Chapter 59 So hurt
It took days to fully heal from my injuries, even with copious amounts of vampire blood that had been fed to me intravenously. During that time, Saint had hovered. He'd been inside the room with me, trying to force conversation, which I'd ignored for the most part. There was a certain freedom in knowing someone else was taking care of the pack and that it wasn't up to me to oversee it all anymore.
On the fifth day of being on bed rest, Saint finally slipped out of the room to deal with a disturbance. It left me alone for the first time since he'd shown up here and ruined my plans. Slipping into the closet, I dressed into a soft pair of jeans and a cashmere top.
I slid my feet into a pair of knee-high leather boots and stepped out of the bedroom, peering up at Xavier, who leaned against the wall with his phone in his hand. He pushed it into his pocket the moment he noticed me.
"How are you feeling?" His kind, blue eyes met and held my stare. "Fine," I said sharply as his mouth tipped into a friendly smile.
"Saint didn't want you to leave the room, but a bit of fresh air never hurt
anyone. Do you want to go outside for a few? It's not too cold yet, but you might want a jacket." "Fresh air sounds good," I answered, noting the way his muscles rippled. Xavier's dark blonde brow rose in silent question, and I shrugged. "I don't get bothered by the cold unless I'm left underground inside a storage container for a few weeks." So, I was being petty and rude, but then he was on Saint's side, and I was done playing nice with all of them.
Not bothering to wait for permission, I started down the long hallway to- ward the staircase that led down to the main entrance. The cold air blasted against my face as I pushed through the doors. I could smell the promise of snow in the crisp air.
People paused the moment they caught my scent, examining me like I was a threat. A mother grabbed her child, pulling him closer before fleeing with him. It caused an ache in my chest that tightened around my heart.
Men that had been chopping wood paused, staring me down with derision burning in their gazes. I got it; to lie to the pack or place them into a threatening situation was a heinous crime that would sever their trust. It didn't look good, but that they'd assume I was guilty based only on the word of strangers stung.
I'd never given the pack a reason to doubt my loyalty, always placing their needs before my own. Now, they'd chosen to treat me like I wasn't the same girl who had grown up working beside them. They had judged me without a trial or without one person asking if I'd done the crime. Toralei waved, and a soft grin tugged my lips as I turned, peering up at Xavier.
"Am I free to visit, or does my master wish for me to be kept away from everyone?" I asked, and Xavier's eyebrows rose before they creased his forehead.
"You can visit, but don't go too far. Saint is worried you're going to run from him."
"He should be worried because I will eventually," I admitted. "Not today, though. It's cold, and I don't even have a jacket, now do I?" I smiled, batting my eyelashes as he touched his fingers to his forehead, and pointed at a bench. "I'll be over here if you need me."
I watched him walk to the bench before I turned to join Toralei. When I reached her, she threw herself at me, hugging me tightly.
"Jesus, fuck, Brae. Are you okay?" she asked, turning to hiss at a man who growled at my approach in a warning. "Faithless pricks," she muttered beneath her breath. "I'm good," I answered, grabbing her hand to pull her with me onto the lookout that peered over the gate of the compound. "I want you to prepare to leave."
"I'm not leaving you," she whispered.
"No, you're not. We're leaving together. I won't remain here with Saint. He doesn't deserve me. What I did was to protect him, or what I thought would free him of my father's hold. Harold sold them into slavery, and they think I was a part of it."
"That's horse shit." She shook her head, leaning back, resting her elbows on the railing as she looked in one direction while I looked in the other, making sure we wouldn't be overheard. "You wouldn't do what they've accused you of doing. I know you better than they do, but anyone who could think you're a monster can get fucked. That is something I would have noticed. The pack will come around once their brains start functioning again."
"I don't care if they do or not anymore," I admitted. "I have spent my life here in exile from the world because of my father and people like them. Every- one else here has been out into the world and had the opportunity to live off this mountain, Tora. Not me. I've been stuck here as a prisoner to my father, and I need to leave for a while, if not forever."
“Done," she exclaimed. "I'll call Douglas. He will find us a place to stay where we won't be easy to trace. He can get us off the mountain, too, if we can get out from beneath your new jailor's watchful eyes. They're everywhere. I count seven sets of eyes from his team watching you at this moment, not including the hunter he has babysitting you."
"We'll figure it out, and soon. I want to be gone before the snow hits."
"What about Chaos? He misses you, and he isn't buying the shit going around here. That kid has more brains than the entire pack combined right now."
"I'm sure they're shell-shocked. Hell, even I am. My father was a monster, and you and I knew that. We just never considered how black his soul was until Saint exposed it to us. I never even suspected that he was selling people and creatures to other monsters. Lucas-" I swallowed past the bile that burned the back of my throat.
"I know," Tora uttered softly, exhaling. "Saint told me what happened and why he wasn't letting you out of bed yet. He said you were up with the sun, ready to work the next day. I feel like an idiot, Brae. I dated Lucas and never suspected he could do something so heinous. He seemed more beta than alpha, but now we know he wasn't. That asshole fooled both of us."
I smiled tightly, pushing away the images that rushed through my head. Had there been signs we'd missed or overlooked, or was he just good at hiding his true nature? My father had fooled the pack for decades, including my moth- er. She hadn't realized Harold was a monster until she was pregnant with his second child, and she still hadn't predicted how far the sickness went into his soul.