I glance at my father as he covers his mouth with the back of his hand. Now, I feel even more guilty for making him pick me up. A burden, I tell you, I’m a fucking burden!
All of this is my fault. Everyone’s lives are affected because of me. I just keep making things worse, every single time. No matter what or how I do, anything – I make a mess and force others to fix it for me. I am all but a ghost of the daughter they deserve.
But I can’t hide from the shadows within me. I can’t control them. I can’t wake up and change everything, make them happy and feel at home with me around. They don’t deserve the suffering my existence forces on them.
“Jonah?” Kora mutters, reminding me, and I shake my thoughts away as my finger finally hits the call button on the screen.
The phone rings as my father pulls into the service station just outside of town. The first call goes straight to voicemail. No. No, no, no! It can’t be what I think, can it? No… what if…
“I need coffee. Want one?” my father asks, and I nod to him.
I’m not really able to comprehend what he says, or if he says anything more as I redial Jonah’s number again. I feel like someone just set my chest on fire while there’s nothing inside. An empty void of flames.
Please pick up, please pick up… Come on Jonah, pick up! Please, don’t leave me hanging, pick up the phone! Tell me you’re alright and safe, I beg you!
My heart rate increases the longer it rings. When Jonah finally picks up, I let out a heavy breath of relief, and tears well up in my eyes. I’ve never felt relief like this.
“Told you he is fine,” my father mutters as he gets out of the car.
I let out another shaky breath and squeeze my eyes shut. A fresh wave of relief washes over me, sending shivers down my spine. “Jonah?” I whisper, relieved to hear his voice.
“Hey, what’s up? I am…” I don’t give him another second, and I interrupt him mid-sentence.
“Don’t go to Kyan’s, Jonah! Promise me you will stay away from him!” I shriek in panic.
I don’t know if it’s me or Kora who is speaking to him now. We’re a mess, a massive, destructive, and very miserable mess of nerves. Our thoughts feel like they are muddling into one, and the concern I feel for what could happen is getting the better of me.
“Huh, I am with…” He stops talking when suddenly, I hear a growl that is more like a roar as Jonah’s words are cut off. What the hell is happening? “Oh fuck,” Jonah says and then I hear a crashing sound and snarls booming through the phone.
I have no idea what to think … my mind is going into complete panic mode now!
“Mine!” a deep, gravelly voice comes from the other side of the line. It’s so weird, yet enchanting, that merely hearing the voice leaves an odd effect on me. It raises goosebumps on my arms.
Who is it? Whose voice is it? And while there are more awful sounds in the background, I’m stuck in the questions about whoever entered the room with Jonah now.
“Jonah?” My voice trembles as I call out for him. I can’t think anymore. The bangs and crashing over there make it difficult for me to hear myself, let alone him. The more sounds come from the phone, the blanker my mind becomes. All I can do is listen.
“Kaif stop!” I hear Jonah’s voice stammer out, and my heart nearly stops.
I swear it does stop and I die when the sound of glass breaking reaches my ears. What the hell is happening over there? I feel so helpless as I listen to something happen on the other end and I can do nothing.
This is my fault. It’s all my fault. I did this. Something bad is happening to Jonah because of me.
“Jonah!” I cry out, ripping the phone away from my ear.
Kora pushes against my skin, and my claws slip into my father’s car seat. The phone slips through my fingers as my gloves tear off my hands. “Kora,” I grit out, trying to stop her from shifting.
More crashing can be heard before I hear a long, harsh wheeze come through the phone. Another voice. A voice that is neither Jonah’s nor Kyan’s.
Jonah
“Jonah?” Marabella shrieks through the phone, and I pull it away. My ear is ringing from how high-pitched her voice rings out.
Placing it back to my ear, I answer her. “Hey, what’s up? I am…”
She cuts me off mid-sentence. Her voice is erratic, laced with pure panic, and I swear I can feel her fear from here. Even though we aren’t bonded, and not even mates, for fuck’s sake, I feel her. I feel her more than she can imagine.
“Don’t go to Kyan’s, Jonah! Promise me you will stay away from him!” Marabella rushes out the words. I can hear how desperate she is to hold me back from whatever she thinks might happen to me. Little does she know that I don’t give a fuck. The kiss was worth a thousand deaths and more. I would do it again. I don’t care about the consequences.
“Huh, I am with….” I stop talking when a furious growl makes me turn around to look behind my back. I am faced with Kaif. He has forced his way forward, and I know Kyan has no control anymore. Shit.
“Oh fuck,” I let out a curse as I try to jump off the bed. But as I do, Kaif lunges at me, his claws slashing down my chest as I roll off the bed and smash against the floor. Fuck!
The phone slides across the floor, and I can hear Marabella’s frantic voice shrieking out to me, but I am distracted and unable to answer. Kaif’s foot goes to stomp on my head. The intensity of the force cracks the wood of the floor next to my head. Why the fuck must this motherfucker be so goddamn strong?
It would be far easier to face an overgrown werewolf than this bigfoot moron. But, thankfully or maybe not, this isn’t my first time facing the beast. And I know it won’t be the last.