Page 54 of Vicious Luna
I thread my arms around her slender body, my eyes sliding closed as I give her a squeeze. It’s so surreal to be here with her right now. There were moments when I wondered if I’d ever see my best friend again.
“How long was I out?” I ask as I finally let go, allowing her to take a step backwards and meet my eyes once more.
“Twelve hours, give or take. You were in pretty bad shape when Javi and Lo brought you in.”
“Shit,” I hiss, scrubbing a hand over my face. I feel the grit of dirt beneath my palm as I do, realizing that I’m in desperate need of a shower.
“The medics came by to check you out and pump you full of fluids, but even when they said all you needed was rest, Madd refused to leave,” Sloane continues, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb her mate’s slumber.
I glance over my shoulder at my brother, my chest constricting as I consider how distraught he must’ve been over the past weeks. Swallowing thickly, I swivel my head back around to face Sloane, her eyes rounded in concern.
“Are you… do you wanna talk about it?” she asks carefully.
I blow out a breath, pressing my palms into the mattress at either side of my hips and pushing up to stand. “I need to shower,” I murmur, avoiding her gaze.
She steps backwards to give me space, nodding in understanding. “Sure, go ahead. I’ll just wait here in case he wakes up.”
I offer Sloane a tight-lipped smile as I slink past her,grabbing some clothes from my dresser on my way to the en-suite bathroom and closing myself inside. Everything’s exactly how I left it- my toothbrush is still resting on the edge of the sink, my facewash is still uncapped from the last time I used it- but the girl staring back at me through the mirror is practically a stranger. My skin is pale and filthy, my hair is matted, and my eyes lack their usual sparkle. I’m me, but I’m also…not.
Cringing at my reflection, I turn away, leaving the fresh set of clothes on the edge of the counter and stripping out of the oversized t-shirt and shorts someone must’ve put me in to sleep. Then I crank on the shower, waiting impatiently for the water to warm before stepping beneath the spray.
I scrub my body until my skin is reddened and raw, shampooing my hair twice before combing copious amounts of pear-scented conditioner through with my fingers. I adjust the temperature of the water to cold before rinsing it out, and by the time I towel off, dress in clean clothes, and brush out my long, silken tresses, I’m feeling more human than I have in weeks. It’s amazing how such a simple ritual can soothe my battered soul.
By the time I step out of the bathroom, my brother’s awake and on his feet, standing beside the chair he was resting in with his arms wrapped around Sloane. He lifts his head and the second our gazes collide, something inside me cracks open, tears springing to my eyes.
“Aves,” he croaks, his own eyes glassy and brimming with anguish.
Sloane presses up on her tiptoes, planting a kiss on Madd’s cheek before untangling herself from his embrace. “I’m gonna go get your parents and let them know she’s awake,” she says quietly to him, shooting me a smile of encouragement as she turns to start for the door.
Madd crosses the room to me in a few long strides, throwing his arms around my body and yanking me into hishard chest. All the air leaves my lungs on impact, his warmth leeching into my bones and his familiar scent wrapping around me like a security blanket. I can’t hold back my tears any longer- they spill down my cheeks, soaking into the fabric of his faded black t-shirt.
“I never stopped looking,” he rasps, clutching onto me like he’s afraid if he lets go, I’ll disappear.
“I know,” I whisper, winding my arms around his waist and squeezing him tight.
Madd pulls back just enough to look down at me, his expression contorting to rage when he sees the tears streaming down my face. “They’re fucking dead, all of them,” he growls, unwinding his arms from my body to cup my face in his callused palms. His eyes lock with mine as he swipes the moisture from my cheeks with his thumbs. “I’ll rip them apart piece by fucking piece, you hear me? They’ll be begging me to put them out of their misery by the time it’s over, but I’ll make sure that they can never hurt you again.”
I shake my head, choking back my emotion.Shit, I havesomuch to tell him. So much that I still need to sort out in my own brain. But right now, I just want to freeze this moment in time and commit those angry eyes and that menacing scowl to memory. I know he means every word he says because my twin is a straight up psychopath. He’s a psycho that loves me beyond measure, though, and I wouldn’t trade his crazy ass for anything.
“Not if I kill them all first,” I joke, wiping at my nose with the back of a hand.
His lips curl into a grin and I crack a smile of my own, laughing through my tears as my parents burst into the room.
“Avery!” Mom gushes, rushing toward me. She elbows Madd out of the way, wrapping me up in a hug so tight that it threatens to choke the life out of me while Dad presses in from the other side.
“Hey, baby girl,” he coos, leaning over to drop a kiss on my forehead. “You gave us a hell of a scare, you know that?”
Mom reluctantly loosens her grip enough for me to spin toward my dad, and he hugs me just as tight, whispering how glad he is that I’m finally home. I swear his hair has gotten even more grey in my absence, but it suits him. My mom sheds rare tears of vulnerability as she clasps my hand tightly in hers, swearing to deliver vengeance to my captors.
The entire reunion is emotionally overwhelming, and as if he can sense I’m about to lose it, Madd breaks up the hug-fest and tugs me away, urging my parents to give me room to breathe. He guides me to sit on the edge of the bed and everyone else settles in around me, Sloane reappearing with a bottle of water. She hands it over and I gulp down the entire thing in a matter of seconds.
“Your aunt and uncle are on their way,” Mom provides, perching on the edge of the bed beside me. “Your cousin, too. If you aren’t up for visitors yet, I can try to hold them off, but I can’t guarantee Theo will listen. Or River, for that matter.”
I snort a laugh, shaking my head. “That’s fine by me. I’m excited to see everyone, it feels like I’ve been gone forever.”
Her eyes round in sympathy as she reaches over to set her hand on top of mine. “All that matters is that you’re home now,” she states, giving my hand a little squeeze.
My brother and dad start filling me in on what’s been going on since I’ve been away, telling me how everyone came together to form search parties and scour the woods day and night. As eager as I am to catch up on what I’ve missed, there’s a dull burning in my chest that I can’t ignore, growing stronger by the minute. My inner wolf whines in distress as she tugs on the fragile threads of the mate bond.