me with a heavy, final thud. A moment later, the distinct click of a lock echoed in the small space.
I was locked in.
I stood there, staring at the grainy wood of the door, listening to his footsteps move away through the main room. A few minutes later, Jax's heavier tread arrived. I heard the low murmur of their voices, but couldn't make out the words. Then, the front door opened and closed. An engine started and faded into the distance.
Kael was gone.
He'd called his friend to babysit the "unmanageable" problem, and then he'd left. He'd locked me away and literally walked out of the cabin, leaving me with a stranger and the crushing weight of my own uselessness.
I sank onto the edge of the bed, the silence of the locked room a thousand times louder than the forest voices. My jailer who found me so irritating, so profoundly stupid, that he'd rather be anywhere else.
A few minutes later, heavier footsteps approached. Jax?? He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, brow furrowed, eyes sharp. Im jot a guru but I could sense Annoyance.
"You're… still breathing," he muttered, with his low raspy voice.
Trying to make my voice sound casual. "Thanks. I, uh… appreciate you keeping me alive."
His eyes flicked to me, sharp. "I didn't sign up for babysitting humans."
"Humans can be interesting," I said, letting a small, teasing smile slip. "Like, how long have you been working with Kael? Do you… ever sleep?"
He snorted, a sound that was more amused than angry. "You ask a lot of questions for someone locked in a room." He stepped closer, and I noticed how tall he was, the easy, effortless way he filled the space. inhalimg his scenet before he would move away.
"I'm just… curious," I said, shifting on the bed. "You know, about vampires, Kael, survival, life-or-death stuff…" My voice trailed off as his gaze lingered on me.
He leaned one shoulder against the wall near the bed. Close. Too close. My pulse skipped.
"You're going to ask too many questions and get yourself killed,"
I bit my lip, trying not to lean forward. "Maybe I'm okay with a little risk," I murmured, feeling the heat of his proximity.
His eyes flicked down for a fraction of a second, and my stomach flipped. Then he shook his head, half-smile tugging at his lips. "You're… something else."
I tried to keep the smile casual, even as my fingers traced patterns on the edge of the bed. "You're… not too bad yourself," I said lightly.
He let out a sharp breath and stepped back, crossing his arms again. "Don't get used to me being nice. Kael'll be back soon, and then… well, you'll see."
I watched him, pulse racing, realizing that the man I was supposed to fear, or ignore, was just as complicated, tense, and impossible as Kael. Maybe even dangerous in a different way.