D O V E

I hadn't even remembered falling asleep but when I woke up it was to the sound of Rhys' voice. At first, I hadn't been sure if it was part of the dream I had been having or if it was real.

"I want you to find the fucker that did this to her. I don't care what you have to do or who you have to call, do you hear me? Just find him.” I shifted on the bed, rolling over onto my back. "I’ll call you later."

I opened my eyes and found Rhys leaning over the bed, staring down at me. His face drawn into a dangerous scowl. I blinked a couple of times, pushing back deeper into the mattress to put more distance between us. My mind was screaming at me to run away and my body was heating up, ready to have him take me again. I was caught up in a strange kind of madness. “I hope you weren’t just standing there watching me sleep this entire time…”

He looked like he was forcing himself to relax his expression, reaching up to tuck his hair behind his ear. "I just got home, found you lying in my bed...beaten to hell."

Anger cut through my fear. “Do you want me to apologize for that?”

“Of course, not.” His voice dropped lower.

I didn’t want to linger here, especially now that Rhys was around. My bones groaned in protest as I sat up. His eyes followed the movement, scanning down the length of my body before meeting my gaze again. I wondered if he was as affected by my presence as I was by his, it was like being next to a lightning rod. I was uncomfortable and achy in all of my places.

“Look, I tried to leave earlier but Astrid told me stay and I was afraid to test her.”

I watched his lips twitch at my words. "You aren't going anywhere until you've healed up and we've found the fucker who did this.” He held my gaze, a familiar amber light flashing through beneath the deep green of his eyes, like sunlight through evergreens. “Lay down."

I sucked in a sharp breath. Fear rippled through my limbs. “You can’t keep me here.” My voice was a soft tremble.

"You should be happy to be here at all, according to Dace.”

I shifted on the mattress, moving toward the edge. "Dace doesn't know everything…” I was getting out of here. I should’ve never sought out Rhys the other day. I’d made a fatal error. I might’ve traded one monster for another.

"I trust Dace and his opinion of the situation. We've known each other a long time. You, I've just met and I'm not sure if I can trust a girl who mixes herself up with men that would do something like this."

I stared up at him, frozen. "You think that I wanted this to happen to me? You think I wanted to spend my life running from a mistake that I made?" Hot tears spilled from my eyes. "You ass.”

I watched his stern expression drop at the sight of my tears. His shifted his gaze away from mine. I got the urge to let out a bitter laugh. He, clearly, couldn't handle a girl crying. I guess everyone had their kryptonite and this was his. I wiped my eyes. I needed to try my best to regain control of the situation.

He lowered himself to the edge of his bed, sitting down. I scrambled to get away from him on instinct, rising up off the bed. "Shit, Dove. I'm sorry. I'm just pissed off that someone hurt you under my watch.”

I glanced away from him toward the door. “It’s not your responsibility to protect me.”

“Yes, it is.” He replied. I looked back at him, his expression apologetic. I believed that he meant what he was saying, even if it was a little overwhelming. I shifted a step toward him, freezing when I became aware of the action. I shook my head, frowning. It wasn't normal to feel so drawn to a person, it felt almost obsessive. That should have terrified me but it didn't, which made me even more nervous and confused. Perhaps everything with Silas had really done my brain in.

“Why?”

“Because you –” He shook his head as if changing his mind. “You obviously can’t take care of yourself. So, someone needs to.”

I scowled at his response, a thousand sharp retorts sitting on the tip of my tongue. He had wounded my already fragile pride. There was a heavy silence before Rhys spoke again. "How did you get involved with this guy?"

"Do you mean that because he's clearly unstable or…because he's not human?" I needed to know if I had walked myself right into the situation I had been trying to run from. I wanted to believe that my luck couldn't be that terrible.

There was a stretch of silence as we both stared at each other. Rhys was the one to look away first and that was an answer enough for me. I couldn't stop the choked, hysterical laugh that squeezed out of my chest. "I can't believe this..." Rhys fixed his green eyes back on me. "On second thought, you know what, I can. I have terrible taste in men. Actually, I don't know if it's bad taste in men or just bad taste in dogs." I remarked favoring one foot over the other as I made my way to the door.

My heart was racing and my panic was rising. I didn’t hear any movement behind me, just a heavy sigh. "I thought I told you not to move around."

My lip lifted into a defensive snarl. "Don't you dare try to order me around, Rhys. I am not a dog. I am not one of you!" I knew I was freaking out but I had been way too calm about everything I had been through. This was a much more expected reaction to the situation I had found myself in. I was glad that my brain seemed to have taken control of my body this time.

I heard the creak of the floorboards. "You didn't seem to mind me ordering you around a couple hours ago." I knew his words carried a double meaning, images of what we had done flashing through my head. I reached for the doorknob. A rush of air leaving my lungs as a strong hand planted itself above my head.

I whirled around, stumbling back into the corner. "What do you think you're doing? Stay away from me, Rhys. I'm serious."

"Now who's ordering who?" He lifted a brow.

I licked my lips as my core heated. This was the worst timing ever to be getting hot and bothered. These had to be symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome or something like it. I narrowed my eyes. "This isn’t funny. I want to leave.”

He pulled his hand back from the door. "I know you are freaked out and confused right now—"

"Damn right I am. So, ease the fuck back, okay?"

His lips twitched but he gave into my request, taking a step back. “Sorry. You’ve been through hell tonight and you don’t need me behaving like an ass.”

He reached up and ran his fingers through his hair, pulling it away from his face. "I don't want to hurt you. If I had wanted to hurt you I would have done so by now. I've had more than enough opportunities.”

“So, I’m just supposed to trust you?” I questioned.

“No.” He shook his head, pursing his lips. “I don't expect you to trust me, but I need you to understand that this is the safest place for you, right now.”

I knew he was probably right. He was a werewolf like Silas, which meant he stood more of chance then I did – even with my revolver and silver bullets. But still, I’d put my care into the wrongs hands before. I couldn’t trust myself, especially when it came to Rhys. I couldn’t think clearly around him. I was trapped in between two impossible decisions. “I don’t know—”

“I’m going to find this guy and I’m going to make sure he goes away, forever." He proclaimed without hesitation. There was no doubt in him.

He was speaking words that I had been longing to hear. All I wanted was to be free from Silas. I didn't want to run anymore. I was so tired of living my life in fear, always looking back over my shoulder and missing out on what was right in front of me. I wanted to be free to live. Still, I was uncertain about everything, but deep in my gut, something told me I could depend on Rhys. He might be my best chance at putting an end to this nightmare. I forced some of the tension from my shoulders, breathing deep.

"Okay. I'll stay...at least for now.” I might come to regret this decision later. “But not in your bed.”

Rhys tilted his head. "We'll discuss sleeping arrangements later." He had no plans of letting me sleep anywhere but in his bed. I could tell from the look in his eyes. I narrowed my eyes preparing to argue with him. "Let’s get you into the bath."

"Bath?" I blinked.

"I've heard that they do wonders for soreness and from all the bruises I see on you I'd wager you're feeling pretty sore." He was trying to keep his anger about my current state under control but I could still see that it upset him by the way his jaw tensed. His eyes strayed from me to the tray of food his mother had brought me. “Was there something wrong with the food?”

My cheeks burned when he turned his gaze back to me. “I have a rule that I don’t eat food I don’t cook for myself.” I’d learned that lesson from my time with Silas.

There was the flash of amber again. “I’ll find you something that you can eat.”