Page 146 of Fangs
“When I begged Pa not to give you to the Lopez family, Pa made it clear you were my responsibility in every way, Ember.”
I couldn’t breathe. Wolf had beeneightwhen he became my caregiver, then eighteen—eighteen years old—when they took his choice to ever have children.
“Lopez?” I repeated numbly. I remembered a row of little girls, their hair in neat braids, frowning at me when I raced past them with Dune.
“Mrs. Lopez had a stillborn a few months earlier. She wanted to take you, but I…” he roughly cleared his throat. “I didn’t want to lose you.”
My hands were shaking. “Why are you tellin’ me this?”
He took a slow, deep breath and then said the last thing I was expecting. “I don’t know.” He paused. “Because it’s the truth? Because when I said you had to talk to me, I didn’t mean you had to do all the talking? Because I wanted you to know? Because you said you don’t trust me, and I’m tryin’ to be honest?”
“Because you’re tryin’ to trick me into something again?” I couldn’t help adding.
He winced. “No. I’m not tryin’ to trick you again.”
“Told you that would bite you in the ass,” Sable muttered. He smiled at Wolf when Wolf glanced at him, but Wolf didn’t return it.
“Yeah, well, you’re usually right,” Wolf said, and the pain in his voice startled me.
I didn’t understand the tension that filled the room. Sable and Wolf held each other’s gazes and watching them made me feel like I was intruding on something private.
“Wolf,” Sable finally murmured. “We’re movin’ forward, remember?”
“I know,” Wolf replied. “I’ll just always wish I would’ve listened to you a lot sooner.”
I glanced around at the others. Kai was looking at the floor, his jaw tight. Tuck and Scar leaned against the wall, quietly watching Wolf. Lee was looking at Wolf as well, but with an intense focus that made me look closer. His hands clenched at his sides and then released. I thought he’d been joking about flirting with Wolf, but it felt like the room was full of tangled emotion.
I turned around and went back to dusting the shelf, my mind whirling. I wanted to know more about Wolf’s relationship with his crew and about Carth, but at the same time, I felt like I needed to be in a quiet, dark room to process what I’d just been told. Pa’s face rose in my mind, dragging with it the pain and hurt. What was he doing right now? Did he look like an old man? Was he still on the council? How could he let Wolf go through all of that?
Wolf had to grow up even earlier than I did. My throat constricted.Sterilized.
Lee bumped me lightly with his hip. “Where do you want these vials?”
I directed him where to put them, and he went back to teasing me like nothing had happened. I wanted to throw something at him, but I also realized my hands had stopped trembling. It was almost more annoying that he could distract me so easily. I wondered if he told Wolf or anyone in his crew about how I broke down in tears in the alley earlier. His hand landed on the small of my back, and I met his eyes.
“You okay?” he asked, low.
Godsdamnit, he was attractive. My eyes flicked to his lips before I could help myself, and they curled into a smirk.
I think about kissin’ that smartass mouth of yours far too often.
Before I could answer him, the door opened to reveal Sam. My relief quickly died at the look on his face.
“I need to talk to you,” he said, his voice tight.
My stomach sank as I followed Sam outside to stand under the apple tree where we’d been just this morning, talking about Clarity and Dune. He ran a hand through his short hair and met my gaze, and the hurt and anger on his face made my breath catch.
“You were so angry at me for keepin’ Clarity a secret, but you and Mac were keepin’ secrets, too?”
He phrased it like a question as if hoping I would tell him he’d misunderstood.
“Yes,” I whispered, feeling like absolute shit.
His jaw flexed as he stared at me.
“I’m sorry,” I added. “I should’ve told you.”
“Yes, you damn well should’ve. This trust thing has to go both ways. You can’t demand honesty and not give it in return.”
