Page 173 of Monster

“Don’t ever fucking do that to me again!” I yelled.

He nodded and chuckled. “I won’t ever do this to you again. I promise.”

He stepped away from us, looking from me to Kai.

“How could you ever think I would leave you two? You two and Braxton are my fucking world, and I will stay breathing for as long as possible to protect you all. Okay?”

I nodded, more sobs coming out.

“Wildcat. It’s okay. No more crying.”

“No, it’s not,” I said. “But it will be as soon as you promise never to leave my side.”

His shoulders relaxed, and he chucked my chin affectionately. “I promise.”

I shook my head. That didn’t make me feel better.

He was okay, and he was back with me.

My hands trembled as I placed them on his shoulders, clutching him in my grips.

He looked over at Kai, cupping the back of Kai’s neck with his other hand. “I won’t ever leave you.”

Kai leaned forward and briefly laid his head on his dad’s shoulder before pulling away. He shot me an affectionate look and walked over to Micah, though there was something haunted about his eyes.

It was going to take us both a while to really be okay with this.

I turned back to my monster, taking in the way his blue eyes glinted in the afternoon sun.

I burrowed closer to him, not wanting to let him go.

“I love you,” I said, and I felt his shoulders relaxing.

“I love you, too, wildcat. So fucking much.”

* * *

It wasclose to five o’clock in the morning.

Dominic was sound asleep next to me on the bed, shirtless.

The dawn light outside provided just enough for me to make out his beautiful body.

To count the breaths he took while he slept.

There was a small bandage on his side from when he got hurt in Las Vegas.

I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to think about it. Had the bullet been a little higher, a little deeper, and I would have really lost him.

I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I was afraid he might wake up, and the last thing I wanted to do was explain why I wasn’t asleep because of a nightmare about him dying.

A week had passed since Dominic did his coming back from the dead bid.

Though it wasn’t that long of a time when the news reporter said Dominic was dead to him making an appearance, there was still something so utterly terrifying, so utterly traumatic about believing he was dead.

I was still affected by it.

He had left only once this week, to take care of the traitors of the club and to make sure his club brothers knew the club was as strong as ever. The rest of the time was spent at home with me.

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