“I’m sorry you went through that. I wish I could turn that connection off so my moods wouldn’t affect you like that.” I look down at my feet. I know we need to talk, I guess now is as good a time as any. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I don’t. If you could shut it down, I never would have found you. You wouldn’t be here at all.”
“What are you talking about?” My heartrate is starting to pick up.
“Who do you think got to you first in that locker room? We are connected for some reason. I think part of it is so I can find you when you are suffering all alone.”
“How did you know?”
“I felt off when we were getting ready for the ball, but I brushed it off. Then I got a massive headache, the only kind I get with you. I tried to mindlink you and couldn’t. You were blocked from me. I linked dad, I didn’t want to say anything to the guys until I knew for sure you weren’t still training or doing something equally stupid with him or Kyle.” I got a small smile then. Then his eyes go dark and glossed over. “Then my mouth started to bleed, like I took a sucker punch from Kota and my whole chest seized. My wolf took over, I shifted and he jumped out the window of Cam’s room. You were so broken,” He takes a deep breath in and a tear falls from his eyes, but I can’t move. I’m frozen in place. “I don’t think there was a part of you that wasn’t damaged.” He takes another deep breath in and squats down, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes. “You told me to let you die.” He sobs and sags to his knees. I couldn’t hold back anymore and I walked over to him.
Even on his knees, his head comes to my ribcage. He wraps his arms around my waist and buries his face in my stomach. We are both crying now. He found me. He always finds me.
“I’m sorry.”
“Then you were gone, they ripped you from my arms. No information, no word of how you were, what happened, who was involved. We were just told you were alive and that’s all we needed to know.” He takes a deep breath in and lets it out slowly. Then continues talking into my shirt. “The only thing we got was that one page letter. You said you were healthy and training and that was it.”
“That’s all I had. I was alive. I became a science experiment for Sierra’s parents, a freakshow for the other warriors. You know the usual for me.”
He huffs a laugh, but doesn’t let go or look at me.
“I’m sorry, Bitty. I’m sorry it took you leaving for us to understand. My dad and Delta Kyle sat us down after we got back from that summer training and told us what was going on, or what they knew. I wish you trusted us enough to tell us, but I know we hadn’t earned that right, still haven’t if I’m being honest. So many things are f*cked up and we need you. I’m glad you’re stuck here right now. You can’t run away, even if you wanted to.”
