Page 61 of A Shadow of Betrayal

Fuck this shit! My nostrils flare, and I look back down at her leg and growl low when I see blood staining the fabric of her pants.

“What the hell happened? Why are you bleeding?” I snap. Creed and Meyer roll their eyes, then grin at each other, bonding even more in their distaste of me, and I lose it. Stepping forward, I grab Meyer by the arm, yanking her from Creed's embrace, and turn to march her in front of me back toward the castle.

“Hey! What the hell, Umbra Regalis?!” she shouts. I growl again when even more anger burns in my belly, but not from her protests. No… She called me Umbra Regalis, not Lennox. This is precisely what I have been telling her to do. Scolding her when she crossed the line of propriety, but she didn't even stutter that time. She didn't mess up and start calling me Lennox. And that alone makes me want to send Creed on some kind of mission off this damn mountain so that he stops taking what's mine.

“Why are you bleeding?” I snap again as I force her up the stairs and down the halls of the castle, Creed and Jennings hot on my tail.

“Nox, let her go! You are doing yourself no favors,” Creed says calmly. I know he's telling the truth, but I can’t stop the wave of possessive anger that starts to burn, enveloping my entire body as Meyer tries to yank free of my grasp, always trying to escape my touch.

“I obviously got hurt, you giant asshole. Let me go,” she hisses, twisting and kicking at me before bringing her knee up toward my groin. This time, I turn just in time, narrowly avoiding the blow to my nuts, before I shove her up against the rough gray stone of the wall. I wrap my hand around her narrow neck, her pulse fluttering under my fingers as her eyes hood a little, and she gives me a wicked smile, making the situation in my pants that much worse. I had expected fear, not stubborn excitement.

“You want to play that game? Didn't I tell you what will happen if you try that shit again?” I whisper, leaning closer, using my height and forcing her to look up at me.

“Nox!” Creed snaps, no longer willing to play the mediator between Meyer and me. “That is enough. Ranger Smith needs to be brought to the infirmary and have a doctor see to her leg. Let her go,” he demands, which only causes me to tighten my grip on Meyer's throat. I can feel her swallow under my palm, and I can’t help but admire how smooth and delicate she feels pressed against me like this.

“You have no say in this matter, Creed. Take that,” I snap, looking at the glowering Ranger Jennings, who is standing behind Creed, “back to the training arena and inform the Rangers that they are dismissed for the evening but are expected to return before sunrise tomorrow. Then go to my office. I think it's time for you to check on the Rifts on the north ridge again. The Demon activity is growing to unmanageable levels.”

Meyer's eyes fall from me and move to Creed, making me want to growl at her and demand every ounce of her attention. “You’re going to send him by himself? Aren’t you three a Unit? You fight together? It’s not safe for him to go alone,” she snaps.

“Creed can and will go to the Rift,” I snarl back at her as I move my thumb from around her neck up to her chin, forcing her to look back at me. I can feel Creed step closer, his magic filling the space between mine, making it flare in response, not liking the challenge. The need to put him in his place… to draw blood only grows, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself in line.

“Fucking try it, Nox. I do everything you ask of me, but I’m sick of you trying to push me away from her,” Creed grinds out, leaning close so only Meyer and I can hear him.

“I can walk Meyer up to the Med-wing,” Jennings offers, making Creed sigh in exasperation as I shoot a poisonous look toward the stupid boy.

“Get him out of here before I kill him,” I mutter, letting Meyer’s neck go, only to wrap my arm around her waist and heave her into my arms.

“Lennox!” she snaps, and I grin. That's fucking right, Little Demon. Keep pushing me, just like that.

“Where are you taking her?” Creed shouts after me. I take a moment before answering, knowing that if I tell him, he will take Jennings back to the barracks and return for Meyer as soon as possible.

“My office,” I finally say, looking down at Meyer’s furious expression and catching her hand as she tries to slap me. “Be nice. You have a hurt leg, and I’m trying to help,” I hiss down at her as I move up the stairs, taking them two at a time until I reach the door that leads out to the Ranger barracks.

THIRTY-TWO

Meyer

“I can walk,” I snap, wrenching my hand out of Lennox’s grip and rubbing at the now sore skin on my wrist. Lennox frowns, his eyes resting on my hand as he pushes open the door to his office and steps in. He sets me down on top of his impeccably clean desk and drags the small chair I typically sit in over before sitting down in front of me and moving his hands to my leg.

I flinch away from his touch. The memories of his disgusted look after our heated kiss, followed by his standoffish behavior afterward, flashing to the front of my mind and making my guard rise. I scoot back on his desk, desperate for some personal space, and curse when his hand darts out and wraps around my ankle, yanking my butt back to the edge of his desk.

“Hold still.” The husky quality of his voice does things to me that should be illegal, and I kick out with my other foot, my shoe connecting with his shoulder and making him topple off his chair with a shout.

“Get fucked, Umbra Regalis,” I reply, grabbing the first thing that my hand comes in contact with and flinging it at his head. Lennox’s hand snaps up so fast, I don't even see it until he grabs the stapler I flung at his head, snatching it out of the air like it was nothing.

“You. Little. Brat,” he hisses between clenched teeth, his knuckles turning white as he squeezes the stapler so hard I hear the cracking of plastic. Lennox springs to his feet, and I have a moment of instant regret just as he tosses the now-broken stapler to the wooden floor and lunges for me.

I squeal when his hand grabs my ankle on my hurt leg and glare at him as he reaches for my waist.

“Don’t!” I snap, turning on my side, trying to get away from him.

“Why do you have to make everything so damn complicated?” he snarls, flipping me back to face him. I lean back on my hands and kick him again, hitting him in the stomach and gasping in pain when his hand falls on my hurt thigh, his finger digging into the wound, feeling like a blade. I cry out and clench my eyes shut, curling in on myself while clawing at his hand that is hurting me. “Shit,” he roars, moving his hand away from my hurt leg and backing up, putting both hands in the air as he stares at my bleeding leg in horror.

I try to move off his desk, my feet hitting the ground, but my knees buckle, sending me crashing to the ground. “Damnit,” I whisper to myself, my arms darting out to catch myself so I don't hurt my leg even more as Lennox springs forward, wrapping me back up in his arms. Before I have time to complain, he’s depositing me back on his desk and stepping back, giving me the space I want.

“Meyer, stop! I just want to heal your fucking leg so it doesn't get infected!” he yells, making me jump. He sees it and then groans, running a hand down his face before he shakes his head, the braids and small silver beads in his hair clinking together with the slight movement. “Can I please touch your leg so I can heal it?” he finally whispers.

“No.” I shake my head and glare at him, trying not to think about my throbbing leg or how irrationally I’m acting. Logically, I know I need to accept his offer so I don't get an infection and can train normally tomorrow. But the angry, hurt part of me is still running the show here. Lennox huffs, cursing under his breath as he tosses his hands up in the air and turns away from me, pacing the floor a few times before giving me a side-eye.

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