Page 12

POLARIS

“ Y ou're all set,” the nurse says with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

One that feels filled with more sympathy than excitement about my departure from the medical center.

However, if I acknowledge what her expression conveys, I have to confront the truth, so I swallow my observations and remain silent.

I don’t call for help either; it’s evident that’s out of the question.

I’m at Blaze’s mercy while I’m here, and although I should be grateful to still be alive, there’s no chance in Hell I’m going to validate the vampire’s worth right now.

Instead of blurting out all the thoughts running through my mind, I simply smile back. “Thank you.”

She nods, her gaze dropping to her feet as she shuffles toward the corner of the room, where she pretends to organize the medical supplies.

Instead of dwelling on the glimmer of sympathy I saw in her eyes, I glance down at my clothes, relieved to be wearing something other than the Medical Center-issued gown.

I feel as though I’ve spent an eternity in the scratchy, thin material.

Thankfully, I managed to shower before changing into my own clothes, or what’s left of them, at least. My t-shirt was cut right down the middle so the staff could tend to the wound on my chest. No replacement was offered, so I tighten my jacket around my waist, acutely aware of the exposed skin between the hem and the waistband of my pants.

The door creaks open as I continue to adjust myself, and when I relent, I lift my gaze to see Blaze step in.

His eyes scan me from head to toe and back again three more times, narrowing with each pass.

Someone so… mean, so… dark, shouldn't be so damn tempting.

The mystery in his eyes, the promise of sin, should not be so inviting.

When his gaze finally meets mine again, his lips are pressed together in a thin line as he unzips his jacket, shaking out of it before extending it in my direction.

“Here, take this.”

I scoff, taking a step back as my arms wrap tighter around my middle. “No.”

His head tilts to the side, irritation clear in his eyes. “It wasn't a request.”

The smile on my face is too sickly to feel completely genuine, but I can’t hold it back. “Great, then I retract my unnecessary answer.”

He rolls his eyes, yet there’s a hint of amusement, as if my defiance thrills him. The idea sends a shiver down my spine, but it completely dissolves a moment later. My joy at outsmarting him and the potential success of rendering him speechless is short-lived as he closes the distance between us.

His proximity is overwhelming as he wraps his jacket around my shoulders before prying my arms open and slipping them into the sleeves. Prying is a strong word. It's more like I relent, but the reality of that is irritating as he seemingly scores another point in this battle between us.

I’m certain he’s unaware of the scoring system to begin with, but the thought of him knowing he’s winning is fear-inducing. He doesn’t need access to that information. Ever.

I gape at him, but his gaze remains fixed on his fingertips.

I finally snap from my frozen state as the zipper rings out through the air.

He doesn’t stop until it’s all the way up to my neck, his eyes returning to mine as his fingers linger a breath away from my throat.

Goosebumps rise to meet him, eager for his touch, all while I glare at him.

“Once we're out of this building, I'm no longer under your control. You know that, right?” I declare, stepping back. My effort to provoke him as frustration courses through my veins falls flat; he smirks, unfazed.

“You love it when I take control,” he says, adjusting the hood of his jacket around my shoulders before adding to the distance between us.

“I hate you,” I insist as his gaze shifts down to my chest.

Is he observing the harsh rise and fall of every inhale and exhale that escapes my lips? Does he comprehend the impact he’s having on me? How angry I feel?

“Why are your nipples seeking me out, then?” he rasps, and I struggle to suppress the frustration and rage inside of me.

“Screw you,” I snap, and his grin widens as he walks backward toward the door.

“Please.”

That one word, like a plea… damn him. For him, it feels like the equivalent of him begging, and I gulp, unsure how I'm supposed to breathe after that.

Thankfully, he breaks our gaze as his cell phone vibrates and he glances at the time.

A grunt escapes his lips before he sighs.

“As much as I would love to continue this banter with you, I’m late, Amica Mea.

We need to leave.” He turns toward the door without a backward glance, disappearing from my view a moment later.

Every part of me internally pleads for me not to follow him, not to take his order, but in the same breath, I’m acutely aware that following him leads to my freedom and an escape from this place.

On the heels of that comes the hope of finding my…

friends. The word doesn’t feel right when I consider everyone I’m referring to, but I try not to let myself get caught up in anything else beyond my control right now.

The nurse is still tucked in the corner, avoiding any kind of eye contact, reaffirming that I’m completely on my own in here, at his whim, so I bite the bullet and relent.

Rushing out of the room, I find him moving down the hall toward the exit.

I catch up to his side just before he opens the double doors, and the moment he swings them open and we step over the threshold, I’m bombarded with sighs of relief and my name hanging thick in the air.

“Oh my God, Polaris!”

I catch a fleeting glimpse of Minnie before she launches herself at me, enveloping me in her arms and pressing me to her chest. It’s so tight I can barely breathe as we sway from side to side, but I revel in the unfamiliar warmth that spreads through my veins.

“Hey,” I manage, completely overwhelmed by her presence and the way she soothes me right now. The tightening in my chest intensifies as I glance over her shoulder and my gaze lands on another pair of eyes, then another, and another, until I spot four more disheveled wolves.

A part of my soul finds peace in a way I can’t even comprehend as the corner of my mouth curls upward just an inch. My gaze rests on the nearest wolf, though there’s a weariness in his eyes.

Tatum.

His long hair is swept back from his face and tied in a messy bun on the top of his head and his clothes are crumpled. I'm pretty sure that’s what he’d been wearing the last time I saw him.

“Polaris,” he says as Minnie lets go of me and he instantly replaces her.

I wrap my arms around his neck and inhale his scent, letting it calm me.

“I’m so happy to see you,” I breathe, and his hold tightens for a moment as he grunts.

I don’t need to look to know the tension in his shoulders is due to the vampire in the room.

“I hate him. I’m sorry,” I whisper, feeling completely bewildered that he's here right now and not charging for the hills since Blaze took over and made this his show.

He squeezes me tightly, his lips brushing over my neck for the briefest moment, but he doesn’t say a word or acknowledge what I said before he disappears and my hands drop to my sides.

“Hey, Silver.”

My eyes swing to the left where Asher stands with his hands tucked in his pockets, assessing me.

I can see the same uncertainty in his eyes as I did in Tatum’s, as if he’s unsure how to act with the new revelations unfolding between us, which, in turn, leaves me nervously standing in the same spot.

I never really know how to act around these guys.

I’m learning to be myself as a person, but being a version of me that may appeal to them is something entirely different.

Adding to the fact that I’m Asher’s puppet on a string, willing to fall apart at his command, I don’t know how to make the first move.

“Hey,” I breathe. Uncertain how to handle myself, I interpret his movement when he pulls his hands out of his pockets as a sign, prompting me to step closer. A moment later, I find myself in his arms.

It's stiffer than before, wary on both ends, but is it a hurdle we can overcome together?

“Come on now, my little witch, don't leave me until the end.”

I sneak a glance to my right, a soft, relieved smile on my lips as I see Wylder bouncing on the balls of his feet, eager to join the action.

Asher releases me and I cautiously extend my hands toward Wylder.

Seconds later, I find myself in his grasp, twirling on the spot and feeling slightly nauseous before being placed back on my feet.

An overwhelming sense of joy, hope, and relief seeps through me, but it's instantly muted the moment my eyes land on their Alpha. He sweeps his tongue across his bottom lip, gazing deep into my soul with hooded eyes.

“Midnight.”

My gut clenches. That might be my nickname, but there’s no invitation there, so I offer a nod in response. “Lincoln.”

Our stare-off lasts longer than I expect, and I have to turn my gaze away from his before I drop to my knees and beg to understand where his mindset is. Instead, I turn to Minnie, clearing my throat, fully aware of the vampire who remains two steps to my right.

“Did Blaze tell you I was being discharged?”

Asher captures my attention as he shakes his head. “We never left.”

Guilt takes root deep in my chest as my jaw falls slack and I shake my head, “I’m so sorry.”

Tatum scoffs and gives me a pointed look. “You’re not the one who should be apologizing,” he states, making my pulse thrum through my veins as Blaze claps his hands twice in quick succession.

The temperature in the room suddenly drops even lower.

“I’m glad we can agree on that,” he grunts, earning a snarl from Lincoln, who snaps his gaze in Blaze’s direction.

“Fuck off, Blaze.”

The man under fire simply shrugs, somehow standing taller under scrutiny. Gone is the guy who whispers little secrets about being soft on me, the one offering snippets of what he wants and what he thinks we could be. It’s all disappeared.

“You put her in danger.” The words are heavy, thick, almost choking me as silence deepens, and to my surprise, it’s Wylder who cuts the tension by wagging his finger in the vampire’s direction.

“You have a lot to answer for.”

“Please, hound. I don't answer shit to anyone with fur.”

The snarl on his lips sends a wave of panic through my body as Asher takes a dangerous step toward the vampire. But before anyone can say or do anything, Minnie starts waving her hands in the air to draw everyone's attention to her.

“Guys, Polaris does not need your crap right now. This isn't a pissing contest, and don’t even think about whipping your little dicks out to measure whose is the biggest. We’re not doing that shit right now, and definitely not in front of me.

So, back up,” she orders, and Blaze assesses her for a beat before offering her a simple nod.

“You're right.”

“I know,” she says, rolling her eyes as Blaze gives me a pointed look, like her sass is my fault and not a sheer wonder of the world. There's humor in her speech, and I'm clinging to it like a lifeline.

The sound of a cell phone goes off and Blaze sighs as he stuffs his hand in his pocket.

He wipes a hand down his face before his gaze settles on me.

“I need to leave.” There’s disappointment in his eyes, despite the thick tension in the air.

It’s almost as though he would rather stay here and face all of this than deal with whatever demands his attention.

But he blinks, and the depth is gone as he turns to look at the wolves filling the room.

“Is she going to be safe without my presence?”

“Fuck you,” Lincoln grunts, but Blaze simply cocks a brow at him.

“I can take her with me, but her safety percentage drops.”

“Why?” Minnie asks, and Blaze shakes his head.

“I don't trust you, but I trust her safety in your hands more than the scenario I’m walking into right now.”

“It wouldn't matter if you didn’t,” Asher states, eyes flicking to me like there’s more he wants to say, but he clamps his lips shut.

Blaze pays him no mind as his eyes burn into the side of my face before he earns my attention. “Amica Mea.”

My whole body vibrates at the sound of his nickname for me, and in a second, he closes the three steps between us, gripping my chin to hold my gaze.

The wolves track his every move, yet none of them jump in, each waiting to see what he will say and do.

“My number is saved in your cell phone under Tuum.”

What the hell is Tuum?

I shake my head slightly, but his grip makes it barely possible. “I won't need it,” I insist, and he grins, unsurprised by my defiance.

“Of course not,” he says with a wink. “But just in case,” he adds, and my heart lodges in my throat, thumping beyond belief.

I’m irritated, desperate to deliver a defiant response, but before I can react, he leans in, pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth, leaving tingles in his wake before he's gone again.

He leans back, his eyes locking on to mine. Unspoken words dance in the blue depths of his gaze as a menacing grin curls the corners of his lips. “One more slap for the road?” he murmurs, and I stifle a laugh as I shake my head.

“You would like it too much.”

He runs his tongue over his bottom lip as he takes another step back. He's focused solely on me, as if he’s imprinting me into his memory before he leaves, retreating toward the exit and disappearing from view.

“What the fuck was that?” Lincoln grunts, and Minnie huffs, wrapping her arm around my shoulders as she pulls me against her side, using her free hand to point her finger in the wolf's direction.

“Oh, you can all just fuck off,” she insists, and Wylder stares at her with wide eyes, hands raised in immediate surrender.

“What?”

Minnie scoffs, shaking her head. “You're not bombarding her with your micro penises right now. She needs a break from all the testosterone, and she needs to rest. The only way that's going to happen is with the girls.” She nods, solidifying her decision for good measure.

“Wait,” Asher says, trying to interject, but Minnie pulls us back a step toward the exit.

“No boys allowed.”

Tatum looks at everyone with pleading eyes. “But that's not fair. We're all panicked and worried,” he insists, but Minnie cuts him off with a wave of her hand.

“I don't give a shit. Figure out all of your attitudes before you decide to come near her again.” Her gaze lingers on her brother for an extra second, like there’s a back story there that I’m not aware of, but there’s no time for me to think more on it as she turns to me with a sweet smile like she hasn’t just berated four fully grown wolves so effortlessly.

“Come on, bestie. Bryony is waiting for us.”