Page 34 of Freed Wolfsbane

Flashing me another huge grin, Annabel runs over to her mom and takes her hand. She drags her mom down the hall, pausing to wave at me before they turn the corner and disappear out of sight.

“That’s the girl who tried to attack Kai?” Bastian’s eyes are wide in surprise as he stares after Annabel. “For a tiny thing, she has more guts than most adults. She’s going to be a handful when she gets older.”

I chuckle at his apt description of her. “Annabel’s incredibly brave. I think she had to be to get through however long she was with the Knights.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Hopefully she gets the chance to be a kid again.” Bastian’s expression is contemplative as he thinks about Annabel. I wonder if he’s thinking about how he never really went back to being a kid after what the priest did.

I lean into his side and wrap an arm around his waist. Bastian plants a gentle kiss on the top of my hair as he holds me tightly to him.

“I think she will. I never saw Annabel fully smile or be enthusiastic before. She’s a tough kid with a loving family. I think she’ll be able to bounce back.” None of us are ever able to forget the awful things that happen. All we can hope for is that someday they stop hurting as much, and I hope that happens soon for Annabel.

We start walking back toward our room when another bundle of hyper energy almost crashes into me.

“Briar Boo!” Rory shouts as she rushes at me in a flurry of white-blonde hair. She opens her arms for a hug before she stops short while still bouncing on her toes. “Can I hug you? Or will that hurt you?”

I snort at how excited she looks. “You can hug me. I’m not that fragile.”

When Rory moves in to squeeze me, Malachi growls, “Gentle, Ror. She’s still hurting, even if she tries to pretend she isn’t.”

Heeding Malachi’s advice, Rory gives me a lingering featherlight hug before she reluctantly steps back. She wipes at her misty navy eyes, which happen to be the same shade as Malachi’s, as she looks away to gather herself. “I’ve missed you, girlie. We were so worried when they told us the Knights took you.” She pauses to give my arm a halfhearted punch. “Don’t ever do that again! It’s bestie code that you don’t make your best friend worry you’re dead so often.”

I bark out a surprised laugh. “I’ll make sure to adhere to bestie code from now on, Rory.”

She huffs but can’t keep her signature smile from her face. “Good.”

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Ronan tells me softly from behind Rory. They look almost identical with the same fair skin, pale hair, and dark eyes, but their dispositions couldn’t be more different. Whereas Rory is bubbly, excitable, and chaotic, Ronan is quiet, reserved, and calm.

“Thanks.” When I give him a half smile, he gives me a genuine one back. While I may not be as close to Ronan as I am to Rory, I still consider him one of my best friends.

“What are you doing for the rest of the day? Wanna catch up? I have some juicy stories about the people at school.” She waggles her eyebrows at me at the mention of gossip. I shake my head at her antics but can’t keep my giggle from slipping out.

I open my mouth to respond, but Malachi beats me to it. “She can’t today. Briar shouldn’t even be out of bed. She wanted to help with the post-op briefing, but she needs to rest now.”

Letting out a sigh at his heavy-handedness, I reluctantly agree with him. “While Malachi is being insufferably bossy, he is right. I’m pretty tired. I’d love to catch up, though. Maybe tomorrow?”

Malachi snorts at me calling him out for being bossy but doesn’t say anything, probably because I’m agreeing with him rather than giving him a hard time like usual.

“Absolutely! I’ll bring movies and snacks, and we can just chill out in your room. I’ll let you go rest, and I’ll text you about hanging out. Feel better, chickee!” Rory darts in for another cautious hug. When she pulls back, she waves to her cousins before grabbing her brother’s hand and practically skipping away.

I can’t help the smile at Rory and what a force of nature she is. I’m looking forward to hanging out with her because it’s been a while since we really spent much time together.

When she declared herself my best friend on the first day of class, I didn’t realize just how accurate that would be. I’m thankful for Rory and her unwavering friendship, something I haven’t had much of since I moved to Wolves Hollow.

We make it up the stairs and to Malachi’s room without running into anyone else. Xander, Bastian, and Saint peel off to grab things from their respective rooms, so just Malachi and I go into his room.

He leads me to the bed. With the bone-deep fatigue making it hard to stay upright, I don’t fight him. Flopping down on the rumpled comforter, I don’t even bother to climb under the sheets I’m so tired. Instead, I just enjoy being horizontal for a moment.

Surprising me, Malachi doesn’t get in next to me. He puts his knees on either side of my legs and cages my head in with his forearms. Being careful not to put any weight on me, he leans down to give me a gentle kiss.

CHAPTER17

BRIAR

While the kiss is slow and tender, having his soft lips against mine still makes everything in me light up. I arch up into him as arousal snakes up my spine. Wanting relief from the need spiraling through me, I try to rub myself against him. He stubbornly keeps his hips away from mine.

When I whimper, Malachi pulls back. His chest heaves as he gives me a heavy-lidded stare. “I didn’t mean this to be anything other than a kiss, baby girl. You’re hurt, and I don’t want you to injure yourself further. I just needed you to know how fucking much I love you. I’ve never been very good at wording my emotions, so I was trying to show you how I feel.”

How turned on I am takes a back seat as I gape at him in disbelief. “You love me?” I whisper, unsure if he can even hear the words with how quiet I am.

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