Page 66 of Scars of the Sun
And then he surprised the hell out of me. I’d been prepared to throw her on the back of my bike to avoid any retaliation orbeat him in front of his mate and children if he tried to cut her down for it. But the Wolf Leader ran his eyes over the puckered skin that showed where she’d been. That she’d once marched right up to death, begging to be taken away, and instead had been returned against her will.
Her brother lowered his head, despite the warning growls I gave and the choked protests from Ramona, and sniffed along the length of her scar.
The Leader gave a tortured whine as he cradled Ramona’s arm with both hands, claws now gone, and when he finally looked back up at her, his eyes were shimmery with tears.
“Mona?” It was barely above a whisper, but I could hear the sadness and regret in it. The worry. And by her shaking, Ramona could too.
Instead of answering him, she shoved me away with more strength than I’d thought she had, and this time, when she pulled at her arm in her brother’s grasp, he relented. Ramona ran back into the house, moving past the witch that stood in the doorway who must’ve been watching the whole exchange, baby Wolf in her arms with wide, curious eyes.
Ramona’s brother and I watched her go. Her footsteps thundered as she ran further away from us, and we both flinched when the slamming of a door seemed to make the whole house tremble.
The witch went to her mate, reaching out with her free hand, and caressed the side of his face. His eyes were still stuck on the direction Ramona had headed, but his shoulders visibly relaxed as he accepted his mate’s comforting. “It’ll be okay, baby. I’ll go talk to her.”
“Nah, I’m checking on her. You both obviously haven’t cared enough,” I spat and started inside.
A flash and sting on my cheek threw my head to the side and actually made me stumble. I caught myself before I fully crashedinto the wooden rocking chair behind me, but it was fucking close. My glasses nearly went flying, and I righted them while collecting myself. I hated how vulnerable the action made me feel.
Another slap stung my skin so badly that I felt like I’d been flayed. “How fucking dare you.”
I managed to glare down at the witch, and I blamed my own surprise at the surge of power I could almost see around her when a fucking freight train in the form of a right hook made my head spin and my body drop.
My glasses were on the floor somewhere, but I didn’t need them to make out the Wolf, witch, and pup looming over me. The Leader’s fists were at his sides, ready to go again.
“I’m going to talk to her, and if you say any more slick shit, I’ll make you beg for my mate to rip out your throat.” Even with the baby on her hip, the intensity of the dense, electric power around her made my retort shrivel and die on my tongue. I’d been around scary people nearly all my life, not to mention murderous females who I had watched do some sick stuff.
The look in her eyes was one I’d seen from my sisters enough times. I didn’t say a word while she marched inside.
The air on the porch began to thin, giving room for breath and rational thought. I managed to gather myself as smoothly as possible to my feet. I couldn’t help but grumble, cleaning my glasses on my shirt to give my hands something to do. My legs kept itching with the need to see to Ramona while my skin was still stinging from the witch’s slap and the Leader’s blow. “How the fuck are you not afraid of her? She could muzzle you in your sleep, easy. Or worse.”
I put my glasses back on, and the Pack Leader’s face became less fuzzy. Instead of protective rage, he’d settled on irritated and blank. He did answer me, though. “I don’t cross her.”
“Ha. I guess that’s one way to stay on a witch’s good side.”
The Leader grunted, eyes roving over me and nostrils flaring. I knew when I was being sized up. Normally, I’d let the silence lie and fill the space to create a sense of discomfort I could use to my advantage. Though I’d had a tough time learning how to do it when I was younger, the tactic got beat into me like everything else.
Now, though, I needed something other than the sound of our breaths and the music playing inside to drown out the voices of Ramona speaking with her sister-in-law. “Look. I’m just here to check on her. I could tell something was wrong.”
He crossed his arms. “I should kill you for trespassing.”
“Well, I’d prefer it if you didn’t. So would your sister.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Don’t be a smartass, don’t be a smartass, don’t be a smartass.“Yeah, one-hundred percent sure. And,” I sighed, opening my pride up for the ego hit, “I’m sorry for barging in.” In my head, I told the Wolf to count himself lucky because apologies from me were few and far between. Even I could see, though, that retracting my claws would get me to my goal faster than keeping them out and swiping.
Though, if this went south, I wasn’t opposed to it.
The Leader grunted again, and it sounded so much like Ramona, my heart skipped a beat. His eerie green eyes were nothing like the gooey warmth of hers, but the warning was said with just that amount of dry venom I’d learned to expect from her. How was it that I was already missing her when she was just a few rooms away? “Don’t let it happen again. The only reason you’re still breathing is because of my sister’s apparent bond to you.”
The voices speaking in hushed tones inside tried to pull my attention, but I forced myself to stay here. To give Ramona a moment before I pulled her back to me. “You didn’t know… about her depression, then.”
The downward tilt of the corners of his lips was the only shift in his expression. “Not that it’d gotten that bad. No confirmation until now.” His words were spoken with a halted rhythm, as if it was painful for him to admit.
I opened my mouth to volley something back, probably something to get me punched again, but a little head peeked around the doorway and gazed up at us both with unafraid curiosity. While I’d never seen the other pup before, I was familiar enough with Ramona’s niece, and she gave me a happy wave before going over to her father.
He scooped her up into his arms and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. Dahlia twisted to reach out an expectant fist, and I jumped up to meet it. She’d done a good job of memorizing the silly handshake I’d taught her at the skate spot, giving the final dap with a delighted giggle.
“Nice one, pipsqueak,” I chuckled.