would destroy him. He couldn’t put her through that. It was better that she was safe in the new apartment he’d bought and furnished, tucked away from him and the pack and anything else that might hurt her.
Every breath felt like his last, though, without Persephone in his life. He felt her getting further and further away from him. It was only a matter of time until she was gone from his life permanently. He closed his eyes and counted the seconds until Evershaw dragged him back to the house, so he could crawl back into the cellar and get drunk while Silas looked on. Dodge tilted his head back and inhaled, trying to catch one last hint of her scent.
There was no telling how long it would be until he smelled her again.
Chapter 47
Percy
A month passed in fits and starts. Some days crept by in slow motion, like when the physical therapist made me do exercises to rebuild balance and strength, while others disappeared like water down the drain. Mercy stayed with me for quite a while; I was grateful for her company and her help, even though it was weird to share an apartment with someone again. Of course, the enormous apartment in the fancy building was easily three times the size of my last one, so it wasn’t exactly like we had to share a bathroom.
Eventually she went back to the Evershaw house. Mercy still checked on me every other day to bring me groceries and help with cleaning and laundry, but she was needed at home. I had no doubt the house would have fallen apart without her there to help. God only knew how I would have survived without her.
But her departure meant I was alone in that giant apartment with very little to do, other than binge-watch shows I hadn’t started yet or browse the internet and try not to buy everything in sight. If I didn’t keep myself distracted, my thoughts inevitably turned to Dodge. Where was he? Why hadn’t he visited? He hadn’t even called or emailed or texted or anything. It was like he’d dropped off the face of the planet.
I didn’t know why I expected anything else. After all, he hadn’t bothered to visit me in the hospital after that one day. Maybe he had the same problem as Silas and was stuck in his wolf mind. Maybe Evershaw and Deirdre kept him away from me for my own safety. Dodge had looked so out-of-control in the hospital room as he attacked his friends...
Except in my heart I knew that if Dodge really wanted to see me, nothing would stop him. He’d already shown that in different ways, and in the way he’d guarded me in the hospital... He tried to keep everyone at bay. He could have bolted for freedom and just run away. He’d wanted to protect me, to defend me. Surely that meant he had feelings for me? I debated it in my head every day the first few weeks after I left the hospital. More than once I started to ask Mercy where he was, what he was doing, why he wasn’t there with me.
Inevitably I lost my nerve. It felt too desperate, too middle school, to gossip about the boy I liked with one of his friends. So I wallowed in uncertainty and suffered over it.
I eventually distracted myself by working on my website and searching online for new jobs and places I could apply or submit part of my portfolio. It would have been better if I had recent commissions to list, but I didn’t think Ms. Bridger and the animal sanctuary were going to give me a good reference. Just the thought made me snort and shake my head. I didn’t know whether she was still around. Mercy and Deirdre just said I was safe and she wouldn’t bother me anymore.
Maybe they’d killed her and didn’t want me to have to testify if anyone ever tried to pin it on them.
A few of the architecture firms – some local but some much farther away – called me for interviews, but I pushed off the calls until I was certain the bruises and cuts weren’t visible on my face and hands and arms. They’d healed up faster than I thought they would, though shadows of bruises still haunted my throat and cheeks even after I experimented with the makeup Mercy brought for me.
Even with the interest from the firms I contacted and the excitement