I hugged Crystal closer when she trembled.
"The only evil here is you," I shot back. And I was done. Taking Crystal by the hand, I led her out of the room. Just as the guard closed the door behind us, Crystal began to cry.
"It's okay," I soothed, hating he had reduced her to this with his meaningless words.
I didn't believe for one moment that anything he said was true. I had known her all of her life and I had never, ever, seen her hurt anyone, directly or indirectly. She wasn't capable of it.
"What if he is right?" she asked, lifting her teary eyes up to mine. I smiled at her as I brushed her tears away.
"He isn't," I assured her, my tone caring.
"You can't know that," she argued softly.
"Yes, I do," I told her. "If you were evil, would you have run away to keep me and the pack safe?"
She shook her head.
"Exactly."
Crystal
Flynn's words replayed in my mind again and again.You have no idea the evil she will be capable of if you mate with her.
I rubbed my hands over my face, feeling the anxiousness his statement made me feel. What if he was right? What if I turned into some sort of monster?
Feeling more agitated, I stood up and began to pace the room. It was late. By the time we'd finished with Flynn it had been time for dinner.
At the dining table I saw Nate, Kyle's uncle. He had hugged me and settled me down to sit beside him but I hadn't been able to eat. When I had asked Kyle where everyone else was, he had told me they were busy working on strategies. It was a reminder of what could lay ahead for us. I had spent most of the time staring at my food, trying to make logical sense of what the Keeper had told us.
Flynn's reaction to my existence had knocked me. I had hoped he would be able to accept it but that hadn't happened.
Kyle had watched me with concern. I wanted to assure him I was okay but they would have been empty words. How could I not be affected by what we had been told? All my life I had never for a moment imagined that I would be capable of that. Even Kyle had a hard time wrapping his head around it.
But on the other hand he could be lying. Or perhaps that was just something he was told. Had he actually seen it himself? I had never gotten a chance to ask him and I doubted Kyle was going to let me in to see him again.
Half way through eating Kyle had arrived. After eating what I could, I began to yawn. Kyle had walked me up to his room. Even knowing we were mates it was still weird to be shown into his room and expected to be comfortable. It would take some getting used to.
He embraced me, and I rested my head against his broad chest, feeling worn out.
"Everything will be okay," he assured me.
I wanted to believe him so badly. For once I didn't want to fear for my life or for the lives of the people I held dear. Couldn't I just have a little normalcy?
He left me to get ready for bed while he went and checked how the rest of the group was coming along with ideas.
We had Flynn and it would be foolish of us to think the Keepers wouldn't come to get him back. But we couldn't let Flynn go. He knew what I was and he would tell the others. It felt like each scenario led to a war. There was no way around it. Biting my nail slightly, I wondered why my existence was such an awful thing.
I rubbed my head before giving up. I saw my backpack by the bed. Maybe going for a shower would help me distract myself until Kyle returned.
I went into his private bathroom. A spare towel was folded neatly on the counter. I stripped down to nothing before turning the shower on. Once the water temperature was right, I got in. Closing my eyes, I savored the warm water that cascaded down my body. I washed myself and rinsed.
Once I was done, I got out and dried myself off. I got dressed before I stepped back into the room.
"For a moment there I thought you made a run for it," Kyle said, walking toward me. His features were still etched with worry.
"I promised I wouldn't," I reminded him. His worry reminded me of how much I had put him through. I felt guilty. Hurting him had never been my intention.
"I know. I'm just scared you're going disappear again."
