The Red Warrior (2nd book Red Series) (Completed)

Chapter 17 (Edited)

I watched as he shifted and sat up on the bed that Cooper and I were supposed to sleep for the evening. My eyes were half closed, and I was more or less relaxed as he spotted me in the corner.

He was silent, staring at me with regret and guilt. His eyes were clouded as he moved a bit, watching me as if I was some dangerous, wounded animal. Vulcan opened his mouth to say something before closing it. No sound escaped his lips, and I couldn't tell how he was feeling. Fear flickered into his eyes, and I could tell that he probably went down memory lane about something that I might not want to know.

"Îmi pare rău, (I'm sorry)," I whispered, moving a hand through my hair. I grimaced, hating the fact that I caused this male pain and suffering. I didn't know if it was my fault or not, but that didn't stop the guilt trying to eat me up.

Vulcan didn't reply but grimaced. He rubbed his forehead, and I knew that he had a very bad headache. A small groan of pain escaped his lips as he held his head.

"There is some water for you on the nightstand as well as some pills to help with that headache," I said, switching back to English and looking at my hands. "I placed some of my blood in the water to help." I shrugged my shoulder and stood when he didn't say anything. "I am going down for breakfast. You can come down after you are finished up here."

He stayed silent, and I could see a smidge of guilt that he tried to hide from me as he looked down. His hands were shaking, and I watched as he took in a deep shuddering breath.

Something had to happen to him. Something had to happen to him during the time that he was captured. There had to be some reason as to why he had been so quiet, and why he was so protective of his sister against his brother.

"Ry," he said when I was about to leave the door. He didn't say anything else when I turned around to look at him. Pain and fear filled his eyes, making the guilt disappear. He gulped but didn't make another noise after that.

I forced a smile on my face, making sure that he couldn't see the pain in it. "Tell me what had happened when you are ready," I said, saying the same thing that I had said all those months ago. "You all ready know that I'll be here for you." I didn't want for him to say anything else but closed the door behind me.

I leaned against the door and sighed, closing my eyes. "I hope you can trust me," I whispered before making my way down the stairs. "You should all ready know that you could..."

***

"I forgot to ask," Dominic said when I made it into the kitchen. He stared at me, and I could see some curiosity in his eyes. He still didn't like me, nor trust me, but I could tell that he was accepting the fact that I had to be here. "How old are you?"

"One rule of female," Rhett said, coming into the kitchen. He ruffled my hair, causing me to wrinkle my nose and swat at his hands. This caused my older brother to smirk and stick his tongue out at me. "You never ask them how old they are."

"Nor, do you comment about a female's weight," Gigi said, coming in. She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips when she looked at her mate. She turned to look at me before pointing at him. "Can you help a girl out and make your brother burst into flames?"

I forced the thoughts of Vulcan from my mind, making sure that my brother wouldn't be able to read me. I knew that they knew he was back but didn't know where he was. A small smirk appeared on my face before I shook my head. "Thank you," I said to an Omega as she placed food in front of me before looking at Gigi. "Sorry, Gi," I said, with a sad sigh. "I wish I could, but... bros before hoes. Ya know?"

Rhett busted out laughing as Gigi snarled. "Come on, Love, you already knew that she wouldn't do it. If it was Thaddie on the other hand..." He smirked when both Thaddie and Melina walked into the kitchen.

Thaddie paused and blinked, looking between Rhett and I. Confusion filled his eyes, and I could tell that he knew he wouldn't like what we were teasing him about. "Wait... what?"

"Comment about your mate's weight and go "Flame On"," I replied. "Gigi is upset that I wouldn't set Rhett on fire."

"And, I thought you loved me," Gigi said. She huffed and turned away. "How wrong was I."

I rolled my eyes at their behavior and turned to look at Dominic. 'I'm eighteen," I said. "I-"

"No, you aren't," Rhett said, interrupting me.

I frowned and scrunched up my brow. "Wait... what?"

"You are nineteen."

"But my birthday isn't in anot-"

"No, it passed."

"Where was I?"

Rhett frowned and scrunched up his brows. "I think you were scouting around without the protection of your Protectors again." He glared playfully, causing me to grin.

"Probably," I said, shrugging my shoulder. "I normally just go by myself on most things."

"Which could end you up killed, or worse," Chris said, coming in followed by Mitchie. He looked pretty relaxed, and from what I could tell by looking at Mitchie, she was also relaxed and probably happy. "What are we talking about?" He stole a piece of bacon off my plate, ignoring my murderous glare.

"Where I was on my birthday," I replied.

Chris paused from eating my tasty bacon and frowned. "Wait, did it pass?" He glared at me when I stole my bacon back from him and ate it, as well as all the bacon on my plate. "Damn it, Ry," he groaned. "I was going to eat that."

"To answer your question, because Chipmunk over here can't, yes it did pass," Rhett said. "I was planning on actually celebrating it with her, only to find out that she was out fighting without my knowledge."

"She scared me half to death," Cooper said, coming into the kitchen. He kissed my cheek, causing me to pull away from him. "What?" he asked a playful smirk on his face. "Do I stink?"

I scrunched up my face and nodded. 'Go take a shower, and then I will kiss you. Where is Jonah?'

There was a yip at my feet, and I looked down to see the pup staring up at me. His head was cocked, and I knew that he wanted to be on my lap.

"Why are you talking through mind link?" Coop asked. He cocked his head and stared at me like a pup.

"Because, I don't want to see her talking with her mouth full of bacon," Rhett said in disgust as I picked up the pup. "If we were at home, that is basically what she will do. Haven't you noticed? She eats like a male."

I quickly chewed up the food before swallowing. "He's right, he saw a lot of seafood when we are at home. And yes, I eat a lot. I have to because I am always hungry."

"She eats enough for two, even though she isn't pregnant," Gigi complained, pointing at me. "And, she isn't even pregnant."

I hid an eye roll while I looked at Dominic. "Get your pack ready," I said. "There will be a competition in an hour to test everyone's level on fighting. Pregnant woman, elderly, and children under sixteen will not have to participate in the fighting. They will be trained in defense because I want to make sure that they are prepared for whatever comes our way. And trust me, they are going to need it."