Instead of responding to my words, or declaring he could do whatever he wanted, Dakota chuckled. Moments later, gentle fingers tilted my chin up, and I tried to blink away the tears in my eyes before he saw them. I didn’t want him to realize how horrible I’ve become since I came here, that I’ve developed selfishness and a desire for things I didn’t deserve. The more I fought my tears, the bigger the lump in my throat became until they escaped to roll down my cheeks. This announcement I let myself become corrupted hurt, because how could they ever love me now?
Another chuckle caused my eyes to focus, and Dakota wiped my tears away. “What are we going to do with you, cousin? You were feral when you arrived. Poor thing. We’ve called you our stray from the beginning, or at least Marcus and Ava did. It’s all right to let yourself be tamed a little, bunny. I know it’s confusing, and you’re learning you have needs you didn’t know about, which I bet is terrifying. You’re projecting despair, fear, and self-hatred, Angel. You haven’t asked a single thing of us, not aloud. Everything we offered, we did so of our volition without asking what you want. To us, we understand you in a way you don’t. In our world, that’s normal, because we adore those with your gift. To you, well, I can only imagine how disconcerting and terrifying it is to have people you don’t know telling you what you need only to discover they’re right. I’m told you said we reminded you of a pack of puppies, and as you now know, you weren’t wrong. We get overexcited and forget you’re skittish.”
Mutely, I stared into Dakota’s eyes, the skin between my shoulders beginning to itch, and he chuckled again, dropping his gaze for a moment. “You’re not selfish.” His voice became firm while the smile left his lips, and his eyes grew serious when they met mine again. “You’re not a horrible person, nor do you demand anything of us. We have to beg you to let us comfort you, or we did. Your instincts are taking over, which is kind of scaring you too because you don’t understand them. I promise we won’t decide you’re too needy, or we don’t need you. I understand only time will prove that to you. Breathe, Angel, and trust that we love you. Don’t worry about the rest of it or the pack. Trust that Riff, Char, and I love you. We’ll figure out the rest on the way.”
He made it sound so simple, and I chuckled. I knew firsthand that life was rarely ever that easy. Laughing under his breath, Dakota brushed my bangs back to tuck them behind my ear. “How do you know I’m wrong? What proof do you have? That I, in this exact situation, am wrong?”
Opening my mouth, I tried to say something, anything, but my traitorous throat refused to offer a single word. I mean, I’ve never been in this precise situation before, or even one similar, so I don’t have any concrete proof, but still. When life kicked you down, it seldom refrained from kicking you in the teeth for the fun of it in my experience. Furrowing my brow, I wondered if perhaps that was what cousins did. They shoved the hulking danger away before it could kick you while you were down. Friends might help, too. Biting my lip, I debated whether that might be the case, or if I forced myself to see what I desired. I mean, I’ve gotten into a lot of scrapes since I moved here, but I also got into plenty of them on my own too. So, there wasn’t any proof that having friends made my life worse.
However, when I’ve cried, there’s been someone trying to comfort me. If I felt lonely, someone moved closer to prove I was anything but alone. Riff gave up going to school to keep me company and attempt to cheer me up. No, having friends made my life so much better. I haven’t suffered alone since I met them. Arctic risked Ryker’s ire to save me from the images my mind couldn’t stop replaying. I know deep in my heart, I’m worth this, but my mind rebelled. But was it because I genuinely felt that way, or was it the way my monster taught me to think? Oh god.
With a sob, I hit my knees, sitting so I could bury my face in my knees and cry. How did I never see it? How did I let him do this to me? He isolated me, mocked me with my sad history, and drove home how alone I was. That bastard.
“Do you know how you defeat someone like that?” Tyger asked, kneeling beside me, and I raised my head to stare at him with tears trailing down my cheeks. I shook my head, and he chuckled. I noticed Arctic blocked Char and Dakota, who were displeased judging by their dark expressions and emotions. “You let the people in your life love you,” Tyger continued gently. “Even though it’s scary, and you risk being hurt, you let those who adore you bring you from the darkness into the sun.” Without looking at the wolves, he added, “Angel just realized what you put together forever ago. It’s hard to see the forest for the trees when you’re surrounded by them.”
Sniffling, I stared at the shifter who smiled tenderly. Arctic moved closer to nuzzle his head against mine and kissed my cheek. Seconds later, the pair of shifters had trouble shining in their eyes, and I swallowed nervously. Uh oh.
Before Char or Dakota could protest, they whisked me away and told me to shower, or Tyger would wash
