don’t want North thinking he’s broken me just because I’m not in my usual full-glory brat mode.
“Open the door, Oli.”
Fucking typical.
Of course it would be Gryphon showing up to mess with my entire freaking day because he’s the Bond that can actually fuck my shit up. The butterflies in my stomach are screaming danger at me, but I open the door and face him anyway.
He’s the hardest of them all to face.
I think it’s the way he hasn’t confronted me, hasn’t tried to verbally knock me down or take a jab at me, he’s just sat back and observed me, the look on his face always saying a lot about how much I don’t meet his expectations.
His eyes flick over my outfit, my cheeks heating as I remember the fact that I look homeless, and then he steps into me like he’s trying to force his way into the room.
It works, I scramble away from him like his touch would burn me, and he shuts the door firmly behind him. The lock is flimsy and he scowls at it for a second before flicking it anyway. I get the feeling, I’m not sure it would work to keep anyone out of here if they put some effort in.
“The healer did a decent job. I thought for sure you’d be bedridden from the pond bitch’s bite.”
I pull a face at him as my ass lands on my pokey mattress. There’s nowhere for him to sit except on the bed with me and I might die if he does. When was the last time I washed the sheets?
Why do I care about his opinion of my shitty room and the little sauce stain on my hoodie? Get a fucking grip, Oleander.
“She wasn’t that bad.”
As he leans back against the door, he stares me down, crossing his arms over his chest, and suddenly I notice just how freaking stacked he is. I knew it when he’d slid between Giovanna and me at Sage’s party but the creaking noise of his leather jacket straining over his biceps is almost obscene right now.
My bond is a horny, needy bitch in my chest.
“She feeds on fear. Most Gifted go up against her absolutely shitting themselves because she becomes the worst nightmare they’ve ever had to live through. You gave her nothing, even after she spooked you. That’s not a normal response.”
Right, so this is an interrogation.
He’s different from North’s blunt commands or Nox’s scathing barbs. Even Gabe’s brooding, moody blowups are lightyears away from this calm, direct conversation and fuck if it isn’t disarming.
I have to choose my words very carefully. “I never claimed I was normal.”
If he doesn’t stop staring at me I might just break down and bawl like a baby. Is this his gift? To just stare people into a complete mental crisis, because I can confirm that he’s pretty fucking good at wielding this power.
“I think you made a mistake and instead of owning up to it and making amends, you’ve doubled down on it. You should have trusted us… whatever happened in that hospital room that made you run away, you should have run to us instead.”
The terror of thinking about that day when I’d woken up in that sterile room is like ice through my veins. If I was facing the pond bitch now she would eat me alive, guzzling down the meal that those memories would make for her.
Gryphon’s eyes narrow at me, the clear jade color of them striking and burning hot into my skin. All of the fight leaves my body at once, the despair and loathing at myself and the hell I’m stuck in overwhelms me until my mouth starts running. I’d say anything to get him out of here before I really lose my shit.
The tears welling up nearly blind me but I ignore them. “Those opinions of yours tell me I did the right thing and I’m not pissed about it. You can hate me all you like because at least you’re fucking breathing, Gryphon. Please leave, I’m still exhausted from the healing and I can’t do this right now.”
Chapter Fifteen
I sleep away the rest of the weekend, waking up every couple of hours to guzzle down some water and hobble to the bathroom, but my body basically shuts down to process the healing Felix did on me. It’s annoying but my brain becomes nothing but the need to survive, so at least I don’t have to think about Gryphon’s little visit.
The moment Gabe