Page 15 of Wolf

“You think I don’t know that?” Anna bit back, her voice a conflict of annoyance andresignation.

“No, I don’t think you do,” I growled, shoving myself off the door with force. I had held off on this shit while we were at the diner on another club’s territory, but now we were back under my roof. I had shit to say, and Anna was sure as fuck going to listen to it. “I think if you knew the danger you were putting yourself in, you wouldn’t have gone and fuckingdoneit.”

“I had it under control,” she argued but still didn’t dare lookatme.

I walked toward her until I stood within reaching distance. I leaned down close to her face, and with a snarl, I growled, “If you had everything under fucking control, he wouldn’thavedied.”

“You know what?” Anna snapped, spinning so fast her face almost crashed into mine. “I don’t give two shits what you think, Wolf. Shit happened that was out of my control. His death isn’t on my hands, so stop making me out to be thebadguy!”

She shoved at my chest, forcing me to take a step back. She marched her way to the door, grabbing the handle and pulling thedoorback.

I slammed it shut with enough force to make the wall shake. My palms lay next to her head, my arms caging her in. I leaned in close again, letting my lips come near to her ear. “Don’t you fucking run away from me,” Igrowled.

“I can do whatever the fuck I like,” Anna hissed, moving her head awayfromme.

I scoffed. “Yeah, and look where thatgotyou.”

She screamed in frustration, shoving at me again and again as she tried and failed to break out of my hold. “What do you want, Wolf?” she yelled, her nails digging hard into my skin. “What do I have to do for you to get the fuck offmyback?”

“Don’t pretend it didn’t happen,” Isnapped.

Anna’s fight stuttered and died, her grip relaxing. Her eyes fell to my chest, distant. A look washed over her face, and I didn’t like what it did to her. Her shoulders drooped, but her hands still held on to my arms, as if my body anchored her to the hereandnow.

I dropped my head, letting it fall to the side of hers, my cheek touching her cool skin. “Don’t pretend like it doesn’t affect you; I can see it’s got to you, so don’t pretend it hasn’t. Don’t put that shadow on you,” Iwhispered.

“I was the last thing he saw, Wolf,” she whispered, her voice so very soft and injured. “I was the last thing he saw as he died. He was just a kid. Barely older than twenty, and it was my fault he died. It shouldn’t have been me he saw... not me.” Her head fell forward against my shoulder. She wasn’t crying, but her breathing caught every few seconds. She was quiet for a long time. I felt her head shift on my shoulder every now and then as if moving to free her mouth to speak. But then she’d think twice and her mouth would close. I didn’t think she would ever say it, but I didn’t move, and only after another minute or so, she pulled herheadback.

“I didn’t cry,” she confessed on a desperate and soft note. Her blue eyes looked up to mine as if I could give her an explanation, or some kind of reassurance, but I had no idea what she was asking of me. “You’re supposed to cry,” she added. “When someone dies in your arms, you’re supposed to cry. But Ididn’t.”

Anna shook her head, her eyes becoming absorbed with despair. “I can’t even cry now...What's wrong with me?” The question was spoken into the air; she expected it to be rhetorical, but I didn’tletit.

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” I answered. “Not everybody cries. Just because you didn’t cry, it doesn’t mean you didn’t care, and it’s not your fault, Anna. I know that when shit like this happens, it may feel like it, but it wasn’t your fault. Lizard made his own choices that got him that far. In the end...” I paused, feeling the words hit close to home. “In the end,” I started again, “it was his decision to meet you. Hisalone.”

Anna’s eyes lowered once again, and I hated the defeat that was still buried under her skin. She didn’tbelieveme.

I opened my mouth to speak again when a knock sounded on the door. Anna flinched in surprise and her eyes jumped uptomine.

“Prez,” Hunter’s voice came from the other side ofthedoor.

“What is it?” I asked, hoping it was something I could put off untillater.

“Church is ready,” he said, followed by the sound of his footstepswalkingaway.

“Fuck,” I groaned, knowing it was something I had to deal with immediately. This shitcouldn’twait.

I dropped my arms from the door and stepped back away from her. Anna’s body shivered as my warmth left her, and as much as I wanted to bring her back into my chest, I fought it. I reached my hand out to brush down the side of her cheek and said, “Stay here,” before letting her step away from the door so I could exitthroughit.

I hesitated as I left, and as much as I hated myself for it, I turned to look back. Anna’s eyes were pinned on me, watching me go. Fuck, she looked so vulnerable and open. It was the first time I’d seen her like this, and it tore at me to let her go, but I had no otherchoice.

My clubneededme.

Sodidshe.

But club always came first. That’s what being presidentmeant.

I closed the door behind me and headed toChurch.

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