Page 37 of A Shadow of Betrayal

“So that's it?” I call after him, climbing over the small pile in front of me and stomping through the knee-deep snow after the jerk. Already, I can feel the snow fall into the top of my boots, melting and making my toes even colder than they had been. “I save your life and you ignore me? Then I try my best to keep you alive, sacrificing myself to drag your fat-ass inside, and you leave me there to be hurt and kidnapped?” I sneer, then gasp when I almost face-plant in the snow. I quickly regain my balance and look back up, watching as Creed’s shoulders straighten, and he slows down.

Right, so this is the way it needs to be? It's not the words I want, but at least I’m getting a reaction from him this time. If being a brat gets the jerk to talk to me, then I'll be the biggest brat in the world. I step forward a few more feet as Creed completely stops walking. He’s not looking at me, only glaring at the world in front of him, but his hands are shaking a little, and I know my words are getting to him.

Grabbing the fence and leaning forward, I glare at him, letting my disapproval show bright in my eyes. “I thought Umbra Hunters were supposed to keep humans safe… and you left me there alone,” I whisper accusingly, surprising myself when I feel tears surface in my eyes, and I hate that they are real. I was so worried about Creed, and he didn't care that he was leaving me in a world full of monsters all alone. “How does a person do that?” I watch as Creed swallows hard, and he shakes his head, closing his eyes when I take another step forward so I can look at him fully. “How could you do that to me?”

Come on, Creed, talk to me! I mentally beg him, feeling the hurt swell into fury when he bites his lip and stays quiet. “Talk to me!” I finally scream, slapping my hands on the fence between us, my heart racing at the amount of anger surging through me. Finally, I get the response I want as Creed spins on me, dropping the saddle he's holding, then grabs my wrist, tearing my hands off the fence before yanking me forward, crushing my chest to the wooden slats of the fence. I hit hard, and a rush of air bursts from my lungs as Creed's angry eyes meet mine.

“I can’t—You don’t understand!” he rasps, shaking his hand and letting go of me with a small shove, making me topple back into the deep snow. I gasp when the icy flakes work their way down my shirt and shiver as I glare up at him. “You shouldn’t have come here, Meyer. It was safer for you there,” Creed grinds out, and I scoff.

“Like I had a choice? I was brought here against my will, Creed! Do us all a favor and take me back,” I snap, wiggling in the snow to try to roll to my side so I can push myself back up. Unfortunately, my ass is lodged deep into the snowbank Creed tossed me into, and I’m now sitting here, flailing my arms and legs, trying to get myself out of this embarrassing situation. “Did you have to shove me in the snow?” I complain under my breath and stop moving when I hear a low chuckle.

“Damn, you really are as hopeless as he said,” Creed whispers, and I glare at him.

“Who said? It was Lennox, wasn’t it? That prick. I’m going to knee him in the balls again.”

Glancing up, I watch Creed throw the saddle back on the fence and jump over it with one graceful leap, making me a little jealous. If I had tried that, I would have crashed and burned so freaking hard.

“You kicked Nox in the balls?” he asks in surprise before he offers a hand to me. “Here.” I slap mine into his and let out a surprised snort when he yanks me to my feet so quickly that the world spins around me.

“Jesus,” I complain, closing my eyes so I don't get too dizzy. “I think I need a neck brace now.” When the world stops spinning, I look up at Creed, who is staring down at me, my hand still clutched in his warm one. When the small cuts there protest his firm grip on me, I slowly tug my hand free, trying not to wince when I see one has re-opened, and a smear of blood is staining Creed’s palm.

Creed's frown deepens when he spots the blood, and his other hand snaps out, snagging my wrist and yanking it up so he can see the cuts.

“You're hurt,” he states, glaring at the largest cut Axford put there that is now bleeding. It's not much, just a tiny amount of blood that is oozing from the cut. Some of the scabs must have broken during my fall, but Creed is looking at the wound like it’s life-threatening.

“Bloodline testing,” I whisper, gently tugging on my hand so that he releases it.

“Why have you not healed it?” he asks, confused, reaching for my hand again, his big thumb gently rolling over the scabbed-over cuts he sees.

“I would if I could. I don’t know how to,” I answer, looking away from Creed and back at the barn. The guys are still inside, and the horses have migrated over to a feeding trough and now graze on some fresh hay.

“You can’t heal yourself? Have you told Nox? He can help with that,” Creed mutters, suddenly a lot more friendly than he had been only moments ago.

“Nox?”

“Lennox,” he responds, and I laugh.

“You’re kidding, right? Lennox has made it clear that I’m an unwanted burden that he has to deal with. I’m pretty sure he would be ecstatic if I somehow dropped dead so he wouldn't have to deal with me,” I add, shaking my head and smiling at Creed's wince.

“Yeah. I guess he can be—”

“An asshole?” I offer, and Creed chuckles, letting my hand drop from his as he steps back a little, giving me space.

“I was going to say harsh, but yes. Asshole is my favorite term for him as well.” I nod, smiling up at Creed and feeling a little better.

“So this asshole behavior runs in the family, then? Or is it just saved for special people like me?” I ask, and instantly regret it when Creed's smile falls from his face.

“I—Yeah. Something like that. We can’t be friends, Meyer. I'm sorry. You need to stay away,” he whispers, looking over my shoulder, his eyes widening as he takes another step back. “Fuck… I'll try to explain later. I’ll find you. Don't look for me though, and don’t tell anyone we talked,” he hisses at me before throwing himself over the fence, grabbing the saddle as he goes before he dashes off in the other direction.

I blink after him in surprise, my mouth open as I stare after him. What the hell just happened?

“Meyer?” Theo calls out, and I turn, seeing him waving me over to him as Jordan drops two more saddles at their feet. “Come on, Angry Girl. Riding lessons begin now.” I groan and stomp back through the snow in their direction, already counting down the minutes until lunchtime.

NINETEEN

Meyer

“So, Umbra Hunters used to be friends with Demons?” I ask in confusion as I hold the weird black shirt that looks three sizes too big up in front of me to inspect. After the weird dream I had last night, I've been trying to distract myself so I don't think about it. Riding lessons and talking to Creed helped in the moment, but it’s crawled back into the forefront of my mind, and I can’t seem to shake the strange feeling.

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