His Trouble Maker

116

“I was going to say you’re spiraling, but clearly, we’re past that.”

“Careful,” I snarl. “Keep pushing, and I’ll spiral with your spine between my teeth.”

“I miss this,” he says, stepping closer, unbothered by the threat. “You. Unhinged. Honest. All teeth and hate. No leash, no mask. Just the pretty little beast beneath.”

“You don’t miss shit,” I snap. “You miss having something to provoke. You miss throwing fire and pretending you’re not just as flammable.”

གན་ ོ་ཇོ་ ོ

He’s too close again. Always circling like he owns the perimeter of my fury.

“You want honesty?” I ask, voice rising. “Here’s the truth, Theo. I don’t know what the fuck you want helping us–but it sure as hell isn’t redemption.”

He raises a brow, says nothing, and that pisses me off more.

“You don’t care about the pack. You never did. You sure as shit don’t care about me. So why are you still here? What, you bored of playing rogue on your own? Needed someone else to stalk in circles? Someone to remind you you’re not the only fucked–up wolf in the woods?”

His expression doesn’t shift, not even a little, and that blankness hits harder than if he’d thrown a punch.

When he finally speaks, his voice is lower, stripped of the usual taunting edge. “You think I’m sticking around to see you fall apart? You really believe that’s what this is?”

1 cross my arms and narrow my eyes. “Isn’t it?”

it’s not frustration. It’s something heavier. Something restrained. “I’m here because I want to help

want to help?

too steady, too still—it feels like staring down a black hole,

me why we haven’t done anything

are you talking

he says, tone low and even. “We’ve been out here–circling, waiting, snapping at each other like rabid dogs while Grayson

arms tighter across my chest, though the cold isn’t the problem. It’s the

a blade pressed to skin. “We’re not doing anything because you’re not

clenches. “And what? You think I’m holding us

“Yeah. I do.”

teeth. “You think this is hesitation? You think I’m sitting on my ass

scared?”

“Grayson fo apologize. Pierce to fall in line. The universe to give you permission to stop playing the victim and start being the one they should’ve feared all

giving them the space to see who they really are when they think I’m broken. Because when I

the shadows stretch long behind me,

trying to protect me,” ! spit, “like I’m some fragile, feral girl that needs managing. Like I’m a fucking

09:01 Tue, 2 Sept

Chapter 116

realize-“I throw a matchstick into the fire, letting it snap and pop as it catches, “-that

me now. Really

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