As I’m gasping for air, a thick arm shoots out from the gaping hole in the wall and grabs mine.
“Breathe, Nate. It’s me. Stop.”
Tristan.
Tristan?!
Chapter 24
Tristan
When I grab his arm, it’s like being struck by lightning. I’ve missed him so much, and he looks so well from up close. The medics have done wonders. But now that I’ve been discovered… I may be in a position much worse than when he simply didn’t want to see me.
“I can explain,” I add as his breathing eases despite his black eyes staring at me as if I’m a leviathan about to swallow him whole.
He stumbles back, black curls falling in his face as he pants, tracing the damaged wall with his gaze. “What the… you’re in my wall! You’ve been… spying on me?”
I clear my throat, but I won’t be talking through a hole, and I’m not wasting another second. So I slam my shoulder into the weakened wood and break through into his living room while Lady’s barking rings in my ears. I only then realize I’m wearing the precious hoodie purchased in Nate’s home town, the one with the crab, but it’s too late to worry about stains or tears.
Nate steps back so fast he almost falls over when his calves meet the dog’s flank. Is he… afraid of me?
“No! I mean, yes. And I’m sorry. But it’s all for honest reasons, I swear!” I say and drop to my knees to seem smaller, less intimidating.
His lips tremble, and he grabs a large blanket, which I picked for him because its color palette matches the reds of my family crest. I love seeing him wrapped in it. It feels like confirmation that we do belong together. Right now, it’s another layer protecting his recovering body, and he steps behind the desk, watching me with wariness. “What good reasons could there be for invading my privacy like this? You watched me undress, and… in vulnerable moments I didn’t want anyone to witness!”
My shoulders sag and I don’t move any closer. Lady must be sensing my feelings, because she whines and licks my hand. “It’s not about that. I’m not a creep!”
Maybe it’s the blue light, but Nate’s eyes appear to sink deeper in shadow as he shakes his head, clutching at the front of his chest. “What you did is the definition of being a creep! I told you to stay away, and you lied!”
I spread my arms in frustration, because how am I supposed to explain the depth of my worries? “I’m sorry, I just… I tried to stay away, but the last time I left you on your own, such terrible things happened, Nate. I can’t stand the thought of someone hurting you again. How am I supposed to sleep in my own bed, endless corridors away, not knowing what is happening with you?”
I expect him to scream something back, but he stays quiet, lips partially open as he squeezes one of Lady’s slouching ears. “R-really?”
As if there could be any other reason for a man in love to break an oath to his promised!
“Well… yes. I’m sorry I made you think you had rats. I needed to be sure you’re safe.” I’m so deflated I want to lean back against the wall, but by the time I remember there is no wall, it’s too late, and I fall right back into that prison of my own making.
“Are you… okay?” Nate asks as I scratch my cheek on one of the broken planks before I slowly rise to my feet. This time, he doesn’t seem to recoil, which is a sign of progress, I suppose.
“Sure, yes!” I crawl right back out again. “I’m embarrassed you found this mess. Or that I had you worried. You… mean a lot to me, Nate, and if this is what it took to watch over you, I decided to just do it. I just wish I could have comforted you when you needed it.”
He swallows, and I long to hold him when a shadow passes over his features. I don’t know if Nate is the most handsome human in existence, but I could watch him all day every day and never get bored of it.
“How long… has this been going on?” he asks, and I itch to lie, but I can’t. Not about this, not to his face.
“From the start.”
He exhales, pushing his fingers into his hair as he stares at his own feet. “Were you even really walking Lady?”
“Yes! Every day. How could I miss out on my time with her? Though now I feel that might have been reckless. If there was an assassin after you, they’d have waited for me to leave.” I scoot down to Lady and tug on the two tusks growing out of her lower jaw. She yelps and pulls back, play-wrestling me like we so often do. She’s so sweet I can now barely see her resemblance to a wolf.
Nate licks his lips, watching us as he drifts to the other side of the desk, then toward the seating area where he often reads. “Do you… would you like a drink?”
Nowhe’s got all my attention and I get up in an instant. “So you’re not kicking me out?” I can’t hold back the hope in myvoice. Why would I? I don’t care to be coy about it. Iwanthim to know how much he means to me, how much I want to stay and be there for him when he cries out at night. It was torture to listen to his sobs yet remain hidden. But now I’m here, and he’s offering me a drink!
On second thought, maybe my enthusiasm was premature, because he stalls, eyes like the midnight sky focusing on me as if he’s been caught with his hand on a bottle of cherin, but whatever happens in his head next doesn’t make him change his mind and send me away.
“I— I suppose your intentions were noble, so… did your sister know?”
