24. Adrianna

24

ADRIANNA

A lpha, help me.

Alpha. Help. Me?

If I wasn't so damn concerned about the gash on his freaking face, I'm certain I'd attack him myself. But I can't. It's impossible to deny that my worry for him outweighs my anger at the request and his lack of manners. He can make it up to me later.

Shaking my head, I sigh, keeping in step with the growly wolf as he directs us toward the wolf building. No one follows after us, not even Brody or Raiden who always seem to oversee everything.

It's just the two of us, wandering in silence, and with every passing beat of my heart, the tightness eases. With every step, I know with raw, annoying certainty that the anger burning through my body is misdirected.

Cassian isn't my true target; he's not who I'm mad at. I'm mad at fucking Crystal.

Dumb bitch.

Apart from Janie, every wolf I've encountered has been hell-bent on making my life difficult, removing me from the board by defeating me in the challenge. Crystal is now closing in on Vallie at the front of the line, high on my target list, but since she's not here, everything centers around Cassian.

"What's the scowl for?" The wolf in question's gruff voice cuts through the air, and I feel his eyes dancing over the side of my face as he stares me down.

"Nothing," I mutter through clenched teeth, and he scoffs. Fucker.

"Does it have something to do with your white knuckles?" he asks, a hint of amusement vibrating through his heavy tone. To drive his point home, he lifts his hand, pulling mine along with him, and it's only then that I realize our fingers are intertwined. Not only that, but my knuckles are like snowy peaks on a winter morning.

I groan, easing my hold and forcing my fingers to relax, but he doesn't like that.

"Nah, bring it back." His grasp on my hand tightens, making my fingers ache with the way he clings to me, and I gape at him.

"Hey!" My attempts to retract my hand from his are wasted. His hold is like steel, and I'm apparently an unwilling victim locked in place.

Meeting his stare, my lips part, ready to give him a piece of my mind, but when my eyes latch onto his, he leaves me gaping instead.

Speechless.

His eyes swirl with fire and ice as he takes me in.

Anger and joy.

Destruction and harmony.

"If I tell you to pull away, will you squeeze tighter? I don't really have the capacity to work backward right now, but it seems I'll do just about anything for you," he mutters, raising a questioning eyebrow at me.

We pass the fountain that redirects the pathways to each origin building, and we take the wolf path without hesitation. My gaze steals a peek at the gash on the side of his face and I cringe. It doesn't look good. Hopefully, it's just superficial, but he's acting like nothing is out of place.

The sight of his pain has me complying. Again. Once to his initial command, now to this. What is he doing to me? Flexing my fingers around his, he relaxes his tight grip just a smidge so it's comfortable.

"Actions speak louder than words, Alpha, and this…I like it." He nods down at our joined hands with a pleased grin on his face, and I sigh.

"Of course you do."

He doesn't treat me to a smart remark or even a sliver of snark. Instead, he swings open the main door to the wolf building and leads me inside. It's eerily quiet since everyone else is likely in class. Our footsteps echo around us as we march to his room, and by the time he kicks his bedroom door shut behind us, my pulse is thundering in my ears.

Swiping my tongue over my bottom lip, I wiggle my fingers between his, and he thankfully releases his hold. I take the distance and double it, tilting my head back as I inhale a deep breath. When I finally feel centered enough to deal with this infuriating man, I glance around his room to find him perched on the side of his bed.

His elbows are braced on his thighs, his fingers laced together as his eyes track my every move.

"Why did you do that?" I ask, my eyebrows pinching with confusion. Every situation we find ourselves in only seems to go from bad to worse, and today is no different.

"Do what?"

"Duel," I say with a gasp, waving my hand at the door like that helps.

"Why wouldn't I?" He leans back, switching his elbows for his hands on his knees as he continues to assess me.

"Why didn't you mention that you could fulfill the challenge?" I push, pursing my lips.

He shrugs. "Because it didn't matter."

"It didn't matter that someone might attack you?" My head rears back, horror dancing in my eyes as I gape at him, and all this ass can do is shrug. Again.

"Just like someone might attack you?" He quirks a brow, turning the situation back around to me, and I shake my head.

"That's different."

"How?"

Fuck.

Exhaling slowly, my hands clench at my sides. My right hand wraps around fabric, reminding me I still have hold of Cassian's green cloak. I quickly toss it on his bed like it's on fire and step toward him.

His thighs spread wider and I enter his proximity with bated breath. Reaching for his face, my thumb grazes over the bloody mess down his cheek, avoiding the main damage.

"She could have done much worse," I murmur, squinting at the wound as if an adjustment to my eyesight can help me gauge how deep the three cuts are.

He tilts his head to the side, leaning into my touch. My heart races, my throat dries, and my eyes blink in wonder at him. "I was distracted by your beauty, and she's lucky she got away with this," he murmurs, a smirk touching the corner of his lips, and I shake my head again.

"I shouldn't be a distraction."

That's what I'm struggling with. More than the remnants of her attack, more than the duel in general, I hate the fact that his guard slipped because of me. Being a distraction wasn't my intention, but here I am, causing chaos for those around me.

"Get over it," he grumbles, replicating my touch on his face, only his thumb strokes in wide swipes across my cheek, leaving goosebumps in his wake.

"Cassian." His name slips from my lips. A prayer? A curse? A plea?

"Addi, I would take more than a slash to the face for you. This?" He points at his face with his free hand, driving his point home. "This is nothing."

I blink at him. Once. Twice. Three times, until he suddenly shakes his head, shifting my hands from his face as he sighs.

"Fuck. I didn't just say that," he mutters under his breath.

"You did," I whisper, my eyes searching his as he tilts his head back.

"Did I?"

I frown, beyond confused, and he must sense it.

"Do you want to admit it, too?"

My eyebrows furrow even deeper. "I…"

"I can't hear you," he says with a smirk, dropping his gaze from mine as he takes a deep breath. When his gaze meets mine again, I exhale, noting the shift in his stormy eyes.

"Let's get you cleaned up, shall we?" I offer, silently pleading to change the subject, and he offers me a small smile as he nods.

"Whatever you say, Alpha." He stands, leaving me rooted to the spot as he slips into his bathroom, reappearing moments later with somewhat of a first aid kit.

"Stop calling me that," I mumble, pressing my fingertips into my temples as I try to ease the tension that's rising in me.

He shrugs. "No. It's true," he states, all matter of factly like there's no question to it at all.

"What is?" I persist, and he gives me a pointed look as he retakes his seat on the bed, caging me in with his wide-spread thighs once again.

"I feel like we just agreed that we're not admitting anything right now."

"We're not," I agree, an ache in my chest growing against my will as my stomach ties itself in knots.

He nods, a knowing glint in his eye that confirms he knew I would say that. "When you're ready, we'll get into it properly, but for now, you can help patch me up."

"What makes you think I'm any good at that? Why didn't you just ask Brody to heal you with his powers?" I ask, more than happy to change the subject.

"I don't know if you're any good at this, but I needed a minute, and I wanted that minute with you. Don't ask why; you don't want to get too deep. I just did, and I don't need Brody all up in my space about this. It will do more harm than good," he adds with a grunt, nudging the first aid kit toward me.

Wordlessly, I pry it open and glance at the supplies. Running my fingers lightly around his open wounds, I cringe when the blood continues to drip down his cheek, running over my fingers.

"It's deep," I admit, pushing at his chin to tilt his head back to give me better access.

"Does it make me look all rugged and shit?" he asks, and I snicker at him.

One stupid question and the tension coiling in my muscles eases enough for my shoulders to relax.

Unable to keep the soft smile from my lips, I look closer, slowly running my fingertips down the side of his face. "I think it makes you look?—"

"Why is your touch so warm?" he asks, making me freeze as my eyes narrow on him.

"I don't…" My words trail off, taking any kind of rationale with it as I gape in shock.

"Oh my gosh," I breathe, my eyes so wide they're on the verge of pain. I'm too scared to blink for fear of missing it.

"It's healing, isn't it? I fucking knew it would." Cassian's grin spreads from ear to ear. I'm sure I've never seen him look so pleased, and I can likely count on one hand the amount of times I have, so there's not much to go off.

"You knew it would?" I whisper, watching as the holes in his flesh knit together beside my fingertips. I can't decide if I'm impressed or creeped the fuck out, but I couldn't move my hand away even if I wanted to.

"I hoped," he admits with a shrug, and I shake my head in disbelief.

"How?"

"Because you're my Alpha." My gaze darts to his as my heart races so fast I'm sure I'm going to pass out.

"Cassian."

I still can't decipher if it's a prayer, a curse, or a plea, but the weight of it is heavy on my tongue. My fingertips only fall from his face when not a single mark remains, and he swipes a hand over his cheek to confirm it for himself before he offers me a response.

"The duel. The one you're fighting for is the only one who can heal you ." I remember him telling me those exact same words after I had my first duel. We were in Raiden's room, the words heavy in the night as he healed me too. Except…

"But you weren't fighting for me. You were fighting for you."

That's what he said. That's what he means. It still doesn't explain how I did this. I look down at my hands, searching for an answer in the creases of my palms, but it's Cassian's next words that give me the understanding I wasn't prepared for.

"Addi," he breathes, waiting until he has my gaze. "I'm always fighting for you."