Page 137 of Serpentine

“You were hurt, and Brax has been processing,” I whimper, eager to see what he will do next.

“Neither are reasons to deprive us of nutrients we desperately need, princess.”

I swallow a moan. “It didn’t seem like the time to be shacked up, fucking all day.”

He laughs a little dark. “That’s the perfect time to shack up princess. What the fuck are you talking about?”

Before the moment goes too far, I drop my leg. “Let me wash you so you can take your meds and lie down.”

He eyes me, dropping his hand away and taking me in. “You’re alright, right? I know you’ve been through it since Braxton kidnapped you, but these last few weeks have been tough. We don’t do very well at taking care of others sometimes. It’s a fatal flaw, I’ll admit.”

“I’m fine,” I say, brushing him off.

The truth is, I don’t know if I’m fine. Part of me feels walled off, even from myself. Like a veil has dropped surrounding me and my heart, one that’ll protect me. But it’ll also push those around me away.

I don’t know how to push through it.

But I know I need time.

He looks at me as if he doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t say another word, so he lets me finish helping him wash and towel off. Once we’ve had lunch and he’s fallen asleep, I slip out to breathe alone.

Even though it’s the middle of a hard winter, I find solace in the cold air as it burns my lungs.

Closing my eyes, I take stock of my feelings. I’m stronger than when I met Brax and Miles, but also a bit more broken. My world, as I know it, is over, and I have to find myself in this new one.

Clanking has my head swinging toward the shop. The bay doors are open, the winter snow spilling inside as I step off the porch and walk over the hard-packed snow toward the sound of music.

Braxton is sitting on a small rolling chair next to his now-reassembled bike. He’s growling as he throws tools this way and that, looking for something Kylo’s likely stolen and put in his toolbox. Over the last few weeks, I’ve learned that Kylo and Braxton repeatedly go back and forth about tools.

Kylo refuses to buy new tools because it gives him something to razz Braxton over. If he had his own, the fun would end.

“You know it’s probably in Kylo’s stuff, right?” I ask, approaching the other side of the lifted bike.

Braxton meets my eyes over the machine, smirking. “I know. I don’t know why he fucks with me all the damned time. I swear to God I’m going to murder his ass one of these days.”

No, he won’t. He loves and admires each one of his fellow Cobras. They’re his family. But I know he has to rage through his emotions outwardly. It’s how he deals.

He pats his lap, rolling backward on the seat to give me room.

“What’s the matter?” he asks as I sit on his lap and bury my face in his neck, letting his scent wash over me. He’s become my safe space. The space I can just be.

Where Miles will hound me to know what’s wrong, usually Brax is happy just letting me deal with myself internally because he knows how it feels to need to keep to himself.

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” I ask, pulling back and looking into his blue eyes.

His brows furrow. “Because your vibe is off. Has been for some time. I knew you needed time to find your place in this new life. But it’s getting worrisome, Aella.”

I sigh. “I’m fine. I think once this is over, once we’ve confronted them and I have answers, I’ll be on the path to figuring out my place here. Right now, it feels as if I’m missing closure.”

He nods. “Makes sense.”

“Nothing makes sense,” Miles says as he strides into the shop, closing it up, bay by bay. He’s upset, and I can feel it as if it’s a palpable entity in the room.

“Strip her down,” Miles says.

I look between them, confusion marring my face as I get off Braxton’s lap. “If this is about earlier…”

“Earlier?” Braxton asks, smirking as he looks between us. But he reaches for me and tugs me towards him. My shirt gets tugged off after he’s got my jacket thrown across the room. “What did you do earlier, Bambi?”

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