Page 60 of Cursed Wolfsbane

Saint eventually pulls back to level me with a glare cold enough to make me flinch. “Don’t you ever fucking do that again! I could’ve protected us with a shield, Briar! A defensive dome stops bullets and would’ve kept us all safe. But the second you ran to him, that option went out the window. When you decide to lone ranger a situation, you put all of us in danger!”

I shrink back at his rightful anger. Hanging my head, I absorb what he said. He’s right. I didn’t stop to think about what Saint could do. I saw Patrick and reverted to the Briar I was during every one of the beatings. The Briar who didn’t knowabout magic, wolves, or anything supernatural. The Briar who just rolled over and let Patrick hurt her to keep her family safe.

I put everyone in danger by not thinking anything through. If that doesn’t make me feel like the scum of the earth, I don’t know what would. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

Saint grinds his teeth for a moment before shaking his head at me. “I know you are, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be around you right now, Briar, not with how angry I am. I can portal you four back to the room and focus on cleaning up here. That should give me a chance to calm down.”

Saint waits for me to nod. When I wordlessly agree while studiously avoiding looking at him, he sighs but doesn’t say anything. A red-ringed portal opens in front of me. With one last glance back at Saint, who’s radiating rage and heartbreak, I step through, leaving the horror show in the alley behind.

CHAPTER 27

BRIAR

After I step through the portal, Xander and Bastian walk through next. I wince when I see that I got blood and Patrick matter on them too. At least our hotel living room has hard floors, so I’m not messing up expensive carpet with the crimson liquid dripping off me. With how gross I am, I need a scalding shower. Stat.

As I wait for Malachi, I unlace my black boots and slip them off. At least the leather is hardy so I can just hose them off. If they weren’t my mom’s old boots, I’d consider throwing them away with how grime-covered they are.

Malachi walks through next, and Saint lets the portal snap closed after. When I look up at Malachi’s scarily blank face, I swallow uneasily. I was surprised he didn’t yell at me in the alley, but I thought I was in the clear when he hugged me without saying anything. I guess I was wrong, if the burning rage in his navy gaze is anything to go by.

“Xander, Bastian, leave,” Malachi orders softly, his tone edged with danger. I take an involuntary step back at the warning in his tone, which his sharp eyes pick up immediately.

Both Xander and Bastian look between Malachi and me in concern. Bastian shifts from foot to foot, and Xander runs ahand through his hair before cautiously saying, “Kai, I think you need to cool off before you’re alone with Briar.”

Malachi is silent for a moment before roaring, “Leave. Now!” The weight of the alpha command is enough to steal the breath from my lungs, and I’m much less affected by it than his brothers are. Xander and Bastian stumble as the order slams into them.

While they both try to fight the alpha command, it’s a losing battle. They’re already taking small steps backward toward the room door. “I’ll be fine,” I try to reassure the twins. Even though I seem to piss Malachi off like no one else, I know he’d never hurt me, no matter how angry he is. “Don’t worry about me.”

The tendons in Xander’s neck stand out starkly as he tries to stop his feet from moving. “Are you sure?” he grits out.

“I’m positive, Xander. Go.” He stares at me for a heartbeat before giving in to the order. I watch Xander and Bastian until they reluctantly leave the hotel room. Then I stay facing the door for a moment longer, wanting to avoid the confrontation I know I’m going to have with Malachi.

Exhaling a ragged breath, I turn around to find him right behind me. I bump into him and stumble back. His hands whip out lightning fast to steady me and pull me against him. His iron hold on my waist locks me in place as he glares down at me. “What the fuck were you thinking? I can’t believe you would be that stupid!”

I rear back like he slapped me. I know I messed up, but I was doing what I thought was right at the time. The hurt burning through my veins like acid quickly turns to anger. “I was trying to fucking protect everyone! Now let go of me!” Whatever productive conversation I thought we might have obviously won’t be happening, so I push at his chest, trying to get free. He doesn’t budge, his pecs feeling like solid slabs of granite under my hands.

“No,” he snarls, leaning in until our faces almost touch. “You clearly can’t fucking be trusted to make the right decision.”

“I can’t be trusted? For what reason? I was doing my fucking best, Malachi!” My voice breaks, and I drop eye contact with him. He removes one hand from my waist and threads his fingers through my hair. When he pulls my head back to force me to look at him, I expect the same pain I felt from Patrick earlier. But even when he’s furious, Malachi isn’t Patrick. His hold is gentle, and he’s careful not to pull back too far.

“You will keep your eyes on me while I talk to you,” he orders.

I would close my eyes out of spite—super mature, I know—but it’s weird to have an argument with someone without looking at them. “You’re not talking to me. You’re yelling at me!”

“I would be able to be calm if you ever thought about how your actions would affect the people around you!” he shouts in exasperation, his fingers flexing and digging into my waist.

I suck in a reflexive breath at his audacity. “How fucking dare you! All I ever think about is everyone else! I’ve been willing to sacrifice myself over and over to keep everyone I care about safe. You know what? You can go fuck yourself, Malachi! Now let me go!” I shove at him and try to knee him to get him to move. He grunts as he blocks my knee to his groin.

When his grip loosens on me, I briefly think I won. Before I can even back up, Malachi’s bending down, shoving his shoulder in my stomach, and hoisting me up like a sack of potatoes. I growl at him and wiggle around, trying to get down, as he stomps toward the bathroom.

He pushes through the white door and strides across the cream and gold tiled bathroom, his shoes clacking as he goes. When he reaches the matching cream tile vanity, Malachi sets me down on the floor facing him. Placing his hands on my waist, he hauls me into his hard body.

“That’s the problem! Don’t you fucking get it? Goddammit, Briar!” He breaks off abruptly, his voice sounding choked up. Malachi briefly looks up at the ceiling, trying to collect himself, before staring me down again. “I don’t care about my life if you’re not in it. I don’t give a fuck about being safe if you aren’t. I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself for me. All I want is you safe and happy, but you seem determined to put yourself in danger at every turn!”

By the time he’s finished, I’m staring at him open-mouthed, but I don’t get a chance to formulate a response because he’s lifting me up to sit on the counter and swooping in for a hard kiss. I wrap my legs around him, holding him to my center.

His lips crash into mine with bruising force, but I give back as good as I get. When I refuse to part my mouth for him, still angry at him for what he said and wanting to be difficult, Malachi bites my bottom lip, causing me to gasp. His tongue plunges in, dueling with mine.

One of his hands cups the back of my head, keeping me where he wants me. His other hand slips under my shirt, his warm palm moving up to cup my left breast, kneading it hard. He pinches my nipple, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. I arch into his hand at the sensation, the bite of pain heightening the arousal pooling low in my belly.

---