Bronze

Chapter 25

Leah

Alongside everything I ever knew and would ever learn in the future, nothing would be as treacherous and death-defying as loving him. I would sacrifice everything I had just to make sure he was safe, even if that meant giving up myself in return.

Love makes us do horrible things. And sometimes, when the reason the person you love is in danger is because of your selfishness, you have to make sacrifices.

Because without love, there is no life.

Without life, there is no death.

And without death, there is no love. 

That was what I learned a long time ago, though, in hindsight, it was about a month. I had to give up everything I ever knew to protect my sister. She meant everything to me, and up until now, she was the only person keeping me alive- keeping me sane. 

Then Kane came along and threw my life upside down, twirled it in a tornado-like spin, and sent me flying on a rollercoaster of emotions. 

Never in a million years would I think an alpha would be my mate, let alone a guy who was known to be impatient and a tad bit arrogant, too. But fate was tricky, and soon- quicker than I expected- I had fallen for the guy. Not just fallen, but I dove headfirst, knowing the risks and dangers of diving off a cliff into an ocean of turbulent waters but not caring. 

I looked at the hand on the window, struggling to get it opened. I stood, and with heavy strides, managed to make my way over without falling.

"What are you doing?" I hissed as I opened the window. Derrive, with his muscular form, had a hard time fitting through the slim frame, but in the end- with a little help from my quick thinking and soap- had gotten through unscathed. 

The guy sighed with relief, plopping down on the closed toilet seat and rubbed his eyes with his palms. The floor shook with his collision with the ceramic lid.

He beckoned me over with his pointer finger. It was times like these that I wished the guy was more into talking. I wasn't the best at reading faces or expressions, and when you have a person who is as good at keeping a straight face as him, let's just say there was no way I was going to know what he was thinking any time soon. 

I took a hesitant step forward. 

Der's eyebrows rose, almost tauntingly. Come on, he said, a smirk forming on his lips. You're not scared, are you?

That seemed to get my feet moving, and before I realized it, I was standing only a few inches away, hands on my hips, watching him closely.

"What are you doing climbing through a bathroom window like that? And how did you know I was in here?" I asked impatiently. 

He shrugged. Taking a small piece of ripped toilet paper, he wiped the remaining soap from his arms and shoulders and then discarded it in the nearby trash bin. 

"I'm here to get you," he said as he stood. The muscles beneath his shirt rippled as he moved, his shirt clinging to his skin from the liquid soup used to free him. I gulped as I stared, not realizing he was also staring at me. 

"And...I didn't," he said answering my last question. "I was looking for a way to get in and stumbled upon this window. You just happened to be here." A bright red stain traveled up his neck. I studied the movement carefully, taking mental notes of where it stopped or where it would continue up his jaw. 

I tapped my heel absently. "Uh-huh, just a coincidence?" I said with an eye roll. He didn't appreciate my sarcasm and scowled. 

"Why are you here, really?" I asked after a moment of silence. I wasn't too fond of the narrowed eyes he was giving me, and my need to know why was eating away at my self-control.