Chapter 24 Kent was only a few steps down the hallway when he heard the crash and Riley's cry of pain. His heart jumped to his throat as he turned around, running back to the sitting room. Riley was laying on the floor, a side table knocked askew. She was pressing her hands to her brow, just above her left eyebrow. "Riley?!" He rushed towards her, dropping to knees just as she tried to scramble away. He could see the blood seeping between her fingers. He grabbed at her wrists, trying to pull her hands away to see but she twisted away, scooting backwards from him. "Let me see," he begged, coming towards her again. "Just go!" she spat, trying to scoot back further but only hitting the wall. He could see the tears on her face and felt his chest ache. He had done this. He was so busy being upset and hurt about her that he didn't stop to think about what she was going through. He knew she was sick, clearly sick enough to see Lana and his response had been to scream and yell at her and threaten to reject her. He felt a sharp stab in his chest, realizing what an ass he had been. "Riley," he said softly, watching her attempt to stand, "I'm sorry I yelled at you. Just let me take a look, ok? I can have Lana come back if you prefer." Riley said nothing, not even looking at him. She let go of her head, using her hands to push herself up. Blood began to flow freely from the cut, running down her face. She closed her eyes against the blood that began to flow into them. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it off, pressing it against her forehead and using the edges to wipe the blood from her eyes. She was wearing leggings and a blue lace bra, but Kent did his best not to look at that as he stood up. He approached her quickly, before she had fully cleaned her eyes and put his hands on her head. "Let me look," he said quietly. Surprisingly, she moved her hands, letting him peel the shirt away. The cut was about an inch long, but it didn't look deep. "It's not too bad," he whispered, pushing the shirt back to her forehead. "I can patch you up in your bathroom. There's a first aid kit in there. Or I can have Lana come back if you prefer." "You can just do it," she breathed, tipping her head back to meet his gaze. Once in her bathroom, he pulled a first aid kit from under her sink before carefully taking her shirt from her. He washed and bandaged the cut, keeping his eyes focused solely on her wound. He tried not to focus on how close he was to her or how he could feel her breath on his neck while he bent over her head. When he was done, he threw away the trash, stored the supplies and grabbed a washcloth. He ran it under warm water before focusing on cleaning the blood off her face. He placed a hand under chin, tipping her face up to his so he could see her face better. Her breath ghosted over his face as he worked, her lips parted slightly as she watched him. As he finished cleaning her face, he ran his eyes down her body planning to check for more blood. However, he realized his mistake as she was still not wearing a shirt. He took in her creamy skin, the shape of her breasts in her blue lace bra, the curve of her waist and felt his blood start to rush to his c**k. 1/3 Chapter 24 "You should wash your hands," he managed to say. While she was washing her hands, he quickly pulled off his sweater so he was only wearing his white undershirt. When she turned back around he could slide it over her head. *15 Points "I have my own clothes," she half-laughed. The sweater was huge on her as she slipped her arms into the sleeves. He swallowed hard. "I needed to act fast. I was losing blood flow to my brain." This time she did laugh and he couldn't help but smile. He reached out and rolled the sleeves up. He pretended not to notice when she dipped her nose to the collar and inhaled deeply, but he couldn't help but feel his smile widen slightly. "Can we talk now?" she asked seriously. "Sure," he replied, "but not in the bathroom." He motioned towards the door and followed her out into the bedroom. She sat on the edge of her bed and while he took one of the armchairs. "I'm sorry," Kent said quickly, cutting her off before she could speak. "I really want to start with that. I was angry but that's not an excuse. I didn't really mean what I said about rejecting you." Riley chewed on the bottom of her lip for a moment before sighing. "I'm sorry too. I should have just told you what was going on. I really put Patrick and Lana in a bad position with you. They both told me I should just tell you what's going on, but I didn't want to listen." "What has been going on?" he asked softly. "I've been sick." Riley stared at her feet, not looking at him. He waited for her to continue but she didn't. He furrowed his brow. "I knew that." She looked up quickly. "You did?" He shrugged. "Well, yeah. I can tell when you're not feeling well. It's been pretty obvious. You kept saying it was stress, but it clearly isn't. I didn't want to push you though. I figured everyone gets sick sometimes." She frowned, rubbing her forehead. "It's worse than that, I think. I couldn't shift earlier today when you found Patrick with my wolf. It seems to come and go suddenly. Patrick has been pushing me to talk to Lana since yesterday to make sure it isn't something serious. I agreed I would see her, but only if he would agree not to tell you all the details and how much it's been affecting me." Kent chewed the corner of his mouth for a moment. It suddenly made sense. "That's why he was telling you not to spar today and why he took you to your room. He was looking out for you." She nodded slowly. "And I threw him into a wall," he groaned softly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Great." "I really am sorry," Riley said quickly. "I should have just told you. He said he doesn't like keeping things from you." Kent shook his head with a heavy sigh. "Ok, but why, Riley? Why was I not allowed to know?" She swallowed hard, looking at the ground. "Partly, I didn't want you to see me as weak or doubt my abilities. But also I didn't want you to be overprotective or try to tell me what I can or can't do. Like you were this morning, about going into the woods. I don't need another mate who tells me what I can or can't do, or who 213 Y constantly tries to bring me down." Kent stared at her for a moment, taking in what she said. He could see how she could have drawn some conclusions about him over the last couple days. "You're last mate sounds like a piece of work," he finally said. She looked towards the window. It was dark outside now. "I don't really want to talk about him." He watched her for a moment, taking in her profile. He really wanted to ask her more about her previous mate, but he decided that now really wasn't the time. "Riley?" She turned to look at him. "I know having a mate isn't something you really want now, but we do have to get through the next few weeks together until this issue with the rogues is sorted. I won't push you, but please don't keep me in the dark on things. I'm not asking you to be my mate, or to have a relationship with me. I'm just asking that you talk to me. Don't keep secrets and please don't ask my friends to hide things from me." She nodded. "I won't. I'm sorry." "And for the record..." He paused until she looked up at him. "I would never hurt you like your last mate." She stared at him for a moment before glancing away. "I'd like to believe that." He smiled slightly. "I'll prove it to you, don't worry." At that she smiled, glancing at him. He felt a warmth wash over him and fought the urge to go to her, to hug her tightly. She certainly looked like she could use a hug. "Can I tell you something?" she asked after a moment. "Anything." "When I walked out with Lana, I was headed to get dinner. I'm actually really hungry right now." He chuckled. "The dining hall is closed, but I'll go down and see if Elva is still there to make you something." "Elva? Is that Max's mom?" He nodded, "Best cook around. Come out to the sitting room and I'll go find you something to eat." "I can go downstairs," she said as she stood up. He shook his head, standing up too. "You're wearing my shirt and have a bandage on your head. I don't think that will give the impression you want." He opened the door and motioned for her to go out first. "Just wait in the sitting room. I'll bring it up." Comments Get Bonus (Ad) >