Page 79 of Pretty When She Breaks

I held my breath, hope trembling in my chest as he tenderly lifted a piece of my hair.

Snip.

The world seemed heavy and thick, not quite moving right as I saw that he’d cut off a ringlet and was running it gently under his nose.

I shattered as a smile twitched on his lips and he rose to his feet.

He walked away, leaving me hunched over on the bathroom floor.

FORTY-THREE

KAOS

A hundred lines of the sitcom floated from the TV, all mixing together like a distant buzz.

I heard the air of the AC as it switched on, but I couldn’t tell if the air was too hot or too cold. It was electric, though, as if static washed through my veins each time I filled my lungs.

My whole body was a magnet, tense, sensing the drag that led to the bedroom.

What awaited me there?

I stood.

I frowned—or maybe I’d stood a minute ago.

Time had started again but wasn’t working right. I wasn’t used to having this pull within the fog. Toward someone.

Her.

The omega.

I blinked, looking down at where a lock of her hair was clasped in my palm. There was a string of rope slung over my shoulder.

Yeah…

I was a monster.

That was what I had been doing.

I took a step toward the room.

Her hands had felt so nice as she’d brushed my hair.

Her scent had been so soft in my nose, almost making me human again.

Ocean needed me to be human.

She could make it so.

The apartment was beautifully dark, how I liked it. The lightbulbs had been too bright, stabbing into my eyes. Little weapons Laurel liked to attack me with. I’d taken them all and tucked them safely into a little nest in the linen closet, scribbling peaceful sleeping faces on them with a Sharpie.

I stepped into the bedroom, finding her curled up asleep on her soft bed. Tsk, tsk. She wasn’t supposed to be here, though I had been taking up the couch bed. Ah, well.

The hair and rope found their place on the nightstand beside her.

Her thick lashes brushed her cheeks, curls tumbling over round cheeks, red lips pressed gently together.

The sweetest demon to ever ruin a pack.