Everything Anew

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Lila

The moment they turned their backs on us to leave, every ounce of bravery left me. My chest felt heavy, and my head swam with thoughts of what was to come. Every instinct inside of me told me to turn around and run.
Nathan turned to face us, the night making it hard to see his features, but the smell of blood was evident in the air.

"Nathan." I whispered, concern etched into my voice.

"We're leaving. Now." The alpha walked past us and headed back towards the house, having to jog to keep up with him. "We need backup. If they're starting a war, so be it." Nathan spat.

He appeared to be keeping his composure, as though what had just happened didn't bother him, but I could tell in the way he spoke that he was bordering on fury.

We walked back silently, almost feeling the energy coming off of him the entire time. Once we made it back to the house, the others stayed outside to shift back, while Nathan and I walked inside.

"Nathan." I tried again. This time, wild eyes turned to me, completely catching me off guard. I looked down to his cut lip, to the blood dripping down his chin. "You need to clean yourself up."

"I'm fine." He turned.

"Nate!" I snapped, making him stop moving entirely. He kept himself facing away from me, but listened. "We can do what needs to be done, once you're taken care of."

Nathan's wide shoulders were taught along with the rest of his body. He released a deep breath, shoulders slumping in the process, and then faced me. I nearly stepped back, forgetting how much power he held within him, his gaze alone causing me to look away.

"Fine. Meet me upstairs."

The others walked into the house as I made my way up the steps, listening to Nathan's voice along the way. We were to head out within half an hour, meeting with another pack to see if they would side with us to form an alliance. I wondered who the other pack was, if they were credible, and why we didn't go to them sooner.

It took only a few minutes before Nathan's bedroom door opened, and the alpha stepped inside. He made his way over to me, his body still tensed up, on edge, but he remained cooperative and sat next to me at the edge of the bed.

I got up and soaked a cloth with warm water, returning to where he sat while facing him. My stomach twisted, watching Nathan for a moment to see if I could will myself to continue. Before I could back out, I took a deep breath and told him, "Face me."

He glanced in my direction, his body following soon after. His focus then went to the wall behind me, completely zoning out as I reached up and paused. God, I should have just left the others to help him, hell, he was capable of doing it on his own.

"It'll sting." I mumbled, but received no reaction.

My fingers hovered over the left side of his jaw, nearly shaking from being so close to him. Focus Lila. I allowed myself to relax before the tips of my fingers pressed to his stubbled jaw. I hadn't realized my heart was beating so hard in my chest until I focused on levelling my breathing. Not being so close to anyone in such a long time made such a simple touch mean more to me than I'd like to admit. I brought the cloth up and wiped the blood off his skin. I moved up towards his lips, staring at them for a moment, and finding myself wondering how they'd feel.

My gaze finally lifted to meet his, noticing then that he was watching me. My cheeks felt hot; did he notice me staring? Just the idea alone made me flush further. I looked away from his eyes and dabbed the cloth against his lip. "It's already stopped bleeding. How are your teeth?"