Blood Floweret

« Chapter Seven »

She fled to her room. 

No matter how much she wanted to flee to the safety of the woods, she went straight for the stairs. The forest was the only place she truly felt was the safest but she was in unfamiliar pack territory. She wanted to flee to the very spot Cassius had taken her, a place where they shared common ground, but she didn't. Her mind was in overdrive and she wanted to close it all out. 

Slamming the door of her bedroom, she heaved for air. She knew this feeling, it was a horrible experience that was engraved in her brain, and that just triggered everything to keep overreacting. Her body was in full flight mode, she wasn't even thinking about fighting, and she wanted to keep running. Run from this pain, run from her problems, but she couldn't run from her mate. He needed her and as much as she didn't believe so, she needed him, too. 

Her door opened not even milliseconds later and she knew who had followed her. She felt his comforting presence and she glanced up through bleary vision to see his green eyes. A sob broke loose from her chest, a strangled noise through her swollen throat. God, she was a mess. She had broken down twice in the same day. How weak was she? 

Cassius was talking to her, she saw his lips moving as he came closer, but she couldn't hear him over the rush of her own blood. She was feeling faint and black spots invaded her vision. She hadn't realized she had collapsed until she felt firm hands wrapped around her elbows and they sunk to their knees. 

He grabbed her hand and placed it on his heart. Slowly, she focused on the beat of his heart beneath his warm skin. She closed her eyes and willed herself to take deep breaths. Eventually, she could hear Cassius breathing and she opened her eyes. 

"That's it," He murmured, "You gave me quite a scare there." 

Sorry, she wanted to say but her throat was dry and it came out as a strangled noise. Cassius offered her a water bottle, the same one she had on her nightstand from the night before, and she greedily gulped the water. 

After she was done, Cassius spoke again, "Do you want to talk about what happened?" 

Her eyes shot to his. Anger quickly flared up. She was unpredictable and she found herself standing to her feet with hot blood rushing through her veins. He quickly stood, brows furrowed, but his lips set in a line as if he was ready to take this outburst. 

"Them," She hissed, "Those people. They're saying things they shouldn't and acting weirdly. I can't stand to be near them! They hate my guts but then they act like a bunch of babies around me!" 

"What did they say?" 

She sharply inhaled, "I told them I'm not their Alpha anymore and that man had the audacity to thank me. For what?! For the burden I carried so they could be here?! All the sacrifices I made and they didn't?!" She nearly screamed, her throat raw, "They just stood by while I got lashed at Winsor! They didn't do anything! They aren't even grateful that I saved their asses! Ugh," She gripped her hair, "I hate them!" 

Cassius was quiet, his green eyes displaying his conflicted emotions. There was understanding glimmering in the depths of his eyes but there was also something else. A whole other emotion that she didn't understand yet, something she couldn't comprehend, and she furrowed a brow at him. 

He sighed, "Maybe they are realizing how stupid they've been, have you thought about that? Maybe it's been because you've been nothing but kind to them and that's stewing them. You took care of them and they--" 

"They don't get that privilege!" She screeched, cutting him off,  "They don't get to just suddenly act nice. They don't get to decide they want to be my friend or whatever the hell they think! They've never respected me before and I'm not about to let it happen now. I've figured out how to deal with their sour attitudes but tonight? I don't know what that was, I don't know how to deal with that."  

"Val," Cassius said, softly, "I know you are overwhelmed right now, but just listen to me for a second, okay?" 

She struggled to take a deep breath, realizing her anger was slowly suffocating her, and he gently grasped her face before saying, "You're letting them get to you. Forget about them, focus on yourself. Why are you so angry? It's not going to solve anything. It won't change them and you can't control their behavior." 

Suddenly, she was crying and she couldn't even form a coherent word. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks, it just happened like her body had a mind of its own. She rubbed harshly at her eyes, trying to get herself to stop, but Cassius gently grasped her wrists. 

"Don't hurt yourself," He whispered, he wiped under her eyes with the pad of his thumb, "I'm proud of you for doing what you did, that took a lot of courage, but I don't want you getting upset over things you can't control, okay?" 

She barely managed a nod before she pressed her face into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. He exhaled, calming himself, and his arms slipped around her body. She didn't understand why this had to hurt so much and she didn't understand why she couldn't seem to stop crying. She was an emotional mess and everything surfaced in the blink of an eye, ready to shake all the pieces loose and nail them into her heart.

Cassius gently pulled her backward. He sat on her bed and leaned back, pulling her with him, and she ended up laying halfway on top of him and halfway on the bed. Their legs tangled together. She slowly ran out of tears but the pain didn't seem to leave this time. It was like an open wound, blood and raw, and it screamed for some kind of relief. A medication to numb everything but she didn't have that capability, she didn't know the answer to make this easier. 

Eventually, she just laid there, matching her breathing with his. Cassius never uttered a word, he was more than happy to just hold her, and she felt like this would become a more common occurrence as she tried to deal with things. However, she didn't feel as embarrassed about crying in front of him. His eyes never displayed distaste or judgment, just pure acceptance, and understanding, sometimes that made her cry even harder. 

She sighed, "I'm sorry." 

His chest rumbled softly, "You have nothing to be sorry for. We all need to let go at some point. Nobody is going to judge you here, we've all been there." 

"You probably want to sleep," She tried to shuffle away but his grasp only tightened and she glanced up at his face questionably. 

"I'm not going anywhere," He said, "Never again." He softly kissed her hair.

She didn't even argue because, in the next few minutes, exhaustion quickly swept her away. She wasn't afraid of the demons in the dark because her mate was protecting her. So, for the first time in a long time, she didn't fight the darkness. No, this time, she went boldly. 

♦         ♦         ♦         ♦        ♦        ♦

I'm all soft and gooey inside *wipes away tears* 

These moments are just too precious and the emotional turmoil has me crying. I'm so ridiculously happy that Cassius finally has someone. They'll get through this together! 

Even if you don't have anyone, you can still get through what you are going through. You can be strong alone. I've been there and I'm rooting for you <3