Page 36 of A Shadow of Betrayal

My heart drops at his words, and I turn from him, trying to control the sting in my eyes as I swallow the burning emotions down. I need to get home, and Theo was my best bet on getting there. But now that he’s taken that option away, a whole new level of hopelessness washes over me. Soft footsteps come up behind me before Theo’s hand settles on my arm.

“Meyer?” he whispers, and I can hear the regret in his words, but I know he won’t change his mind. “I’m sorry. I know this situation sucks, but on the bright side, you are finally with people like you. You have Jordan and me,” he whispers, and I nod, still refusing to look at him.

It’s not like I’m unhappy with my newfound friendship with those two, but it doesn't replace the aching hole of the life I was torn away from. It wasn't glamorous, and I was often lonely, but at least there, I could make my own choices.

I nod, not trusting myself to say anything as Theo’s hand moves up and down my arm, his apology hanging in the air between us. I understand why he’s not helping me. Hell, if I were in his shoes, I would probably do the same thing he is. But it still hurts knowing I’m stuck here with no way out.

“I got Flora to come to me, but Minerva was being a pill, and I had to track her down,” Jordan announces, walking through the barn doors and holding the reins of two beautiful horses that trod after him. One is a pretty tan color, the other a rich chocolate brown. Theo and I turn toward him as he approaches, and I can see his brows furrow when his eyes land on me. “Wait, is she crying? Why is Meyer crying?” Jordan asks, looking worried as he tosses the reins at Theo before bending down to look me in the eye.

My cheeks flush, and I shake my head, forcing a smile to form on my lips. “I’m fine. Not crying,” I tell him with an awkward laugh as Theo shoulders in next to him, looking at me with worried eyes.

“Meyer,” he whispers, his sad eyes flicking from me to the Castle, then back again.

“I’m fine,” I snap, not liking the pity I see growing in my friend's eyes. He flinches back and lowers his eyes, earning me a glare from Jordan that I shrug off. Yeah, I’m being a bitch, but this isn't fair, and I’m allowed to be upset about my life right now.

“You’re lying,” Jordan points out, and I scowl at him before turning toward the new horses, immediately noticing that the horse Theo has saddled for me is at least five inches taller than the ones Jordan brought out.

“Why are yours smaller than mine?” I accuse, frowning as I look between the three horses, hoping to change the subject.

“Oh… uh, well, Jord and I brought our own horses to the Castle. I’ve had Mini for five years and have trained with her during my time at the academy. When you end up picking a horse, you will stick with it. Feed and water them. Groom them. It's like a friendship, and they get to know you too. How you sit in the saddle and how you move while holding a sword. These horses are trained with real Demons and will even help notify us if there is something dangerous nearby. Mini’s my special lady,” Theo says proudly, walking over and running his hand up and down the horse's long nose.

“I’ve only had Flora for three years, but she’s perfect,” Jordan says, grinning at the tan-colored horse. I smile and nod, almost excited about getting my own horse, that is, until the big black one snorts and paws at the ground again, making me startle back a little.

“Where are the saddles?” Theo asks as he weaves his fingers through his horse's mane. Jordan frowns and looks at him, shaking his head.

“You said you were getting them while I grabbed Flora and Minerva?”

“Uh, no. I said I would saddle Neptune while you got the horses and our saddles,” Theo mutters, rolling his eyes. They continue to argue, both convinced they are the correct one, as they stalk back into the barn, leaving me in the middle of three beautiful but very large horses.

“Uh… hi,” I whisper, looking at the black horse that I’m supposed to ride in a few moments. I hesitantly hold a hand out, trying to mimic what I saw Theo and Jordan do with their own horses.

But just as my hand slowly touches the soft fur of the horse's snout, it snorts and nips at my hand, making me squeak in surprise and fall back on my ass in the snow. “No, bad horse,” I snap, shaking my finger at it as I scoot back in the snow, eyeing the wild beast to make sure it doesn’t charge me or something. I can feel the bitter cold of the snow seeping into my pants and shirt, and I shiver, standing up when I feel like I have put a good distance between the horse and me.

“Listen,” I whisper, leaning forward to glare at the animal. “I’ve had a shitty morning and didn't get much sleep last night. Could you not be an ass and work with me here?” I ask, darting a glance at the stables to make sure Theo and Jordan haven't returned. I don’t need them to think I've gone crazy, but then I do a double take as a different man strides from the barn, holding a saddle in his hands. He strides in the opposite direction of where I’m currently standing, and I smile when I see that snow is dusting his familiar soft, curly brown hair.

“Creed,” I whisper, looking around to see if anyone is nearby.

I toss the horses one last look before glaring at the black one and turn, following Creed as he makes his way to a pen holding several horses. “Creed?” I holler, raising my voice enough for the man I’m chasing after to hear me, but not so loud that Jordan and Theo will hear.

Creed stops mid-step, his head turning toward me until his bright-green eyes meet mine. I grin and wave, loving how good he looks. A small smile crosses his face, and he steps toward me, making my heavy heart lighten a little as he mouths my name, almost like he’s surprised to see me out here.

When he was at my cabin, he had been on death's doorstep, pale and bleeding out, but not anymore. His big strong shoulders fill out the black coat he is wearing, and I now see that his complexion has more of a deep olive tone than Lennox and Razar's. I continue to look at him as I walk his way, and I can't help the burst of butterflies that fill my stomach as I get closer.

It was a lot easier to talk to him when he was soaking wet and injured. I didn't feel intimidated by his presence, but as I get closer, I realize that Creed is close in height to Razar and maybe only a few inches shorter than Lennox. He has a strong jaw covered with a slight growth of facial hair, not quite a beard, but the beginnings of one. It looks fantastic on him, giving him that rugged look that his soft, curly hair tries to contradict.

Creed’s eyes move up and down my body, and I can see him visibly sighing, his smile disappearing almost as fast as it showed up as he hefts the saddle he’s carrying over one shoulder and runs a hand through the curls on top of his head. He kicks his toe in the dirty path that has been carved through the deep snow in the courtyard and takes a step back, tearing his eyes from me as his jaw tenses.

I frown and shake my head when he turns and walks away from me. “Creed, wait!” I shout after him, picking up my pace, confused at his sudden shift in mood. He looked excited to see me when he first turned around, but that quickly changed, and he’s now almost running toward the horse pen. “Wait!” I call out again, nearly slipping in the snow in my rush to get to the man.

“Creed!” I shout again, my temper rising when he blatantly ignores me, striding over to the fence in front of him and tossing the saddle on top of it. He’s climbing the horizontal wooden slats of the fence when I make it over to him, and I reach out, latching my hand around his ankle and halting his movement. “What the hell, Creed? I just want to talk,” I tell him, shaking my head in exasperation as I try to catch my breath. High altitudes are something I deal with daily while living in Idaho, but staying on top of a mountain is a type of thin air I don’t think I’ll ever get used to. My lungs already hurt from trying to breathe while jogging over here.

I squint my eyes, looking up at the big man who I had tried to save less than a week ago, and frown when I find him glaring at the snow in front of him; his whole body tense like my touch disgusts him. “Creed?” I say again, hoping I’m wrong, but knowing I’m not. So, I slowly let go of his ankle when he doesn't say a word and take a step back, watching as he throws his leg over the fence and moves to the other side, keeping the fence between us. “I was worried about you,” I whisper, not liking how the silence fills when he reaches up and grabs the saddle, moving it over his shoulder. “When I woke up, you were gone… I thought.” I don’t finish my sentence. I don't need to. He knows what I thought from the small amount of guilt I see flickering in his eyes.

“Are you going to talk to me? Maybe explain what happened that night?” I ask, rolling my lips together when he ignores me once again, moving to walk down the fence line. What the hell is going on here? Why is he not talking or looking at me? I kind of feel foolish at the time I spent worrying about him when he obviously hasn’t given me a second thought.

His side of the fence is pretty clear of snow, the Hunters keeping a good area for their horses to run around, and I grind my teeth, looking at the piles of deep snow on my side of the fence. My eyes move back to Creed as he walks away, not sparing me a second glance. I shake my head, angry and hurt by his silent treatment.

No, I’m not done talking to him yet.

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