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“What?” I flinch back, brows drawing together in confusion.
She gives another shake of her head, folding her arms again and staring down at the floor, kicking the toe of her shoe against it. “You used to say that if I ran from you, you’d always catch me,” she murmurs. Then she looks up at me, pain and regret shining in those sage green eyes as they lock with mine. “You didn’t.”
We just stare at each other for a long moment, my heart tripping over its valves.
I didn’t catch her.
How the hell was I supposed to catch her when she ran away and cut me off completely?
“Fuck this,” I mutter, pushing off from the bar and heading for the exit, trying my best not to stumble over my own feet on my way out. As I shove through the crowd, I hear my friends calling after me, but I don’t turn around.
20
It’s late when Avery drops me off at the squad complex. We stayed until bar close, tossing back shots and dancing like fools, and it was exactly what I needed in the wake of facing Madd’s wrath for what feels like the millionth time. I mean seriously, how much anger can one person carry around with them? It must get heavy.
I giggle at the thought of Madd carrying a bunch of sandbags labeled ‘anger’, frowning and grumbling like he always does these days. Okay, I might be a little intoxicated. Or a lot. But that doesn’t really matter because I’m about to sleep it off and hopefully the amount of alcohol in my system will put me so far under that my dreams won’t come knocking.
The visions, I mean. If I had a regular ol’ dream about something ridiculous like talking dogs or fluffy unicorns I’d be cool with it.
I giggle to myself again, tripping over my feet and stumbling a step as I pass through the gate of the squad complex onto the practice field.
Okay, I should probably get it together. Look all authoritative and shit just in case I run into any squad fighters since I’m angling to be a leader. Or already am? It’s all a bit of a grey area right now.
I cross the field to the main doors of the complex, tugging on the handle to open one and frowning when I find that it’s locked. Then, remembering the little fob Lo gave me to attach to my keys, I wave my wristlet in front of the sensor and voila- the lock disengages.
Good thing I remembered that, or I would’ve been sleeping on the roof tonight.
Though come to think of it, I don’t hate that idea. I’ll bet the view of the stars is killer at this time of night.
I head inside, the eerie silence of the darkened hallways making the little hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The complex is always bright and lively and bustling with people, so seeing it this quiet and still is a little bit creepy. Though the alcohol has dulled my senses, a chill travels up my spine as I speedwalk through the dim, empty hallways to the dorms, fumbling in my clutch for my keys along the way so I can make a quick entrance.
I unlock my door as fast as possible, slipping inside my dorm room, closing it behind me, and re-locking it. I breathe a sigh of relief once I’m safely inside my room, then immediately laugh at myself for being so ridiculous. Of all places, the squad complex is definitely safe.
I need to stop freaking myself out.
I step away from the door, toeing my shoes off on my way across the room to my bed as another shiver tracks up my spine, my inner wolf stirring in warning. I barely have time to register it before a strong pair of arms close around me, yanking me back into a hard chest as a hand covers my mouth to muffle my scream.
The awareness that someone’s in here with me has my heart racing instantly, my fight or flight instincts kicking in as my wolf surges to the surface. I writhe and kick and scream into the hand covering my mouth as my attacker grips me tighter, leaning his face down beside mine.
“Caught you,” Madd growls in my ear.
I freeze, both simultaneously relieved and terrified that it’s him.
Slowly, he loosens his arm from around my waist, lifting his hand from my mouth. As soon as he gives me enough slack, I spin around, slapping my palms against his chest and shoving him back.
“What the hell, Madd?!” I whisper-shout, scowling. “How did you get in here?”
I should’ve scented him right away when I walked in, but thanks to the booze dulling my senses, I’m not at the top of my game.
The corner of his mouth tips up in a smirk. “Did you really think I didn’t still have a key?”
I stare at him, drawing shallow breaths as my frantic heart rate starts to slow to a normal cadence.
The shadows cling to the sharp lines of his features, making him look even more hauntingly beautiful than usual. It’s not fair that someone that good looking can also be so closed-off and cruel. Then again, the devil himself was once an angel.
“What do you want?” I breathe, the backs of my calves meeting the edge of my bed as I retreat a step.
He regains the distance I put between us with one of his own toward me as I resist the urge to squirm beneath the intensity of his stare.
