Wolf Girl (Wolf Girl #1) - Leia Stone Page 0,61

It was his mother. My eyes widened as I realized we were in his bed together, him with his shirt off.

Soooo not appropriate.

“Open the door, son!” his father growled.

“Shit,” I hissed, and jumped up, but then winced as I realized I came down on my walking boot and my ankle throbbed.

Sawyer’s eyes widened. “Whoa. Go easy. Why don’t you take a relaxing shower and I’ll get rid of them? Then we can have some breakfast brought over and talk some more?”

I nodded and the banging got louder. “Sawyer James Hudson!” his mother roared. “Did you fight the Ithaki last night? Open this door right now!”

He groaned and then stood, looking back at me. “Don’t worry about them knowing you’re here. It’s not a big deal, they know how I feel about you.”

They know how I feel about you?

I just nodded and slipped into his bathroom, shutting the door behind me and resting my head against it.

Muffled shouting made its way back to me as his father’s voice filtered through the room. “I go out of town for one day and you kill the Ithaki leader?”

“He kidnapped Demi, was five seconds from skinning her alive,” Sawyer growled.

“Oh fate.” His mother gasped. “Why … why would they want Demi?”

Silence.

“She fell. Who knows. The Ithaki are sick. They’ll do anything to make a few bucks from the Danai.”

Oh. I’d forgotten for a second that he didn’t tell his parents about my … issues. No longer wanting to hear this conversation, I started to run the shower.

Looking at the countertop, I grinned when I saw a brand-new toothbrush, floral girly coconut shampoo and conditioner, and even fresh new clothes. Sawyer was so thoughtful.

I stripped out of my bloody, dirty, disgusting clothes, pausing when I remembered my walking boot.

Ugh.

Slowly peeling the Velcro straps back, I slipped a purple bruised foot out of the boot and then hobbled into the shower, careful not to bear weight on the healing ankle. When I looked down at the blood-splattered, purple-blotched skin of my naked body, tears formed in my eyes.

Holy shit.

That was so close. I almost died. I tried not to think about falling down that fucking mountain, Walsh running after me, and the sweet Paladin man who tried to help me before the Ithaki killed him. Shaking the thoughts from my head, I started to soap up, watching the red and brown-tinged water pool at my feet as I scrubbed clean. I wanted to stay in here forever and not deal with telling Sawyer I was raped, but it was time to get all this shit out there, especially if I was serious about being with him.

I quickly brushed my teeth, slipped into the new clothes, including the walking boot, and towel dried my long blond hair. Then I stepped out of the room and froze.

“Sawyer, are you sure? If we call off the mating selection and she’s not the one—”

“She’s the one,” he growled, and my stomach bottomed out. A huge grin swept across my face and I wanted to run out there and jump into his arms, but I was totally snooping so I stayed where I was.

“Meredith is a safe bet,” his mother said, and the grin fled from my face.

“I don’t love Meredith.”

There was a deep long sigh as his mother seemingly weighed his words. “You don’t have to love them back, son. Our entire family is depending on you—”

“I’d like you to go now, Mother. I’ve made my choice. It’s Demi, it’s always been her.”

Holy fuck.

This conversation was so confusing but I didn’t care. The only part that mattered was that Sawyer basically just said he chose me.

“If you’re sure, I’ll call an early announcement for a few days’ time.” She sounded dejected.

“Thank you,” Sawyer responded, annoyance in his voice.

The clipped sound of high heels fled down the hallway and then the front door shut.

“You can come out now,” Sawyer spoke into the room and I flinched. How did he know I was there? Hopefully his mom didn’t.

I stepped out gingerly, limping on the walking boot, and Sawyer let his gaze rake up and down my body. It wasn’t his usual hungry gaze, he was searching for wounds.

He tipped his head to the door. “Did you hear all that?”

I shrugged. “Just the part about you choosing me … no big deal.”

A slow grin pulled at his mouth and he stepped closer to me and released a shaky breath. “From the moment I first saw you … I knew you were mine.”

It was