Page 20 of Hart's Redemption

He bared his teeth again and spun to walk away, close enough that his tail slapped me in the face.

"The fuck? Rude."

He glanced at me over his shoulder.

"Of course you know all about werewolf etiquette," I grumbled as I stood up, but didn’t leave to let him change on his own. As angry as he was, he'd want me to stay.

He reached where he’d initially transformed and shook out his fur. His coat settled, and the change took hold.

I never took my eyes off ‌him, watching the entire grueling process while keeping an eye out for any threats.

After about twenty minutes, the transition was complete. Josh knelt in the grass, one hand planted firmly on the ground and the only thing preventing his exhausted body from crashing to the earth. After a few more minutes of strained silence, he pushed to his feet. He wobbled, and I rushed forward to help him. His furious glare stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Don't touch me."

My heart sank, but I took a step back. He didn't spare me a second glance as he stalked back to where our change of clothes still waited with unerring accuracy. I looked up at the moon for inspiration and ran my hands through my hair before following him.

Chapter 7

Josh

Theridebacktothe hospital was painfully quiet. Despite the awkwardness between us, the bond continued to burn like a miniature sun in my chest, fierce and strong. I shoved the awareness of it away and focused intently out the window. I couldn’t afford to break down again, not if I wanted to get out of that box they kept me in.

Home.

I clenched ‌the armrest of the beat-up truck. Did I even have the right to call Elijah’s place home? The bond thrummed in response as if in answer, and a low growl slipped free.

Elijah’s gaze darted from the road to me.

I continued to ignore him and fought to get my emotions back in check.

The truck lurched to a stop with a sound like a death rattle. Silence filled the void in its absence. I quickly vacated the hover truck before Elijah could fill it with words. The car door slammed shut behind me with a metallic clang that echoed across a parking lot nearly devoid of life as I marched my way into the place that had been my personal hell for the last three months.

The hiss of air that accosted me raised goosebumps on my arms and added to my irritation. It wasn’t often that I felt the world was against me, but right now I felt it down to my marrow. The abrasive air, the harsh ring of metal, the pity in Elijah’s eyes… My hand clenched into a fist by my side, and I walked faster.

Dr. Lyons stepped out of her office just as I rounded the corner. When she declared that changing beneath the full moon and being able to truly experience the transition might actually help my condition, I’d been beyond ecstatic. All of my previous excitement at being allowed out of my cage had died in that forest. Now, once again, she held the key to my freedom.

She breathed a visible sigh of relief, no doubt at seeing me in human form or perhaps at seeing me at all. Her gaze darted behind me, confirming what I already knew—Elijah was hot on my heels. “I take it you’re eager to get home?”

I flinched at the word as if it were a physical blow. “Let’s get this over with.”

She nodded and held the door open for me to enter, then waited for Elijah to catch up.

“Don’t let him in here.”

Uncertainty radiated from her, indecision clear in the tightness around her eyes. “Are you sure?”

I clenched my jaw to prevent excess words from tumbling out in answer.Yes? No? How am I supposed to be in the same room with a man who’s made it abundantly clear he never wanted what is now burning like a supernova in my chest? The horror in his eyes when I’d talked about the bond, when I’d made the mistake of saying aloud just how completely I was his now.

A sob threatened to burst through my clenched teeth. For lack of the ability to speak, I settled for what had always worked in the place of words: I glared at her.

“O-okay.” She shot Elijah an apologetic look over my shoulder, and I stalked past her into the exam room. “Sorry, Dr. Bennett, you’ll need to wait out here.”

“Are you fucking serious? Priscilla—”

“I understand your frustration, but it’s out of my hands. The patient is fully cognizant and in complete control of his faculties. He has a right to doctor-patient confidentiality.” Her words softened from their sharp professionalism. “We shouldn’t be long.”

The door closing cut off Elijah’s responding growl. Oh yeah, he was pissed.