Page 38 of Defiant
I watch her eyes as the knowledge grows there, an ugly truth full of thorns.
“Pluto is loyal as fuck. He’s been my second for years. Swore he’d never touch you. All it took was a single inhale, Elena. He didn’t just shift, he went full monster.”
Her throat clenches and I watch it as she swallows hard, lowering her eyes, accepting her new reality.
“That’s right. There’s no fairytale here. You’re an omega. Your wolf can’t save you. You dependon me.”
A single tear tracks down her face before she wipes it roughly away, looking back up and me and nodding, jaw stiff. She’s pretending to be tough, but she doesn’t need to be because I’ll be that for her. For now, I’m just relieved she seems to have gotten with the program. Finally. Damn.
I glance down at my wound, the ripped flesh, and feel myself get light-headed as the pain rushes up as soon as my mind lets go of the reins. That feeling only doubles when Elena steps forward and takes my hand, saying, “Let’s get you in bed.”
Yes.Me in bed with Elena on top of me. I know it’s not what she’s planning. But I make the plans andthatsounds like the perfect prescription.
14
Elena
I leadBlack by the hand back to the boring beige basement bedroom, trying not to tremble.I need to stay focused on his injury right now. I can think about everything else later.My compartmentalization skills come into play and I filter through some of the things I’ve learned interning at the hospital, not thinking about myself, thinking only about wound care.
My patient eagerly follows, even laying down on the comforter at my sharp command.
"Mmm. Yes. Let's finish what we started." His eyes dance playfully up at me as he tucks his uninjured hand behind his head, like an asshole in a porno waiting to get sucked off.
All my plans and any residual pangs of fear, sadness, or regret are all washed away by Black’s lascivious expression. "Are you delusional? You're bleeding out."
"It's a flesh wound."
Men. Alpha shifter or horny teenager. They’re all the damned same.I roll my eyes and stroll to the door so that I can get something to deal with Black’s wounds. I intend to scream for Matthew to come help, but I turn out the bedroom door only to find he's already tromping across the basement rec room, a plastic basket filled with medical supplies in his hands.
"This happen often?" I ask with a raised brow. "You're well prepared."
"More than Alpha Maddox would want me to mention," he retorts.
"Matthew!" Black's sharp disapproval rings out from the bed.
Matthew just gives me a little smirk that makes me fall a bit more in love with him before he yells to Black, "You said the wrong line by the way. The Black Knight's first line after he's hurt is, 'Tis but a scratch!'"
"What?" I look at Matthew confused, clearly missing something.
"Monty Python," they both retort simultaneously.
I just give Matthew a classic 'okay Karen' expression before taking the supplies back into the bedroom. The butler calls out behind me, "You need to educate this woman, Black. She's missing out on one of life's best comedies."
"I need to educate her about other things first," Black mutters as I set the kit down on the nightstand.
"No, you don't," I tell him, knowing exactly what he’s implying. A blush rises on my cheeks, which is ironic, because I’m always trying to make Jonah blush, but this is different. Jonah’s so go-with-the-flow and easy go-lucky. He’s the polar opposite of Black’s domineering, overtly sexual presence.
I wonder if he’s worried about me. If he’s called the police. I fucking hope so, though I doubt they’ll be able to do a damned thing. The shifters have glimmers on the force, and Black’s rich enough to have more in his pocket. I hope Jonah isn’t making himself sick over me…actually, a little part of my chest pings at that thought, marking it a lie. But I don’t have time to examine that. Not with Black here making dirty innuendos while a wound the length of the Grand Canyon stretches between his ribs.
I turn to check on Matthew, to see if he'll help me hold down the big alpha so we can change the subject to something cleaner … like wound sanitation, but the old butler has abandoned me. He's disappeared from the basement entirely, leaving me alone to deal with Black.
Great. Just fucking great.
"Hope you're not a little bitch about alcohol."
Black raises a dark brow at me. "Sure you want to talk to me like that?"
"Pretty damn sure, yeah."
