Page 58 of Same Thing
And there it was. There it was.
As she watched him turn from her and leave the house, she knew that was the end.
He did have regrets. If she had never come here, she would’ve never met his Pack, never had that perfect night. He would’ve never touched her body and reached her soul. She would’ve never been here for the Elders to see.
He would’ve been able to keep his Pack.
The door closed firmly, and she flinched, closing her eyes as two tears streaked to her cheeks.
She’d felt pain before, but never the kind that consumed her chest like wildfire.
Delta knelt back down to her ankle and began cleaning up the bite marks. She looked up and whispered, “It’s going to be okay.”
And while Nory in her banal human existence couldn’t herself tell a lie, she could see it there in Delta’s moisture-rimmed eyes.
Nothing was going to be okay for any of them.
Chapter Thirteen
Liam had held her hand in silence the entire drive back to her apartment complex. Her plan to talk to Layla about breaking the lease seemed like it was a hundred years ago. So much had happened in such a short amount of time.
He pulled in front of her building and squeezed her hand gently. “I’ll call you.”
She dragged a sad smile to him. “No, you won’t.”
He didn’t argue. They might be made of the same thing, her and Liam, but they were from two different worlds.
“I just have to get some things settled,” he told her.
She brought his hand to her cheek, rested it there for a few moments. This was going to have to be enough to last her whole life. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t okay.
“Goodbye, Liam,” she said, and turned to get out.
Liam dragged her to him and hugged her up tightly over the console. “I don’t regret you,” he whispered against her ear. “You should know that.”
It didn’t matter though, did it? She’d finally been with a man, and now he was having to leave.
She felt so stupid.
Nory inhaled a shaking breath as the tears burned her eyes again. She gripped onto his T-shirt, stalling. It would be the last time she felt safe like this. He held her closer and buried his face against her bandaged neck. It hurt but she didn’t care. At least she could feel him.
It wasn’t fair.
“Jackson will never bother you again,” he said low.
Her breath hitched with emotion. “Did you kill him?” she whispered. “You know what? I don’t even want to know.” She eased back. “Don’t tell me.”
He didn’t say another word as she got out of his truck. He didn’t roll down the window or tell her goodbye one last time.
Nory shut the door, and he drove away, and she stood on the sidewalk holding her duffle bag and feeling the weight of the whole universe on her shoulders.
She’d destroyed his Pack. She’d fallen for him and then ruined his life.
The guilt inside of her heart was infinite.
She wished she was brave enough to tell him she loved him already.
She wished she possessed the boldness to tell him how she really felt before he left, but she was still herself, and with the retraction of her safety net, she could feel the quiet taking over her soul once more.