Page 65 of Claiming Xan
But Sky kept texting me, each one sending me further and further into a spiral until I turned my phone off and stuffed it between the couch cushions.
Fuck him. Howdarehe? I paced the floors, gnashing my teeth and stomping my feet, my claws digging into the palms of my hands as I fought to keep my wolf at bay.
I yanked at my hair. The beast was just under the surface. He was coming out. I needed to get out of here. Gracie would be home soon, as would Xan. I didn’t want to see them, afraid I would snap and hurt them. Hurt the baby.
Just like the monster I was.
I thought of my mother and her cries, of how close I’d been to losing control and ripping into her, right in the center of town. No. That couldn’t happen. I couldn’t hurt anyone else. I wouldn’t.
I threw open the front door and let the beast slice through my skin, then tore off into the woods, my anger bubbling like acid.
Maybe I should’ve let Sky die that day in the woods, the day we showed up here in Greymercy. Then I’d be free of this Alpha-Omega curse and Xan and I could be happy.
Bloody images of me tearing out my brother’s throat filled my mind, gory and vicious.You’re a monster!
No!
I shuddered, shaking my head and pushing harder, running faster, my legs and lungs aching—and then I slammed into someone, sending us both toppling to the forest floor.
I scrambled to my feet and spun around with a snarl, my hackles bristled and my tail raised. My heart beat what felt like a thousand miles an hour, wedged in my throat to choke me as I turned my sights on whoever had just gotten in my way.
It was Kace, and he wasn’t alone. Pike was with him. They shifted back to man, raising their hands up in front of them in a show of peace. “Easy. What happened, River?” Kace asked, his voice a thrum in the quiet. “What’s wrong?”
I thrashed my head back and forth, pacing and growling. I felt so damn wild, so out of control. I needed Xan. I needed my mate, but I was so scared of hurting him… I would never forgive myself.
Fighting for control, I forced myself to shift into my human form and sank to the forest floor, my head in my hands. “I-I saw my brother for the first time in months. We got into a fight. My wolf is very angry. I needed to leave before I did something I’d regret,” I managed to eke out.
“Can we do anything to help?” Kace asked, kneeling down beside me, but not touching me.
“I… I need Xan. He’s the only one who seems to be able to calm my wolf’s rage, but I’m scared. I don’t want to hurt him by accident, Kace. I couldn’t live with myself if I did.”
“Shh. It’ll be okay. I’ll be right here. I’ll stop you if anything bad happens, alright? Xan’s a big boy. He can handle himself.” He gave a nod to Pike, who changed back to wolf and darted off.
Kace knelt beside me. He placed his hand on my back, a steady pressure. A strange comfort. It helped eased the sharp bite of anger in my soul, though the hurtful words of my twin still rang in my ears.
I didn’t know how long we were out there, how long it took for Xan to arrive. It could’ve been minutes, but it also could’ve been hours. My mind wasn’t fully my own. I smelled him before I saw him and I lifted my head, searching the darkness.
He approached slowly, still wearing his work clothes, his hair sweat-damp and rumpled. “Baby?” He sounded out of breath. “I came as soon as I could. What happened? Are you okay?”
A whole-body shudder worked through me as I reached for my mate, hating how needy I was. Xan closed the distance between us, and I buried my face in the side of his belly, hugging him around the backs of his thighs. Breathing him in.
Xan stroked my hair. “Shh, it’s okay. I’m here.”
With each breath, Xan’s sweet scent filled my lungs and slowly calmed my rioting heartbeat, but it replaced it with a different kind of ache. I realized, right then, that I loved this Omega…and that scared me.
Because everyone I’d ever loved had hurt me.
37
XAN
My phone rangin the dead of night. I pried one eye open to look at the clock on our bedside table. 3:23 AM. Who the hell was calling this early?
I waited it out, hoping they’d hang up, but it kept ringing. Finally, I snatched it off the charger and blinked blearily down at the too-bright screen.
It was Shay.
“Hello?” I mumbled, rubbing at my eye with one hand.
