Page 84

SUMNER

Isit with my back against the wall of Rhenn’s shed, knees pulled to my chest. I know I should have just gone to bed, but I can’t sleep. I’m too worried I’ll dream, and if I dream, I know exactly where it will lead.

It’s been so long since I’ve lost myself like that, becoming that little girl. I thought I was getting better, that I was stronger now. I’ve even been sleeping through the night. I was making progress.

I think, though, deep down, that’s who I’ll always be. And now I don’t even have the one person I’ve always relied on to help me find my footing again.

“There you are.” Rhenn steps into the shed. I don’t bother to look at him, even when he kneels down beside me. “Just need a top off,” he says, brushing my hair over my shoulder. I don’t try to fight him. If he wants to bite me, he’s going to bite me. There’s nothing I can do about it.

Instead, he pulls away, like he senses my inability to even want to struggle.

“Everything good?”

I usually make a scene when he does this. I guess me not fighting back is enough to throw him off.

Again, I say nothing. Just keep my focus on the floor in front of me.

“What’s wrong, Vix?” Rhenn adjusts his body, sliding his hand down my arm, causing me to wince when he reaches the sensitive area around my wrist. He takes note of my reaction, grabbing my arm and lifting the sleeve of my sweater.

Something flashes through his eyes, and he moves the fabric farther up my arm, finding more of the already dark bruises.

I turn away, not wanting him to see me, to know how weak I am. He grabs my jaw, forcing my eyes on his. “Who did this?” His tone is low, but his features are hard, giving away nothing of what he’s thinking. I pull out of his grip, looking back to the opposite wall.

It’s not like he cares anyway.

Rhenn rises to his feet, moving toward the door. I’m expecting him to leave, but a loud crash shatters the silence. Items from the shelf fall to the floor as he violently sweeps his arm across it, sending everything tumbling down in a chaotic heap. “I asked you a question.” His voice is tight, measured. “Who fucking touched you?”

Rhenn hasn’t been back for over an hour, and I have no idea when he plans to return. Or where he even went, for that matter. He just dragged me into his house and told me to stay here until he got back. I wasn’t exactly in the mood to argue, so I let him lead me here without struggle.

I’m already feeling significantly better than I was earlier, especially after a long shower. It wasn’t what happened that upset me so much, it’s that my body’s reaction to it was to shut down, that I’m still so easily trapped inside my own mind.

I’d spent years, years, being the smaller person. I was so fragile as a child, crying until the tears ran out completely. It wasn’t until then that I was stripped of everything I used to be. I became empty. Lifeless. For a long time, I was convinced I was dead inside.

Luca gave my chest its beating back. He found me after we’d been separated, showed me there was still something worth living for.

To this day, I don’t know how he did it, how he was able to carry enough hope for not only him, but me too.

He saved me, and now I need to figure out how to save myself. That little girl, it’s time I finally let her go. I’ll never be free until I do. I will hold my head high until my demons grow tired of trying to knock it down.

When Rhenn first left, I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I tried to keep busy, knowing an occupied mind is a healthy mind. I rearranged his living room, then put it back the way it was. The last thing I need is him coming down on me right now. Afterward, I ran to my house to get some laundry. Figured I could at least get that done while I was here. I’m just switching it to the dryer when the front door opens.

“In here,” I call, hitting start on the machine.

Rhenn appears in the doorway, a number of things wrong. His hair is tousled, messy. He looks mad, like, more so than usual. Which briefly makes me wonder if he forgot he told me to stay here and is upset I’m in his house. My eyes drift lower, seeing a dark ruby red soaking through the side of his shirt.

He also scans me over—in my pajamas for the night. I wasn’t trying to make myself at home, but I wanted to get out of my clothes from earlier. I didn’t want to smell the shifter’s spiced cologne on my skin.

We share a moment of silence before Rhenn advances toward me, each step deliberate, charged with a palpable intensity that makes my heart race.

I move back, terrified of what he might do. He looks pissed. If he was in a fight, that blood, it’s my fault. If he’s hurt, it’s because of me.

Rhenn stops when he’s in front of me and it’s like the entire world falls still. He’s close enough that I can count the flecks of silver in his stormy eyes. So close it makes me dizzy.

Without saying a word, Rhenn reaches for my injured arm, bringing it to his mouth and letting his teeth sink into the sensitive skin. The area already hurts so much that I have to hold my breath to avoid crying out.

He rises higher, leisurely climbing the length of my arm with his teeth. One puncture after the next. Not drinking, only biting.

When he reaches the top of the last bruise, he lifts his head, but he doesn’t remove his touch. Instead, his hands find their way around my face. “The only marks you bear come from me.”