Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 140462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 702(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 468(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 702(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 468(@300wpm)
His mother’s whisper is barely audible to me, but I still hear it as Hawk removes the wet gag from my lips. “He should have been knocked out until morning…”
Maybe I would have been. If I were human.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Hawk snaps as his big, warm hands cradle my head and wipe away my sticky drool. He’s tense as a storm cloud ready to burst, but while he’s addressing his parents, his gaze remains focused on me when he pulls me up and against his chest. It is only then that I realize they’d locked me inside their sofa.
What kind of people have a trap like this in their living room?
“It was for your own good!” Hawk’s father yells, but doesn’t dare approach. “This boy will be your downfall! He will talk to the cops!”
“My hands are tied,” I whisper, curling against Hawk. I try to ignore the ache in my leg, where glass cut into it, but I’m still dripping blood.
He frees my hands, and when he starts rubbing the red marks around my wrists, where the string dug in a bit too tightly, I’m overwhelmed by this display of care. I’ve once again faced my own fragility tonight, but Hawk’s not only here to have my back but also won’t be swayed from believing in me.
I couldn’t have hoped for anyone worthier to have as my Dark Companion.
“Are you okay? How many fingers do you see?” he asks, showing me three.
“Three,” I whisper and as soon as my arms are free, I wrap them around his neck. I want to bask in the safety of his hold. I love feeling so small next to him. It’s as if he can hide me from the world and I won’t even feel shame over needing his protection.
“I’m talking to you, Hawk!” His father steps closer, looming over us like a malicious giant ready to take my savior away. But my promised pushes his arm under my knees and lifts me as if I were a cat, not a grown man.
“First aid kit. Now,” he demands, placing me on a large table.
His father raises his hands. “It’s barely a scratch. I wash my hands of this!”
But Hawk’s mother brings what he asked for without meeting his eyes. I bite my lip when I look at the gash above my ankle where glass slashed through my jeans. She stands aside and doesn’t say a word when Hawk cleans my wound. Even though it hurts so much and I’m bleeding, the wound is shallow enough to not need stitches.
I fight not to flinch when Hawk presses a bit of gauze to the cut, and wraps my leg with fresh dressing. I bite the inside of my mouth, but two fat, shameful tears still slide down my cheeks. Why am I a wimp who cannot control this physical reaction? My brother would have laughed in my face. No wonder even my own mother didn’t think I’d amount to anything.
I take a deep, shaky breath, avoiding Hawk’s gaze, but instead of rolling his eyes at me as anyone else would, he cups my cheeks and kisses the tears off my skin.
“It’s okay, the cut is shallow, and nothing will happen to you on my watch.”
I nod at him, unable to gather any sensible words to such a display of affection. I’m not used to it. I’m not used to relying on anyone else or them actually caring. I’m not even sure I deserve it until I prove myself worthy.
But this human I only met yesterday, a human who allegedly killed people in the past, is there for me, even at the cost of familial bonds.
“Look, we wanted to make this easy on you,” Hawk’s mother says, but he doesn’t acknowledge her in any way and carries me toward the open door. A moth flies in, as we exit, drawn to the very light we leave behind. I shut my eyes when I spot Wolf watching us from the balustrade he’s sitting on with the shotgun resting in his lap.
“Respond to your mother,” Hawk’s father demands, but his words are also left unanswered as my promised carries me away from the duplicitous people who tried to force us apart.
Too choked up to speak, I squeeze Hawk’s shoulder when he fastens my seat belt in the new car he swapped out for the stolen one.
He smiles and gives me a tender kiss on the lips.
“Where are you going?” his mother walks closer to the car and doesn’t even spare me a glance.
Hawk’s fingers twitch on my shoulder, and he snaps back, “To the fucking Nightmare Realm. The cops definitely won’t find me there. And you won’t either, so don’t even try,” he says and slams my door before walking around the car to slide into the driver’s seat.