Page 32 of Fangs
“No!”
The gunshot was so loud, and Trey’s blood splattered across my face. The light in his eyes extinguished as though someone blew out a candle; he started to fall, and I screamed and screamed?—
“Ember!”
I wrenched away from Vulture, gasping in a panicked breath, but I slammed into something hard.
“Em, you’re dreamin’. It’s just a dream.”
I blinked, and it wasn’t Vulture who grabbed me and shook me awake. It was Wolf. My stomach flipped with a strange mix of relief and terror. I was still sitting on the couch, now pressed against the back of it, breathing hard. My brother was crouched in front of me, studying me closely.
“It’s just a dream,” he repeated.
I had a crazed urge to laugh.If onlyit were just a dream. I swiped at my wet face with the sleeve of Lee’s shirt, my hands trembling.
“You ok?” a voice asked from behind the couch, and I twisted with a gasp. Lee grimaced at me. “Sorry.”
My eyes wouldn’t stop leaking. I swiped at them again, sniffing, trying to wrestle myself back under control. They were both silent, watching as I huddled back in my corner.
“I’ll sub in,” Lee suddenly said. “Wolf, you should get some rest.”
“I don’t?—”
“Youdo,” Lee interrupted firmly.
They glared at each other for a few seconds before Wolf abruptly got to his feet and strode out of the room. I couldn’t suppress my surprise, and Lee smirked as he went around the couch and sat close beside me. He threw his arm around the back of the couch, practically around my shoulders.
“You wanna punch me?” he asked.
I cut my eyes sideways at him.
“I’m giving you one free punch, remember?” he grinned.
I swiped at my face again and tried to ignore him.
“Wow, you really are back to not talking to me,” Lee lamented. “And here I was thinkin’ we’d bonded.”
I rested my forehead on my knees again.
“I don’t go jumpin’ into frozen rivers for just anyone, you know.”
I didn’t respond, and he fell quiet. Tears continued to spill out of my eyes, dampening the blanket.
I love you, Bones.
“I’m sorry about the cave,” Lee said, his voice so jarringly serious I lifted my head. He was staring at me, his brow pinched. “If you weren’t in danger of freezin’ to death, I never would’ve…forced you like that.”
I stared at him, unsure of how to respond. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second before continuing, his voice even quieter.
“You were talking in your sleep before you started screaming. Sounded like you might’ve been havin’ a nightmare about the cave.”
Oh.
I dropped my eyes. “I wasn’t.”
“What was your nightmare about?”
“Nothin’.”
