Page 303 of His Hungry Wolf

“How old were you?”

“Fourteen.”

“So, it was before you became…?”

“I was just a scared kid.”

When I said it, he burst into tears. He didn’t say anything more. He just wrapped his arms around me and cried.

I thought I could tell him this and let it go. I had needed to get the story off of my chest. It wasn’t something I felt comfortable telling Cage, and until now, I didn’t have anyone else.

But, I hadn’t expected all of the tears. Hearing Kendall whimper made me consider why he was. I had never allowed myself to think it was a big deal but there was no escaping it now. The man holding me was telling me how big of a deal it was. He was right. And the more I realized it, the less I could hold myself together.

Listening to him cry, I slowly broke down. All of the pain I had been running from rushed to the surface. It was like a dam had broken. I couldn’t turn off the waterworks. Eventually, the weight of it brought me to my knees.

Still not saying anything, Kendall kept holding me. It just made me cry more.

“I didn’t want to hurt all of those people,” I tried to tell Kendall.

“You were just a kid,” Kendall repeated. “You had no other options. You were just protecting the person you loved.”

My heart burst realizing that Kendall understood. I didn’t think anyone would forgive me for the horrible things I had done. But, Kendall did. And for the first time, I felt that maybe I wasn’t alone.

It took a long time for either of us to stop crying. Once we did, we sat quietly for an hour. When my butt became sore, I thought about why Kendall had agreed to come home with me.

He was here to talk to Dr. Tom. I wasn’t sure I was in the mood to deal with him. Especially with the memories of what I went through fresh in my mind. But Kendall and I both needed to know what he was. So, gathering my strength, I cleared my throat.

“We should go back.”

“We don’t have to. We can stay here as long as you’d like.”

“No, we should. Besides, I think I’m losing feeling in my ass,” I told him making a face.

Kendall tried to resist, and then laughed.

“I lost feeling in my butt thirty minutes ago. I don’t think I can move my legs,” he said humorously. “Didn’t you say something about hiking? You didn’t warn me about sitting on the ground. I don’t have nearly enough padding for that.”

“Hey, I like your ass. Don’t you be talking bad about it,” I said with a smile.

“Then you can have it. I would much prefer to have yours.”

“Don’t you go tempting me like that unless you mean it!”

“You know what I meant,” he said with a smile.

“Yes, I do. That’s why I was warning you.”

Kendall looked at me with playful frustration and fought his way to his feet. He was as shaky as a fawn walking for the first time. It was adorable.

“Alright, come here,” I told him picking him up and carrying him.

“That’s okay. I got it.”

“No, no. If you’re gonna listen to my long story and sit there while I cry about it, the least I could do is carry you to the truck.”

Giving in, Kendall wrapped his arms around my neck and relaxed.

“If you insist.”