I sat on my bed, legs bent and arms resting on my knees. Mom lectured me for nearly an hour before she let me go to my room. There was a moment I thought of telling her everything. Part of me wanted to, but I couldn’t. Despite all that had happened so far, it didn’t change the fact that Mom needed Harry. If she knew the truth, it would force her to choose between us.

I followed Ryder down near the shore. We sat down at a small picnic table some hundred feet from the shore. “Here,” he said, pushing a bag towards me, then looked hesitant. “You’re not a vegetarian, are you? Sorry, I should’ve asked before I left.”“Nah, you’re good,” I told him, taking out the burger a

Mike recovered faster than I expected, and I had only run halfway down the hallway when he grabbed me. He snatched the back of my hoodie and swung me around, throwing me face first into the lockers. Pain exploded in my head and my vision went white. When color and shapes bled into the white, I realized I was on the ground. Something warm ran down the side of my face and when I wiped it away, blood covered my fingers. My heart stuttered, and I looked up at Mike. The look of fury on his face was like nothing I’d seen before. He was going to kill me! A scream ripped from my throat and I scrambled to get to my feet.I screamed again when his hand wrap around my arm.“Keep your hands off her,” Ryder demanded in a gruff growl.“Get lost, Deano! This has nothing to do with you. She’s mine, and I do what I want with her.”A growl rumbled through the hallway and I looked back towards Ryder. I sucked in a breath at the similarity in his and Mike’s expressions. “Brook isn’t yours,” he told Mike.

Driving slower than I’d like, I followed the directions coming from my phone. My head throbbed and a big part of me wanted to lie down and bury myself under blankets, but I couldn’t. I had to put as much distance between me and Mike. With that in mind, I kept on driving even after I left Black Mountain territory. The plan was to not stop, even as night fell, but after a few hours my head hurt so badly, I could hardly focus on the road. I was nauseous and feverish. I needed to stop and take a breather. Once I was feeling better, I’d get back on the road. 

Exhaustion hit me like Kara’s truck when Emily Left. I sighed and sat on the bed. Closing my eyes, I sent a silent prayer to the big guy. Let this be my break, please. Grabbing a change of clothes, I showered and sat on the bed when someone knocked on the door. I groaned, wanting only to lie down and go to sleep. I opened the door to a tall, blonde, Viking looking guy.