Page 143 of Fangs
I stepped into him, pulling my hand free so I could wrap my arms around his waist. I felt his surprise, but it quickly faded to something warm as he hugged me back. I’d never initiated hugging him, but all this emotion was drowning me, and it wasn’t the emotion from the past few months. It was something softer and warmer, and I needed a rock to cling to.
That’s what Mac was—my rock.
Why did it feel like I was going to cry?
“You sure you’re okay?”he sounded worried.
I squeezed him tightly for two more seconds and then forced myself to release him and take a step back.“I’m okay. What happens now?”
“Now we go back to the Vault. Lana’s probably gonna be under house arrest for a bit while we figure out what to do with her.”
“House arrest where?”
“Not sure.”
“But not the cells?”
“No.”His eyes softened.“Not the cells.”
I let out a shaky breath, relief coursing through me.
“Can I look at those scratches?” he asked out loud.
“Uh, sure.”
He stepped close again, taking my face in his hands and turning my cheek toward the sunlight peeking in through the thick canopy of evergreen trees. His touch was gentle but confident. His brow furrowed as he peered at the scratches, anger tightening in his jaw.
“Maybe we’ll match,” I said.
He met my eyes, “What?”
“Matching scars,” I clarified, gesturing to my face.
“I hope not for your sake,” he said lightly, but there was a pain there I didn’t miss.
“I like your scar,” I blurted out.
His eyebrows raised, but he didn’t look convinced. Why was I saying all this shit? My face was getting hot, but I wasn’t about to back down now.
“I do! It looks good on you.”
His lips twitched. “Did you just compliment me?”
I tried to smirk, but it felt more like a genuine smile. “Don’t get used to it.”
He gently turned my head like he was trying to look at the back of it. “Gods, you sure you didn’t hit your head?”
I huffed a laugh, and he was grinning when he turned my head back.
“I don’t think these will scar,” he said, his eyes returning to the scratches on my face, “but they’re gonna look dramatic until they heal.” He slowly released my face like he was hesitant to do so. “Alright, you wanna check the others?”
Raven and Griz were clear, too, so we loaded up and headed back to the Vault. Raven and Griz drove with Lana, and Mac drove with me. I realized for the first time Mac’s rover was full of building materials. Those must have been the supplies they originally set out to get.
“Well, guess I better fill Sam, Jax, and Clarity in when we get back,”Mac said.“So what happened while we were gone? I know about Sam, but what happened with Nemo?”
I told him about Nemo collapsing and our conversations. That led to what happened with Clarity, which led to my conversation with Wolf about Dune. He made me repeat the words Clarity had said several times, frowning. By that time, we were pulling up to the gate, which was slowly opening for us. Mac pulled in and parked, and I glanced up and immediately caught my brother’s eye. His expression quickly moved from surprised to furious, and he started storming toward the rover.
“Here we go,” I muttered, unbuckling.
