AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Then why are my signals so crazy mixed?
Meadows Pack has never rejected me for anything.
They never make me feel unwelcome or unwanted, even when everyone else wants to chew me up and shit me out.
But it only takes one mistake.
One whiff of nightmares bleeding off my skin.
One peek at my scarred throat.
They see me as their mate, as Serafina’s stand-in, or their little gofer buddy.
They don't see ME.
I don’t want them to.
Because they won’t understand how deeply I’m broken.
That I crave them in one breath, and the next is full-body rebellion. I could kill them if I sneeze too hard.
Monster-Sol is on an iron leash, but even my Meadows boys will have to face reality when I slip and make that one mistake.
When they realize they brought home a hyena cub instead of the kitten they were promised.
That their love—no matter how well-intended—isn’t enough to make my body work the way it should.
I would never throw away Meadows Pack.
Won’t have to.
They’re going to throw me away first.
“Reese.”
“Just say it.” Blackness eats the warmth of his eyes as he staggers to his feet.
Reese is the one who gets me.
He gets wishing you were an orphan, being abandoned, passed over, and forced to follow someone else’s playbook to survive.
Our pain has always ripped along the same frequency.
So, if the choice is between hurting myself or Reese?
I pick up the ice pack like I’m picking up a knife. “Make a deal with me.”
He’s still bracing for a hit, body tight. “Yeah?”
“Don’t read into my moods. They’re not because of you, or anything you did or didn’t do.” Melting ice wets my fingers. As the tension leaves his shoulders and Reese regains his sparkle, I remember how to fake the kind of smile that says everything’s fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. “Let’s find you a better ice pack. This one doesn’t work.”
“That one’s perfect.” Reese licks his lips.
I shudder. “Let’s go back.”
Refusing to flee, I put on my bravest mask and lead the way. Reese follows at my heels, but I don’t talk and he doesn’t ask.
Have to hold my shit together from now on.
