The Wolf Crown (The Wolf Kings #2) (MLM)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

                "M'fine," Jack murmured as Tiberius set him down on their bed. Everyone had followed them in, Everett hovering nearby on the other side, pressing a cold cloth to Jack's cheek which he wearily swatted away. All of his muscles felt weighed down with lead. "Stop, m'okay."

Except he wasn't okay, he didn't even sound okay. His head still felt like it was stuffed with cotton, the lump in his throat growing more suffocating, the weight in his chest unrelenting. He'd hoped that after speaking to the Seer, some of this pressure on his temples would've eased. But he'd been wrong. It'd only been another stone on top of the pile. He was also pretty sure he was going to throw up.

"Leave us," was Tiberius's single command. Everett, Mira, and Wyatt hesitated, but Graham opened the door wider and there was no more stalling for any of them. Jack couldn't meet their eyes as they left. He worried the distress he felt would show like a blaring sign on his face.

The door closed, leaving him and Tiberius in an almost deafening silence. It felt too much like being back in that cavern with only the Seer watching him, about to whisper some other miserable secret into his head.

Tiberius reached for him. "Jack—"

Jack flew out of bed, all but crashing through the bathroom door before he was kneeling in front of the toilet, throwing up the breakfast his fiancé had hoped would give him strength. Tiberius was already at his side, rubbing his back.

Jack heaved, the back of his throat tasted like acid, and he slumped against the wall. "I'm sorry," he croaked.

"Don't be sorry," Tiberius said softly, like nothing about this reaction surprised him.

Jack opened his mouth to say something, anything, but his head started to swim and he shut his eyes. Finally, he managed to repeat, "I'm sorry."

Tiberius cupped his cheek, forcing his gaze to focus on his own. "Don't," he said fiercely, "be sorry."

He flexed his fingers, if only to make sure he could still move his limbs. "I should be stronger than this."

"You're the strongest man I know," Tiberius defended.

"You said my life's been tough since the moment we met," he said, and Tiberius tensed, his hand falling from Jack's jaw to his coat collar, clinging to it. "But you're the one who's mated to a total gamble. You would've been better off with someone else," he chuckled miserably, "at least then you wouldn't spend every day worried about how fragile they are."

"Don't say that," Tiberius said quietly, his knuckles white on Jack's coat, his other hand gripping Jack's knee tightly. "Don't talk like you're going to leave me, I don't want anyone else, I only want you."

"Me?" he whispered, and his lower lip trembled. "Tiberius, I'm not like you. I can't understand the wolves like you can, I can't even see in the dark without a damn flashlight, and now we have something that can hurt you with one touch chasing us, and I can't do a fucking thing to stop it."

"Jack—"

"That's why you didn't tell me what was going on at first, right?" Jack roughly wiped his face. "Because you didn't think I could handle it either?"

Tiberius's shoulders fell, his expression pained. "No, my beautiful, no." He sat against the wall next to him, taking his hand tightly in his both of his own. "I kept it to myself because I didn't want you to handle it, not because I thought you couldn't."