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Nicole
I’m out of breath when I reach Wilson’s office. He’s just stepping outside as I reach the small building. When he turns and sees me, the lighthearted smile he was about to break instantly fades from his face.
Yeah, I know how this guy feels about me.
“Nicole,” he says curtly.
I should feel hurt or emotionally injured by his reaction. After all, I’ve been here for months, proving myself over and over. Am I really going to be punished for my sins over and over? I can’t take back what I did. I can’t take back how I hurt the clan. I can, however, take control of this moment, and right now, it doesn’t matter how Wilson feels about me.
It only matters that I get help to Lee.
He came back for me, and I don’t really have time to think about what that means for me or my future here. I’d like to think this means he doesn’t hate me as much as I imagined he does, but at the very least, it does mean he needs help. He’s got an angry tiger to take care of. I’m guessing he could use some help.
“It’s Reece,” I say, out of breath.
Instantly, the darkness lifts from Wilson’s face and is replaced with complete concern. Wilson is a good leader. He might be emotional at times – we all can – but he’s got a good heart at his core.
“Reece?” He says. “What’s wrong, Nicole?”
“He tried to...” I pant. “Hurt me. Lee....is with him.”
“Where?”
“Bakery.”
“Get Cameron,” he says, and immediately, he shifts into his dragon form, tearing his clothes and taking off. I don’t wait to catch my breath, I just start running toward Cameron’s house, wondering how this next confrontation is going to go. Reece needs some serious help. There’s no doubt about that. Then again, don’t we all?
Reece came looking for blood. He didn’t get it. I saw enough of what happened to know that Lee wasn’t hurt when he came barreling through the side of the building. It was the first time I’ve seen Lee in his dragon form, though, and it was incredible.
Beautiful.
Wonderful.
I don’t want to admit just how fucking gorgeous he really was. Even after this time living with Fablestone, I can’t believe how lovely the dragons are in their true forms. I was always under the impression that shifters, albeit big and wonderful, were more wild than pretty.
Now I know they can be both.
My lungs hurt as I run toward Cameron’s house. I hope he’s home. He should be. He spends as much time as possible with his mate and baby. While I know that
I run, trying to ignore the glares cast my way as I hurry to Cameron’s home. There are dragons walking around, going about their business, and for a brief second, I think about telling them to run to the bakery to help Wilson and Lee, but that’s not what Wilson asked of me.
He wanted me to get Cameron, so that’s what I’ll do.
Maybe he knew it would be difficult to keep things quiet. He probably doesn’t want Reece ostracized for this outburst. Besides, I know perfectly well that these dragons can’t stand me. I know perfectly well how they feel about me. They probably think that if Reece captured me or hurt me, it would just be one less human to stress or worry about. Still, none of that matters right now. They’re just going to have to get over it.
At least, that’s what I tell myself as I focus on moving forward one step at a time.
So I run.
Pound.
Pound.
Pound.
My feet hit the road one step at a time. The sound seems to echo as I move toward Cameron’s house. After what seems like an eternity, I reach it and stop just outside the door. Panting. Out of breath. Suddenly, I’m realizing I should have been spending the last few months working out instead of sulking because I’m definitely no match for a shifter. Hell, at this pace, I probably couldn’t outrun a slow dog.
I head up to the front door and knock three times, staring at the wood panel in front of me. It’s a lovely house: one that Cameron chose carefully. It’s no secret that he is Wilson’s second-in-command, and his lovely home reflects that. It’s big enough to start a family in, big enough for guests. It’s beautiful, and if I wasn’t in such a hurry to reach Cameron, I’d probably take a few minutes and just admire the design of the structure.
No one answers, so I knock again, and then I wait.
Every second that passes feels like an hour, until finally, the door opens.
And he’s there, filling the space in front of me.
I had hoped Cameron’s mate would answer the door. At least then I wouldn’t feel so completely overwhelmed or isolated. At least if she’d opened the door, I wouldn’t have felt like I was being stared at or judged. No, I’m not under any impression that she and I would be friends. Not in any life. Certainly not after what I’ve done. Still, talking with a human feels a little bit...normal.
This?
Not so much.
“You,” he says, and he can barely hold back the snarl.
“Um....um....”
Suddenly, my heart drops and I wonder what the hell I’m doing here. Why am I here? Why did I even come? He sees me and just assumes the worst about me. It doesn’t matter that I’ve spent the last several months slaving away. None of that matters to these creatures.
Maybe they really are just monsters in the end.
I stare at Cameron, willing the words to come, but I find myself shrinking back, trying to hide from his watchful glare.
“What. Do. You. Want.”
It’s not a question.
Each word is said sharply, with a snap, and I don’t know why, but I start crying as I try to get the words out.
“It...It’s Reece...” I finally say. “He...bakery....Lee...Wilson....”
Suddenly, Cameron seems to understand that I’ve come for help. He doesn’t apologize. Instead, he calls out to his mate.
“I’m needed at the bakery! Urgent matter! Be back when I can!”
Then he strips out of his clothing as quickly as he can. I turn my back before he gets all the way nude. He scoffs, as if he can’t believe how childish I’m being about seeing a grown man naked. Then he pushes past me and leaves without another word. I don’t do anything. I just stand there with my back to the door.
Then I take a deep breath.
And I go home.
I don’t want to sit around, waiting to talk with Peggy. She’s probably busy, anyway. Peggy does so much for the clan that it’s crazy. She used to work at a school, if the stories are true, and now she spends much of her time helping the clan stay organized and on top of things. She volunteers and she helps out Wilson and Cameron when they need her. She does a lot of different things. She’s not lost the way I am.
Should I go back to the bakery to see the wreckage?
Should I check to make sure Lee is okay?
He didn’t have to come save me, but he did.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!” I look up sharply. A woman with a baby stroller is looking at me.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her.
“Don’t be sorry,” she says sharply. “Be careful. You almost walked into me.”
“I’m really, really sorry,” I say again, and something in my voice must show her just how devastated I really am today, because suddenly, her voice softens.
“Hey,” she says. “It’s okay. Honest mistake. We all have bad days. Are you okay, honey?”
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” I say, shaking my head and waving my hands around. I’m trying a little too hard to be nonchalant, but she notices.
“You don’t look all right.” The woman, who is definitely a dragon, sniffs the air around me. “Sadness?” She asks. “Did you have a rough day?”
“A little,” I tell her.
“You look horrible,” she says, and I bristle, but don’t respond. I just stand there nervously for a minute. “Look,” the girl says slowly. “I know it’s not my place, and I know we don’t know each other, but if you need anything, you know there’s an entire community here who wants to help you.”
“I think we both know the community would be better off without me,” I tell her, but she just shakes her head. “That’s not true, love. You do a lot here, don’t you? Haven’t I seen you at the bakery?”
I nod.
“Well, for what it’s worth, these last few months, those cakes have been un-fucking-believable, so keep your chin up.”
Then she nods and keeps on walking, pushing her stroller with her. I’m left looking after the woman for a minute before I continue on my way back to Henrietta’s house. It’s still hard for me to think of my little room as “home.” I have an upstairs bedroom with my own bathroom. There’s even a separate entrance, so when I need to come or go at a strange time, I’m able to do that. Henrietta might be a busy veterinarian, but she’s been more than welcoming to me. She didn’t have to give me a place tostay, but she did, and I’m thankful for that.
When I get to my room, I sit down on the bed and I stare at the space I’ve occupied for the last few months. This is what my life has come to: being alone in a room. Being caught up by myself without any friends, without a lover, without someone to call my partner.
Lying back on the bed, I try not to think about seeing Lee today. He came and saved me. He rescued me. He didn’t have to, but he was there.
He’s always been there, a little voice whispers to me, and it’s true.
I think about the time in school we found out about an essay that hadn’t been marked on the syllabus. Somehow, we’d both missed the professor talking about it until the week it was due. We were scrambling to make sense of the assignment, to prep our quotes, and to organize our thoughts well enough to complete research papers on short notice. We’d stayed up all night together. We wrote, we ate, and we bounced ideas off each other. We did that every night all week, and by the time Friday came around, we were both completely ready to turn in our work.
For me, it was the first time I’d really struggled to make sense of something in school, and I knew then, just as I know now, that I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Lee by my side. He had encouraged me every step of the way. He’d been patient with me, and kind.
More than that, he’d been understanding. We were both in the same boat. We both had to complete the same project, but he didn’t worry about himself. He just focused on helping me throughout the entire thing. It was a perfect gesture of selflessness, and when it comes right down to it, that’s who Lee has always been. He’s always been the guy who put others first. He’s always been the guy who cared more about helping other people than helping himself.
When we were in school, Lee never panicked when we came across a problem or an issue. I think that’s why it was so surprising that when I turned down his proposal, he just...left. He was gone. He was a part of my life one day and the next, he wasn’t. He was my partner and my joy, and then he was nothing. We were together.
Then we weren’t.
There was no closure for me. There was no chance for me to recover from what had happened, and in many ways, I wanted that. I wanted more than just a simple breaking of the relationship. I wanted something that let me know it wasn’t my fault. I suppose that in the end, it was my fault, and perhaps that’s part of the reason I never got that closure or that drawn-out goodbye with Lee.
It was all just so abrupt.
Kind of like today.
I don’t want the pain of living here to be something I’m never able to move past, but after today, maybe it makes sense that I just leave. Maybe I should wander off into the woods and just not come back. I could find a nice, quiet village to live in. I could find a place where nobody knows me.
I could find a place where I’ll be safe.
But what about Lee?
There’s a little part of me that sprung to life when I saw him today.
There’s a little piece of me that still holds hope.
If I walk away, I definitely won’t see him again.
Ever.
Is that something I can live with?
