Page 60 of Rogue Games

So lost that I took things too far.

She’s not mine, I remind myself.

What happens now?

Thank God she opened her mouth, and all illusions of this being something I can have went flying out the window.

Seeing her hurt almost broke me. She has no fucking clue how scared I was when she wouldn’t wake up. I can’t let someone have that much power over me, not when my pack needs me to be strong.

“Use the damn handrail, unless you want to add a broken neck to your list of injuries,” I bark, taking my frustrations out on the last person who should be in my firing line.

I’m a ball of nerves watching her walk down the slippery steps. She must still be exhausted. Her wolf has been working hard through the night, healing not only her cuts and bruises, but the side-effects of exposure.

An image of her clinging to the side of the ledge, shivering, slams into me, and I growl.

Samuel and Joel are going to pay for what they did to her.

Jamie glances over her shoulder and rolls her eyes, assuming the growl was directed at her.

Her glossy dark hair hangs down her slim back. The lengths are dull from the rain and overall, it’s a tangled mess. It looks like she’s had far more fun than she did. I should have let her shower before we left, even if she was driving me crazy. But then, an image of her naked under a spray of steaming water has me almost choking, and I shake my head.

No, that wouldn’t be a good idea either.

Marching back from my mother’s remote cabin in silence, I fixate on what she said about me being happy she’s leaving. I should be, but I’m reluctant to let her go. I’ve bought myself a few days, allowing her to stay and watch Wyatt, but my wolf wants more.

“Thank you,” Jamie mutters, waiting for me to catch up. “For fixing my arm.”

I can feel how much that hurt her to say.

“How’s your head?” I ask, brushing back her bangs to reveal the red line that was a deep gash just the night before.

Jamie stares at me for a second before stepping away and putting up her walls again.

“It’s a long walk. It’ll be even longer if you can’t even bring yourself to speak with me,” I point out.

She might be able to shift and run, but I don’t want her working that shoulder more than necessary. Her fingers find the bump, and she frowns. “Seems all better.”

I checked the wound on her head while she slept, and it closed nicely, but the swelling remains. The dark bruises covering her side and hip are already melting to a dull yellow hue. Other than her shoulder, she’ll be all healed by tomorrow.

“How did you know how to pop my shoulder back in?” Jamie slows the pace of her angry march, perhaps coming to the same conclusion that sniping at each other the entire way back isn’t going to be much fun. Our wolves want to stick close, there’s no point in fighting them too.

“When you have a father like mine, you become an expert in field medicine,” I explain darkly. I had to do it for Mum, and Maya had to do it for me. Not your average family bonding, but I’m good to have around in an emergency.

“Oh.” Jamie falls silent, her good arm cradling her sore one, as we follow the overgrown trail back to the main track that runs around the perimeter of the lake. “That’s tough. I’m sorry.”

Nodding, I press my lips together. My home life is not something I discuss with anyone outside my immediate family, and then, it’s only because they lived it too. They witnessed every humiliating beating, every stupid row, and finally, when I was big enough to do something about it, the retaliation. But nobody else wants to hear me whine.

“I’m sure being a rogue isn’t exactly a picnic either.”

I’m not sure whether I’m deflecting her attention away from me or trying to find out more about this little rogue, but from the way her body language changes, I can tell she’s equally uncomfortable speaking about herself.

Finally, she tilts her head to look at me, those penetrating golden brown eyes sharp.

“Our mother left when Wyatt and I were young. She was a single mum. When we were teens, our pack said we were no longer welcome. Apparently, we represented a threat to their safety because of who our mother had mated.”

My father.

When I don’t come clean, pretending to still be clueless about who her mother is, she presses her lips together in a thin line. Disappointed. Pissed off. But too clever to show her hand completely.

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