~Chapter 12~
T his was one of our faster turnarounds, and I should be happy. Thrilled even. Easy cases keep our team at the top of the company pyramid; they also keep us the highest paid.
But, today, I’m not happy. Not even close. Danny telling me that I needed to visit Bea pissed me off. Beatrice living in our house pisses me off. Hell, the amount of times I have to consciously remove her from my mind pisses me off.
I’m not going to see her. As far as I’m concerned, she’s Danny and Even’s problem.
She annihilated Stu’s heart. He hasn’t been the same since he got the fucking letter. Well, really, he hasn’t been the same since she kicked us out of her house all those weeks ago. She’s a selfish, self-righteous, conniving little vix-, “Hhheellpp! Alpha! P-please, Alpha!”
I bust through the basement door, immediately on edge as adrenaline floods my body. I don’t think; just react. Sprinting through the kitchen and living room, I race towards her room.
As I cross the threshold, I scan the area for intruders. , but I come up short when I see she’s alone. All. Fucking. Alone. And thrashing violently in the bed. Her back arches as she screams out in agony . Fuck, she’s going to break something else.
She’s fighting off some invisible attacker, and I’m completely frozen. What the hell do I do? Am I supposed to do something?
“Allpphhaaaa!” The pure, unadulterated pain laced in her raspy voice pushes me to move. My mind plays back to what Stu did a few weeks ago when she had a night terror. I don’t bother second-guessing; she’s going to hurt herself if she doesn’t calm down. I know I’m not supposed to wake her, but maybe I can at least help her settle.
Sliding into the bed, carefully avoiding her right hook, I squeeze her into me. A hiss of pain escapes through my teeth as her cast connects with my balls. But I push the pain away; pulling her closer into me, wrapping my arm across her chest, and tucking my hand around above her cast around her bicep.
Her body continues to convulse as she screams out in terror. I don’t know how to comfort anyone. Not anymore. So, I just squeeze my eyes closed and start humming whatever song pops into my mind.
Something warm and wet begins to slide down my cheeks, and I quickly realize that I’m crying. The song I’m humming, the song that kills me the most, is All I Want by Kodaline. I consider forcing myself to stop, but I feel Beatrice slowly calming. Her body slowly releases the tension it's been holding onto, her breaths even out, and her rapid eye movement slows.
I shudder in a deep breath, close my eyes again, and begin to sing the words. I allow myself a moment to release the pain from losing Cammy; and the pain from knowing we, I mean they , almost lost Beatrice.
Eventually, she shifts her head and nuzzles sweetly against my forehead as her soft, adorable little snores take the place of her screaming in panic. Her forehead is warm and clammy against mine, and I find myself pulling her even closer against me as I continue to sing.
I’m just going to have this one moment. This moment to relax a little. This moment to not be angry at the world. Just this one moment to hold her in my arms the way I desperately wanted to before all of this happened . Pfft. Before. Right…