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“Give me back! He’s going to hurt him!”
“He deserves it if he touched you. Let your alpha protect you.”
Kit pulls me towards the bathroom, and I wish I was strong enough to break free. Every instinct inside of me is telling me to go and protect August. It looks like Kit and Gavin are teaming up against him as Gavin spins tales about how the beta wronged me. I watch as Gavin sinks a punch into August’s gut, and I fucking lose it.
With no other options, I bite down on the arm that’s pushing me away from August, stomp as hard as I can onto his instep, and I bolt in the momentary confusion that gains me.
I let the sliding glass door fly free and I throw myself in front of August, just in time for Gavin to land another solid punch. It hits me in the chest since I’m shorter, and a brutal keening sound comes from August’s weak vocal cords as I go silent.
The breath is knocked from my lungs and physical pain radiates through me stronger than I’ve ever felt, the impact of the alpha’s fist feeling like it made an imprint like the tree bark on my palm. Though I don’t think this one will be as pretty or go away as fast.
There’s a whirlwind of noise and action around me, but all I can focus on is August’s gaze as I spin around and check him. He got hit too and it’s my alpha’s fault. Because he wouldn’t let me explain. I can’t hear words. I cling to August as Parker and my father come outside and join the ruckus, and I find myself sobbing into his chest. His arms wrap around me; someone tries to pull me away, but August and I have both learned better by now.
My legs wind around his hips and his arms turn into strong cables that lock me onto him, and he removes me from all the commotion. My alphas are shouting and following until James cusses them out and makes them stop. They scared me. They made me angry. I…don’t want them right now.
I feel as if my fragile trust in them was just shattered.
I replay the scene in my head as August carries me to the driveway, putting me onto a motorcycle. He pushes a helmet onto my head and swings a leg over it, using the front of the motorcycle dashboard to hold me in place.
He drives for a bit and I have no cares that I’ve just been taken from my alphas. Kit saw what he wanted to see. He looked at August and assumed he hurt me. He didn’t take in any other details. He decided what was best for me, without even consulting me. He listened to Gavin. Instead of me.
That’s what hurts the most. Kit didn’t come to me and ask for my story, he listened to another alpha. Because he thinks alphas have more importance than me, or because he wanted a reason to hurt August?
Either answer hurts.
Mybodyhurts.
No one follows us, which surprises me, but then I start doubting myself. They’re not coming after me because they don’t think I’m worth it. They don’t care that I left because I couldn’t just shut up and let them take control of the situation.
August takes back roads instead of the bigger ones that we drove on when we went into town, arriving soon at a large building that has lots of doors on it. He parks his motorcycle behind a large green metal container and picks me up, carrying me up a few flights of stairs before unlocking a burgundy metal door.
There are a lot of somewhat softer scents that remind me of August’s beta scent, making me think maybe this is housing for his designation. He brings me inside the room and sprays something outside in the hallway that seems to erase scents, then he enables a whole collection of locks that look as if they’ve been added to the door by hand.
The space is small and dim, but it smells like August. “I want to ask you if you are okay, but I can see you’re not. I won’t belittle you by asking such an obvious question. Come lay on my couch and let me take care of you.”
The couch isn’t fancy, but it is soft. I sink into the large cushions as he wraps a blanket around me, fluffing a pillow under my head. He stalks off to the kitchen and pokes around, returning with an ice pack and a white tube. “Can I see the injury? I promise I won’t touch you without permission.”
And I believe him. I feel safe here. He doesn’t have the overwhelming energy that my alphas bring to the table- he’s calming, and softer somehow. I try to pull my shirt off, wincing at the pain that the movement elicits. His eyes harden as he takes in the bruise in the center of my chest that’s turning a dark and angry purple color tinged in black, and I know that he wants retribution. I also know that I want him to have it. “I want to see yours, too.”
He looks at my eyes and nods, whipping his shirt off. His looks just as bad as mine does, but if it’s causing him pain he’s ignoring it. He seems wholly focused on mine. “I have some cream I can apply; it will help the bruising fade faster. Then I want you to hold this ice pack on it and rest, okay? I’ll order some food.”
His fingers are clinical as he applies the medicine, gentle as he brings my hands up to cradle the icepack that he’s wrapped in a kitchen towel to lessen the bite of it. “I’m so sorry, Calai. It was my fault that you got into that position.”
I want to slap him, but I’m so over the violence. I shake my head and make him see the sincerity in my eyes instead. “That was Gavin’s fault, and Kit and Colton’s fault for not listening to me. I should be apologizing. You got hit because of me. I know it was your body that absorbed the blow, but I felt it, here,”I tell him, rubbing my heart.
“Not your fault. Never your fault.”
“Where does that leave us then?”
We stare at each other for a moment, until I make a goofy face. His eyes widen right before he coughs out a laugh, then he kisses my forehead. “You will be safe here. This apartment complex is all betas, and no one knows I have it. You can stay as long as you need to.”
“Can I call James and tell him I’m safe?”
He doesn’t hesitate to hand me his phone, unlocking it and handing it to me. I’m grateful that the alphas made me memorize their phone numbers, because now I have a way of contacting them.
“Calai?” James sounds desperate, and I hate that he’s in the middle of this, because he was the only one that stood up for me.
“It’s me,” I whisper. Talking hurts. Everything hurts.
