Page 76 of The Untamed

“Fuck,” I cry out. “Ryder, get Dad!”

Kristen sobs, her entire body trembling. I snatch up the sheet and apply it to her bleeding arm, hoping to staunch the flow. I glance over at Stacey, but she’s gone, having followed Ryder out of the room. Carter is here with us, but he’s sleeping off his intense pain and unmoving, therefore no help to us right now.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” I promise to Kristen. “I’ve got you.”

It’s a promise I can’t keep, though. We’re hours away from civilization. If she bleeds out or gets an infection, she’ll die. There’s no access to medical care.

Kristen turns her pale, tearstained face toward me and pins me with a frantic look. “Run.”

Run?

Great, she’s already speaking incoherently. She’s probably seconds away from death.

“We’re going to get you fixed up,” I say, ignoring her strange command. “My parents have sewn up their fair share of gashes. You’re going to be good as new very soon.”

Kristen grabs the front of my shirt and twists the material in her fist. The panic in her eyes chills me to my very soul. “You have to run! Save yourself!”

What the hell does that mean?

Is she that messed up by what those men did to her that she’s behaving irrationally?

Heavy footsteps thud into the room. Logan leads the group, followed by Dad and Ryder. I’m steered away from Kristen as Dad sets to inspect her self-inflicted wounds while Logan hugs her tight, kissing her head.

“I’ve got you, babe. You’re safe now. No one can hurt you. Not even you.” Logan rains kisses down on her head and face like she’s the most precious thing in the world to him. “I’ve got you. Forever, remember? I promised you forever.”

Days ago, I might’ve been jealous at his sweet words.

Today, I’m battling my own demons.

I glance over at Ryder, who wears a pensive expression. He’s my brother. That’s supposed to mean forever and yet he’s leaving without argument.

He can’t leave.

I won’t let him.

I’ve got you, Ryder. Forever. I’m promising you forever.

I’m hollow inside.

After last night, my emotions are thin, barely hanging on by a thread. I was thankful no one could see me crying myself to sleep.

In the past, whenever I was sad or frustrated, Ronan was always there. It was him in the bed with me, listening to me rant and rave while offering me much-needed comfort. His shoulder I leaned on. The sound of his laugh that made me cheer up.

I miss him.

I miss the easy times we had together.

Before all this. Before the confusing shift with Ryder and the turmoil of the trespassers. Before Wild showed up with his stupid lies.

I’m leaned up against the side of the big house behind a tree under Kota and Declan’s window, hiding from having to do any chores, when Mage and Spirit dart past me, yipping at each other. Those pups double in size each day, I swear.

I’m still staring after the wolf pups when I notice Ronan has come to stand at the edge of the house. He’s scrubbing at his hands with a cloth frantically. Concern has me hopping to my feet, abandoning my hideout, to check on him.

Blood.

His hands are covered in it.

“Ro, what happened?” I demand as I rush over to him. “Are you hurt?”

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