Page 148 of Change

I was so ashamed.

I braced myself as I rolled to my side, readying to push from the ground, but there was no pain. In fact, as I effortlessly moved to my feet, it felt as though I’d been recuperating for a week.

“How do you feel?” she asked, grabbing my chin the instant I’d regained balance. Her sharp eyes roamed my face, and her full lips turned down. “I don’t know what Gloria was going on about,” she muttered under her breath, wrapping her arm around my waist. She led me from the cell to the stairs, making no mention of the numerous bloody bodies in the room. “Your eyes are definitely more green than blue.”

Gloria glanced back at us but—being a wolf—she couldn’t respond. Nor did she try to. She and Ada slipped into the hallway.

“We’re going to get you out of here.” Maria was still talking softly into my ear. “Once you’re safe, we’re going to come back and get Titus—”

My scattered thoughts froze, as did my progress.

Titus.

I’d completely forgotten that he was here too! I wasdefinitelythe worst ever.

But now that I remembered, there was no way I’d be leaving without him.

Maria groaned and tried to pull me forward another step, but I remained stubbornly still. “Youhaveto get out of here,” she argued, correctly interpreting my refusal to move. “Titus will lose his mind when he finds out you’re here too, but he’ll rage—tomein particular—if he knows you had the chance to get away but didn’t.”

Well, he’d have to get over it.

“No, Bianca.” She narrowed her eyes, the dim flickering of the fluorescent lights just enough to make out her displeasure. “You don’t understand. Titus is adragon. He can hold a grudge forages. As crazy as you fae are, you’ve got nothing on him. He won’t move on, even if he says he will. He’ll let this bother him until it eventually affects the two of you. If you don’t get away when you can, you’re risking your future relationship.”

My mouth went dry at the implications. For an instant, my resolve wavered.

People being displeased with me—not having acceptance… That was one of my biggest triggers for my anxiety.

Would this really make him mad at me… forever?

But that’d mean no dragon babies.

It was hard to breathe. I clutched at my chest, over the ruined remains of my clothing, trying to soothe the ache while Mariawaited for myresponse.

No… dragon babies. Why should I care?

Did I really?

“No…” I shook my head. My voice was raspy and low, almost a whisper. In fact, it didn’t even feel like I’d spoken. But apparently, I had, because Maria dropped her arm from me, and her eyes widened.

But the rest of my words were locked away by the lump in my throat.

I wasn’t even sure how I felt about that, but I couldn’t bother to care right now either. Titus was most important. There’d be no dragon babies without him either.

I refused to leave him.

“So stubborn.” Maria’s words were harsh, but her mouth quirked. “You’re perfect for each other.”

I wasn’t stubborn at all, but even more importantly, I still didn’t understand how she’d gotten this impression of him. The Titus I knew was protective and fierce, not someone who’d hold a grudge over good intentions.

Ada ran back down the hallway, returning to her human form after she stopped at our feet.

“We need to find an exit,” she said, looking at Maria. “If you want, I can—”

I shook my head, stepping back from the two of them.

Thatgot Ada’s attention. “She is leaving, right?”

Maria sighed, rubbing her fingers against her temples. “No.”