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She woke me up from a nightmare.

She actually managed to wake me up.

No one’s able to do that. Not even any of my pack mates. The last time Chase tried to wake me up from one of them he ended up with a black eye and a dislocated arm.

Madden had to pin me down to the floor. From the way theydescribed things to me, it took me a really fucking long time to get out of that red haze.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” I growl, clenching my hands into fists to hide their trembling.

Flashes of the red haze falling away to reveal Luna’s broken body on the floor, her blood soaking into the carpets, have me pushing myself up to my feet and away from her.

I have to get away.

I’m a danger to her.

I rest my forehead against one of the shelves, the sharp edge digging into my browbone. The pain grounds me in the sea of panic. My fists are still clenched and shaking.

I can’t believe I fell asleep in the first place. This is why I usually don’t fall asleep until I’m completely exhausted. It’s so much easier to just slip into an exhausted, dreamless sleep than have to deal with that hell.

“I—I’m sorry,” Luna says, her soft touch feeling like a jolt of electricity down my spine when I feel it against my back. “You were just having a really bad nightmare.”

I sigh, turning to face her. Her eyes are wide with fear. Despite that rightful fear of me, she’s still concerned enough to try and help me.

I trace her cheek with the back of my hand. It’s still trembling despite my best efforts to calm down. I guess the effects of my nightmares still linger, even if the red haze didn’t follow me.

She leans into my touch, her eyes fluttering closed. Her peppermint perfume swirls around us, calming my nerves.

“How did you wake me up?” I ask, when I’ve finally gained some semblance of control back.

“You were making all of these noises,” she says softly, reaching up to hold my hand. “It sounded like you were in a lot of pain. I tried calling your name first, but I ended up having to shake youawake.”

“You touched me?”

My tone must not have been as calm as I would’ve wanted it to be, because she flinches at my words.

“I—I’m sorry. Should—should I have not done that?” She asks, biting the inside of her cheek.

I scrub a hand down my face. Regret washes over me in waves. I should’ve never fallen asleep around her. Now I have to reveal the kind of person I am.

“No one’s been able to touch me and wake me up without me hurting them in a long time,” I grunt, taking a step back from her and dropping her hand.

She looks so delicate, so vulnerable, standing there all alone. She wraps her arms around herself as if she feels the lack of my presence just as hard as I feel the lack of hers.

But scaring her would be worse. She deserves to be able to run away if that’s what she chooses.

“I—I’m sorry,” She whispers softly.

“No, you don’t get it. You’re not the one who has to apologize. I’m the one who fucked up. I should’ve never fallen asleep around you.” My eyes turn to the ceiling. “Chase was the last person to try and wake me up from a nightmare and he ended up with a black eye and a dislocated arm. Madden and Archer had to pin me down like a feral beast. I could’ve killed you.”

I wait for her to freak out. Or leave. Or both. Just something.

She takes a while to answer as if she’s giving things a lot of thought.

“I—I have nightmares too. I—I think we scream the same. Like we’re screaming but our mouths won’t open?” She says, her eyes are glued to the floor.

My chest squeezes. Out of everything I expected her to say, her sharing her own experiences wasn’t it.

“I wake up and I’m not actually where I wake up.” She looks up and meets my eyes, an unexpected, almost steely determination there. Almost like she’s completely sure of what she wants to tell me. “Knowing what I do about you, how kind your soul is, Iknow you didn’t hurt Chase or any of your packmates on purpose.”