Page 40 of Fate of the Fallen
“Holy stretchmarks, Batgirl. Are you freaking kidding me?”
Leave it to her to make me laugh when I was honestly about to freak out again.
“Nope. Definitely not kidding.”
There was a strange silence I didn’t expect. Beth was never short on words. Never. During that stretch of time, her eyes stayed trained on my face and there weren’t many people who could read me better than she or Liam could. And I knew that was exactly what she was doing.
“I, for one, don’t think that’s the end of the world. My mom always tells me that being thrown a curveball just gives you an opportunity to get creative. So, let’s get creative,” she said with far more pep than I was capable of mustering at the moment.
“Tell me your biggest worry with all this,” she demanded as she continued to stare.
There wereseveralworries, but she asked about the biggest, so that’s what I shared.
“That they’ll all be so worried aboutmethey won’t take care of themselves.”
When I finished speaking, Beth nodded slowly.
“You know how Liam is,” I explained. “He’ll put everything he has into protecting me, forsaking even himself if he has to.”
Beth’s expression turned thoughtful.
“Have you … considered going someplace safe?” she asked.
I nearly rolled my eyes, having heard this speech too many times to count.
“It’s been brought up once or twice,” I said sarcastically. “But to answer your question, no, I’m not considering it.”
I didn’t bother going into the many reasons that wasn’t feasible. Including that I knew it wouldn’t actually keep meorthem any safer.
“And … at the risk of being a Debbie-Downer … you’re sure speaking tonight is a good idea?” she asked.
While I knew tonight would take a ton of courage, I was honestly surprised Beth wasn’t more on board. I must have said as much through my expression because she rushed to clarify right after.
“I don’t mean to scare you or anything,” she explained. “It’s just that … maybe staying in the background for a little while longer isn’t such a bad idea.”
I studied her for a moment, detecting that there was more lurking beneath the surface, and then when wetness touched her eyes, I wassureof it. I moved from my seat at the headboard to sit beside her.
“What is it?” I asked, squeezing her hand again.
Beth’s gaze met mine and she didn’t bother trying to hide her tears.
“I just … I can understand your family wanting to do everything they can to protect you. I—”
When her voice trailed off, my heart raced, wondering what she’d say next. She was the toughest girl I knew, so for her to be fighting tears right now meant whatever she was holding was major to her.
She swiped her finger beneath her eye and sniffled. “Sorry for crying. This is so stupid,” she added, laughing at herself. “It’s just that, I’ve been thinking very hard about sending my parents away.”
My brow twitched at her wording. “Send them away? What do you mean?”
She moved more tears from her cheek and sat up from her comfy position, explaining a bit. “You’ve had a lot going on, so I didn’t want to bother you with this, but … the transition is complete. You’re officially sitting in the presence of a true-blue alpha female.”
There should have been pride laced within that statement, but instead, only sadness. When she spoke again, I understood why.
“My parents want to run. Want our entire family to run,” she clarified. “And honestly, being able to feel how weak they are now in comparison to me? I want nothing more than to do just that,” she admitted. “But not for me, to savethem. To spare them from what’s coming.” She seemed embarrassed to share what she said next. “Out of fear, I even forbid them from coming tonight.”
With the lycan race being so proud, I was certain Beth wouldn’t have said such things in anyone else’s presence, but I was glad she knew she could share with me.
“Ican’tturn my back on the clan, but … Evie, all I keep thinking is that I can’t lose my parents. I can’t let them … I—”