Chapter Six
“Fuck!” Dame yelled, slamming his fist against the steering wheel.
He’d been working so hard to keep his emotions in check. So hard. Mom’s funeral, and then Marsden returning after all this time, and all the complicated feelings with that, Stellan was too fucking much, and now Dame had lost his head with the Rabbit. With Misty.
His chest felt like his heart was being ripped from it. The look of hurt on her face had gutted him.
The Rabbit was never supposed to be a human!
Dammit. Stellan’s tiger couldn’t do anything right.
And you know what? Dame wasn’t any better. Mars was right. Out of all the females in the world, he’d lost his mind with the Rabbit.
God, what was he doing?
He didn’t even know where he was going. The gas light came on and pissed him off even more.
Dame drove right out of Salt Lake City and aimed for a gas station on the outskirts.
There was a straightaway of highway that just looked like middle-of-nowhere, and as he was filling the tank of Marsden’s truck, he stared out at the rolling hills.
He wished he could see the pretty scenery, but all he could see was the hurt in Misty’s eyes when he’d told her she was a mistake.
The lever clicked, telling him the tank was full, and he pulled the nozzle from Marsden’s truck and replaced it in the cradle where it belonged.
There was some dumb cartoon playing on the checkout screen of some penguins running away from a tiger.
He huffed a breath and shook his head. He hated being a Cat. Always had. The tiger inside of him had ruined his life, and the tigers inside of his brothers had detonated the family line completely.
Screw his stepdad for what he had done.
Screw his mom for standing by and allowing it.
Screw her for staying with him after.
His face crumpled, but he didn’t cry. He closed his eyes tightly so it would keep the emotions inside. He didn’t want to fall apart. He didn’t want to think about anything. If he was being honest with himself, he just wanted to be near Misty. She made all the mess inside of his head go away.
Of course he’d lost his mind and marked her.
She was the only thing in his life that had felt good since the tiger was born.
She was a lifeline. She felt big. Of course she felt big.
He’d been orbiting her for years with this protective drive to keep her safe, because keeping her safe kept his brother safe.
He inhaled deeply. Marsden might be right, but he also didn’t understand.
He wasn’t here. He hadn’t helped Dame and Stellan at all.
He didn’t understand how lonely this life was, and he didn’t understand how damn good it felt to not be lonely for a little while.
Of course he’d marked her. She was glue, and he was some broken thing.
He looked at the screen of his phone, hoping for a text that couldn’t be there. He didn’t even have her number yet. Why were his feelings so big? He didn’t even have her number, and he was sitting here wishing for a long life with her.
He could take her away from here.
The thought struck him, but the next question deflated him.
Then who would keep Stellan from killing?
Who would keep the bounty off his head when he did?
What if he found another Rabbit? Dame had stopped him from so much damage over the years.
If he was left alone? Any death would be on Dame’s hands, and he couldn’t do that.
He wouldn’t even be a man worthy of someone like Misty if he did that.
He wouldn’t be able to live with himself.
He couldn’t just pack her up and run away like Marsden had. Dame had a sense of responsibility that Mars had lacked since birth.
It felt even more important to keep Misty safe now, but he knew what he would have to do.
He would have to convince her to leave this place and never look back.
And he couldn’t go with her.
The glue would be gone, and he would be left here in more pieces than before.