Perfect.
Chapter 118
JESSICA
“Hold still,” Grayson mutters, twisting the cap off and dumping disinfectant straight into the gash.
I bite the inside of my cheek, slow and deep. It hurts, sure, but that’s not why–I need control. Need the pain to look real. Controlled. Like I’m flinching for him, not for me.
He crouches close, cloth moving over my skin like he’s scared of breaking me. His fingers press steadier than they should, but his
eyes won’t meet mine.
My stomach flips. I swallow it. Nothing to feel bad about–except that I do.
“I shouldn’t have gone after him.” I let it out slow, quiet. The lie scrapes my throat raw. “I thought I could-“I stop before the rest
can crawl out.
“You were trying to protect us,” he says, cutting in. But the way he says it–it’s not for me. It’s for him. Like saying it out loud makes it real. “Could’ve been worse.”
I keep my eyes low. Watch the cloth darken with my blood. Could’ve gotten worse.
I wonder if Grayson will still forgive me after all of these lies.
“There, it’s good.”
Grayson leans back a little, his knees cracking as he shifts weight, and I can tell–he’s scanning me. “Can you tell me again what happened?”
I met his eyes this time. “W–What do you mean? I already told you everything.”
The stammer hits hard out of my mouth, like it doesn’t belong to me, and that’s good–makes the fear feel real, even if it’s fake. I duck my head slightly, like the eye contact hurts, let my fingers dig into my thigh through the torn fabric of my pants, steadying pressure, something to focus on that isn’t the way Grayson’s staring at me like he’s trying to pull skin back from bone.
“You said he lunged. That he wasn’t shifting right.”
I nod, too fast again, let the motion seem frantic, like I’m spiraling when I’m counting seconds in the back of my head. “I thought! imagined it. At first. But they were-“I suck in air like the memory knocks it loose. “They were glowing. Not gold. Not silver. Red. Like… wrong.”
He moves slightly, weight shifting, and I flinch before I can stop it, drawing my arm tighter around my middle like I’m keeping something from spilling out.
“He bit you?” he asks.
I hesitate–just for a breath–and look away as I nod, like I’m ashamed. “Not deep. Just… grazed.”
Grayson nodded. I don’t know if he believes me or not. He just told me to get some rest before I saw him talking to Pierce. When he saw me eavesdropping on them, they quickly vanished outside making me a little bit annoyed.
I already know it’s about Theo. About me.
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They are probably plotting some plan to get Theo back here and I need to stop them. He’s not ready yet. His body’s still changing, still rebuilding itself around what I gave him, still figuring out how to shift without tearing open too fast or forgetting what shape he’s supposed to land in.
If they find him now, they’ll ruin it. They’ll interfere. They’ll sedate him or chain him or talk at him until the part of him I gave voice to gets buried under whatever loyalty he still thinks he owes them.
And I won’t let that happen.
I need to bleed. Shit. This is worse than I thought.
I grit my teeth and press my back to the wall, hand curling tight at my side. My skin’s already bruised where Theo hit me but it’s not enough–not the right kind. I can’t go back out there with nothing real. I drag in a sharp breath, steady my hand, and push my claws out–not fully, just enough for the edges to split skin when I drive them across the meat of my own thigh.
The burn hits instantly. Warm. Raw. Blood wells up thick and dark and I press into it harder, until it starts dripping down past my knee. My jaw locks. I don’t cry out.
This is so freaking insane and I’m going to hell for it but I do it anyway. My pulse is racing too hard now and I can feel it in the tips of my fingers, but I shove it down.
The knob’s cold in my hand. My grip almost slips, but I tighten it and push the door open. They’re both there–Grayson and Pierce- eyes locked on me like they weren’t just whispering about what to do next.
Grayson’s the first to move. “Jess?”
I let my breath catch. Drag my bloody hand against the frame for balance. He’s already coming closer.
“What the hell happened?”
I winced, trying to balance myself. “I think I need more of those disinfectants.”
“Where else are you bleeding?” he asks, eyes already dropping to the streaks down my thigh, the way they trail to the floor, messier than anything I’ve let him see on me before.
“Here,” I murmur, dragging my sleeve up, showing the edge of the fresh gash. “I… I must’ve scraped it when he threw it at me. Didn’t notice till now.”
Pierce was the one who stepped forward and inspected the wound.
“This wasn’t from a fall,” he says, voice lower now. “Did you hurt yourself?”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ve seen what it looks like when you fall. This isn’t that.”
“I was bleeding,” I snap, sharper now. “Alone. I panicked.” I yank my arm out of his grip and stumble one step back, hand tight over the cut. “What, you think I carved into my own leg for fun?”
“Jess-”
“I’ll be fine,” I cut him off, turning before he could find a way to look sorry again. “Let me know when you figure out what to do with Theo. Assuming he comes back.”
09:02 Tue, 2 Sept
Chapter 118
Damn it.
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I heard Grayson cursing before I’m being yanked into a hug. My eyes are swarming in tears. I don’t want to cry. I don’t even know what part of me is hurting. I feel everything too much–my shoulder, my thigh, my chest where he pressed his hand too deep when he tried to help. Where I lied to him.
I could rip out of this hold in a blink. I could shove him off and disappear into the woods before they even process it. –
“Jess,” Grayson murmurs, breath hitting the side of my neck. “You didn’t deserve any of that. I don’t care what Pierce says.”
I blink, hard. One tear falls.
“Don’t make this worse,” I mutter, swiping at my face with the heel of my hand, eyes sharp again, jaw locked. “I need to lie down. That’s all.”
He watched me for a second before he nodded and let me get away. However, I can still feel my brother’s gaze on me. Damn it.
Now, I have Pierce to deal with too.
Chapter 119
Chapter 119
