Page 117 of Faith and Fury

He gets on his bike without another word, jamming the helmet over his head.

Only as he disappears around the street does it all catch up to me. The pain—physical, emotional, everything in between. I don’t notice my legs giving out until Maverick swoops in to catch me.

“You’re okay,” he murmurs. “It’ll be okay.”

I wish I could believe him.

***

The lights. The cheers. I feel like I’m going to be sick.

It surprises me when he doesn’t hold back—this scrawny little omega who smiled at me in the cells, but never held my gaze.

It’s the closest I’ve gotten to losing all year. My skin raked apart beneath his nails. My bones rattling against his blows. He’s been fighting longer than I have, and it shows.

I react at just the right time and he slips, knocking his head into the cement. Out cold.

Hamish announces me as the winner. The male omega and I go back to our cells.

“What the fuck was that?” Fang snarls as soon as he reaches me.

I bristle, my every muscle on fire.

“You had your guard down,” he accuses. “Do you have any idea how close he got to beating you? How lucky you were?”

Blood snakes down my arms. I know.

He paces in front of me—a literal caged animal. A few of the other rogues take notice, but are smarter than to say anything.

“Faith,” Fang says. He crouches before me. “You have to be more careful. I can’t—” he cuts off, choking. “I won’t lose you.”

Even as I feel like my body is breaking apart, and the idea of fighting another fight makes me just give up now, I soften when he takes my face in his hands.

“You’re my everything,” he whispers, so quiet I can barely hear him. “If you ever throw yourself away like that again … I won’t forgive you.”

I stare at him, my eyes burning, knowing he’s testing me. Making sure I don’t break.

So I don’t break. I can be strong, like he needs me to be. I can save us.

I won’t let my guard down, I sign, I swear.

***

When I startle awake, tears are streaming down my face. I jerk up, not sure where I am. The sheets are unfamiliar. There’s dust in the air.

I search for a light, my arm whacking something over in the process. The sound of glass shattering throws me into a panic.

Fuck. Now I hear footsteps down the hall. I can’t have anyone see me like this.

I try to stand, try to brace myself, only for a sharp pain in my foot to stop me. Right. The glass. How could I be so stupid?

The bedroom door bursts open, a wide-eyed Maverick standing in its frame. Seeing me—my tear-streaked face, my bleeding foot—he growls with concern.

“Omega,” he says, surprisingly low, “hey, you’re okay. It’s just me.”

I need to get back. Better yet, he needs to get back. I show my teeth, instantly tasting the tears on my lips.

“I know, kitten,” he purrs. “It’s alright, I won’t touch. Just gonna clear this glass away.”

---