Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Annahi
“When you’re ready, you’ll be able to come back to the clinic, so don’t worry about your job,” Clara murmurs, cupping the side of my face as she gets off the side of the bed.
Thankfully, Justice was touching me, and I wasn’t being swamped by thoughts filling my head. For that alone, I could kiss him. Though that’s a new thought, considering I’ve never, not once, kissed someone.
Justice from the moment the others stepped into his room, hasn’t once taken his hand away from me. His touch is soothing. Calming. I’m not being crippled by the thoughts of the others in the room.
Zaid took a look at my wrists as his brother Zavier checked them over. His lips had been thin, and he’d looked ready to kill. Though his anger didn’t seem to be at me, and I’m the one who did this to myself.
“Are you sure?” I ask, glancing between Clara and Zaid.
“Yeah,” Zaid grumbles. “You need time to heal, and you need to focus on you right now.”
Clara nods and gives me a soft smile. “We’ll bring Miss Petal over, and she can stay with you.”
My eyes widen at the mention of them bringing Miss Petal here. “I thought you were going to take her to the reserve?”
“She’ll want to be with you.” Zaid shrugs and gives Justice and Zavier a look. “Miss Petal is a bobcat and is fond of Annahi.”
“Bring it here and we’ll handle the rest,” Justice tells him, surprising me even more. I didn’t expect him to be okay with having a bobcat here.
“We’ll also bring everything that Miss Petal will need. This way, no one will have to go out and get it.”
“Appreciate it,” Justice grunts as I simply stare at all of them, unsure of what to say or do.
They all stay around talking for a few more minutes before a knock comes and two other men step in carrying five bags filled with food containers. I wasn’t a shifter, but even I could smell the heavenly aromas coming from them.
“Where do you want these?” one of the guys asks.
“On the dresser,” Justice says, not moving. “Thanks for going to get it for me, brothers.”
“Ain’t a problem, Jett here figured he’d let us pick his name for him instead of picking himself,” the other guy says with a snort and shake of his head.
“Why does he want to be called something else?” Clara asks.
“‘Cause Aziz’s mate and woman’s name is also Jett, and she’s the daughter of Apollo. He doesn’t want to share the same name as a God’s daughter. Too damn confusing.” The second guy smirks.
“You wouldn’t want to share it either,” the first guy, I’m guessing he’s Jett, says.
The guy’s got the look of a lion. Hair the color of a mane and golden eyes to match.
“What about Prime?” The question slips past my lips before I even think about it.
“Primal?” Jett cocks a brow.
“Yeah, you look like a lion, and everyone knows lions are known for being primal when it comes to their territory and being king of the mountain of sorts. You know, haven’t you seen The Lion King?”
Everyone in the room goes silent for a moment before the room fills with laughter.
“Oh fuck, that’s a good one. That’s it. Definitely.” The second guy laughs and slaps Jett on the back.
“I gotta agree with Tobias. Primal. It suits you.” Zavier snorts, nodding.
“Primal it is then.” Justice chuckles.
“I like it,” Jett says, taking on the name of Primal. “I’ll text the brothers chat and tell them.”
“Let me do it. Better that way,” Justice says and starts to pull away ever so slightly but then seems to think better of it and tightens his grip once again.
“We’ll get out of here and let you eat.” Zaid takes Clara’s hand and guides her to the door as the other men in the room leave. They stop at the door, and he looks at me. “I’ll bring Miss Petal tomorrow. You rest tonight, and we’ll see you then.”
“Okay, thank you,” I murmur quietly. I still didn’t know exactly what I should say.
Not about Miss Petal.
Not about them seeing my wrists.
Not about . . . well, anything.
I’m ashamed they saw what I’d done to myself. They were the closest I had to friends, and I hadn’t shared with them. They knew about my ability, but they didn’t know about my mom or anything else from my past. No one knows about my past.
I don’t want them to know about it. I have a minimal relationship with my mom because she refuses to let me go completely. The very thought of it makes me inwardly shiver.
“You okay?” Justice asks when the door closes, and it’s just the two of us in the room.
I nod and sigh.
Justice lets me go and moves over to the bags, shuffling through them. He brings several over to the bed and lays them out. “Eat what you want. Try what you’d like, and I’ll eat whatever you don’t want. We’ll give the rest to my brothers to scavenger over.”
“That’s a lot of food,” I tell him, looking at all the food options.
My mouth waters and my stomach grumbles.
Eyeing the soup first, I lift it and the spoon Justice set next to it. I like soups. I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish it, but as he said, I could eat what I wanted.
Justice sits next to me and grabs the container with what looks like a roast beef sandwich.
“This is good.” I find the courage to say after a while and between bites.
“The club owns Raider’s Hook. It’s one of the best places in town to eat.” Justice takes another bite of his sandwich, demolishing half of what’s in his hand.
I take another slurp of my soup and put the lid back on top. I don’t need much to be full, and it was definitely filling.
“You done?” he asks.
“Yeah.” I nod and set the soup aside. “I don’t eat much.”
“I see that.” Justice finishes off his sandwich. “You need to eat more, though. Get your strength up.”
I don’t say anything as I nod, swallowing nervously.
“Tomorrow, you’re gonna start training.”
Training?” I stare at Justice with wide eyes as soon as he makes his little announcement. “For . . . for what?”
“You need to be able to make a shield to block out the thoughts of others in your head.”
“I . . . I . . .” I straighten and suck in a deep breath. “My ability is none of your business.”
“Considering I spent the entire time Zavier and his brother, his brother’s mate, and my other two brothers coming in here with the food, hearing their thoughts and keeping them from fuckin’ with your head, I think it is.”
“You did what?” I blink at him. I didn’t know that was possible.
“Why do you think I had my hand on you the whole time?”
I didn’t know, really, and hadn’t questioned it. I liked the fact that while he was touching me, I couldn’t hear anyone’s thoughts.
I give him a shrug. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why?
“Because it’s a lot to deal with.”
“Babe, you ain’t in a position to deal with hearing their thoughts right now. Not after . . .” He trails off, shaking his head and starts throwing containers back in the bags.
“After I nearly killed myself,” I whisper, finishing for him. I nod and get to my feet to stand in front of him. “You think I’m weak and can’t handle it, but you honestly don’t know me.”
No one did, and because of that, I’m alone in this world.
Turning to the one space I can go that’s away from him, the bathroom. I close the door behind me and sink to the floor, curling my arms around my legs.
Tears prick at my eyes and spill down my cheeks. I try my hardest not to make a sound but fail in my breath, hitching on a sob. I can’t help it, and there’s no holding back the anguish inside me. My chest hurts because Justice is right. I’m weak. A total coward, and there’s no denying it.