Page 76 of Fangs
“I gotta take care of some…stuff,” Raven said from behind me. “You can fill me in later.”
I suddenly noticed Jax was missing. “Where’s Jax? Is Clarity?—”
“Don’t worry about it,” Raven interrupted sharply.
“But what about?—”
“Don’tworry about it,” Raven repeated louder.
“Ok,” I said quickly, not missing the warning look Mac gave Raven.
“Wolf’s gonna be pounding on the door soon,” Lee warned.
“C’mon, Shortcake.” Sam threw an arm around my shoulders and steered me toward the door. “How bad can it be?”
The energy inside the clinic was so tense it felt like walking into a physical wall. Wolf glared at me from the middle of the room as though he’d been pacing. The rest of his crew sat inside on wooden chairs or leaned against the wall. I put the metal exam table between me and my brother, clutching the edge for support.
Wolf crossed his arms over his chest and planted his feet wide. I felt like I was looking at Pa.
“So once again, you didn’t tell me the truth. Gods, I guess I should’ve expected that at this point.”
My breath caught painfully.
“Ease up,” Mac snapped at him.
“No, I want to make it real clear,” Wolf spat, “this is the last fuckin’ time I’m asking you, Ember. So if you’re gonna tell me the truth, it better be now.”
My stomach churned, and I desperately sucked in a breath through my nose. This was my trial, wasn’t it? My mouth went dry, and the anxiety was making me lightheaded.
Wolf stalked forward until he was directly across the table from me, and I took an involuntary step backward, bumping into Sam. Wolf slammed his palms flat on the table and leaned forward, his green eyes hard and focused on me.
“What were you?—”
I knew I wouldn’t make it to the door, so I spun and heaved into the sink. There was a slight commotion behind me, but I squeezed my eyes shut, my face hot with humiliation. Someone moved beside me, resting a gentle hand on the small of my back, and I peered up to see Griz holding out a clean towel.
Fucking hell.I hated this so much. He hadn’t even gotten a whole question out. I turned the water on and cleaned myself and the sink before scooping some water into my mouth and spitting it back out, trying to rinse the sour taste. Griz stayed next to me, and I was so glad I had all of them come. If it were just me facing down Wolf and his pack, I would never be able to do this.
“Was that from bein’ anxious?Mac asked carefully.
“Yeah,”I answered miserably.
“Tell him that.”
That brought a swell of fear, and I could almost hear Wolf’s voice snarling at me not to show any weakness.
“Who the hell was that?”Mac’s voice was sharp, startling me.
“The Wolf that lives in my head.”
“That didn’t sound?—”
“Bones?” Griz asked, sounding worried. “You ok?”
I realized I’d been silently leaning over the sink for too long. I forced myself to straighten and turn around. I could feel sweat beading on my forehead, and I wrapped my arms tightly around my body. Wolf’s entire pack was on their feet. Wolf was still by the metal exam table, possibly only because Mac and Sam were blocking him. Like they’d formed a human fence to give me space.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m…I just…I just sometimes get sick when I’m… I’m anxious.”
Wolf stared at me, his face unreadable.
