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Olivia’s fingers tightened on the towel. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“We’ll leave him with you then,” Rowan said. “Tristan can reach us if you need anything.”
“Wait.” Olivia wasn’t sure what prompted her to stop them. Maybe because she wasn’t ready to be alone yet. “Can you tell me what happened? You said there was an explosion?”
Rowan’s lips thinned. “Yes, the Hunters were waiting for us. Dozens of them. They tried to capture us, but when they couldn’t, they blew up the building. Marek bought us enough time to get out.”
“We should’ve waited another day,” Darren muttered and handed a bottle of blood to Rowan. He’d gone to the living room to grab the drink while Rowan explained. Rowan shot Darren a glare full of meaning.
“Why didn’t you?” Olivia asked.
Darren ignored Rowan’s second glare and said, “Because Marek was in a hurry. He wanted to get back to his mate.”
The pang in Olivia’s chest spread. Marek had wanted to return to her?
Leah stepped forward and poked Darren in the chest. “Back off. If you don’t have anything nice to say, get out.”
To Olivia’s surprise, Darren grunted and left in a blur.
“Don’t mind him,” Rowan said with a tight smile. “He’s miffed because now he owes Marek his life. Marek saved us. We wouldn’t be here if not for him. Anyway, I’m going to check on the others.”
Olivia nodded and Rowan left, taking the feeders with him. She gazed down at Marek’s familiar face in repose, unsure if she could take any more hits to her heart. Rowan’s words haunted her. All this time she’d viewed him as a heartless killer, yet he’d only wished to protect those under his care.
Like she would do anything to save Betsy.
She jolted when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Leah. She’d completely forgotten about the other woman.
“Do you want me to stay with you?” Leah asked in a gentle tone.
“No. Actually, I think I want to be alone for now,” Olivia said. “Thanks again for everything.”
“No problem. If you need me, Tristan can reach me.”
When she was alone, Olivia busied herself by rinsing the towel and cleaning more blood and dirt stuck to Marek. His face. Strands of hair. The column of his throat. His strong fingers.
It was stupid. He would still have to shower tomorrow, but simply caring for him eased her pain.
It was better than breaking down and sobbing all over his chest.
As she cataloged his injuries, something niggled at the back of her mind, a disturbing notion slowly forming. Her right leg ached with phantom pain. Her dream of burning. Marek had been caught in an explosion, his right leg severed. Had she dreamed about him? Had she somehow felt what he’d felt? Was that even possible?
Why hadn’t she tried harder to stop him? This wasn’t like her parents’ cancer, relentless and incurable. Surely, she could’ve found a reason for him to stay. She’d come a hairsbreadth away from losing him.
From losing another piece of her heart. And she only had so many of those left.
This feeling of helplessness, of cracks extending over her heart, was why she’d always avoided getting close to anyone. After her parents’ death, she’d sworn never to feel this way again, like her world was crashing down while she was powerless to stop it.
Now, again, she could do nothing but wait. Like the countless hours spent next to her parents’ bedside, praying for them to open their eyes again, believing that if only she kept up her good grades, they would wake up with a smile and praise her.
Olivia blinked back the tears as a sob escaped. They say time heals all wounds, but her wounds had only scabbed over. They were being torn right back open. Her grief and loss from the past merged with the fear and sorrow of losing Marek. It transformed into a gigantic void threatening to swallow her whole, dragging her back to when she barely stitched herself together to get out of bed in the morning.
Not again. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, put herself through that again.
As Olivia dabbed away another piece of dirt over his collarbone, as she memorized every line and dip and curve of Marek’s body, she prayed for Andrea to work fast.
For the spell to render the mating bond inert was her salvation.
Chapter Nineteen
