Page 55 of Into the Fire: Before

By halfway through my shift, the pain had made its way through my entire head. Scorching tentacles started at the base of my skull and wrapping around to the front of my forehead. My steps were sluggish. The overhead lights like pokers in my eyes. When I dropped a plate I couldn’t remember having picked up, Jennie clutched me by both shoulders and marched me to the front door.

“No, wait!” I said, perking up as best I could. “I need this job, I’m sorry, please—”

“I’m not firing you, Taryn,” Jennie said through gritted teeth as she pushed me out the door. “But you’re no good to me like this. Go home.”

I would’ve fought her harder—I’d been back to work less than a week, and Brea’s school stipend and our savings meant we were in okay shape, but I’d wanted to contribute. The idea of losing out on the money hurt almost as much as the hot pokers currently skewering the inside of my skull.

I opened my mouth to insist I was fine, but the huge sway I took from a flash of vertigo undercut the sentiment a bit. I gave a weak nod, heading for the bus stop because I sure as hell wasn’t walking half a mile alone.

Jennie agreed, at least. Her grip on my arm held me back. “You arenotwalking.”

“Okay, cool, cool,” I said as I eased myself onto a metal bench just outside the shop. I shut my eyes and massaged my temples. “Then I’ll just levitate home. Gimme a minute to charge my batteries.”

Jennie scoffed, and I swore I heard the wordsspoiled omegain her muttered tirade. A hand reached into my pocket, pulled out my phone and used my face to unlock it before I could stopher. She stepped away, scrolling through my contacts before making a call and speaking in a low voice I couldn’t make out. I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned back against the harsh metal backing of the bench.

Jennie dropped my phone in my lap a few minutes later. “Your alpha is coming.”

I grunted, a sound I hoped conveyed the sentiment ofYou’re annoying and often mean and like you could’veaskedfor my phone instead of copping a feel to get it, but my entire body is now throbbing with pain so thanks for looking out for me.

She hovered nearby for another moment, arms crossed tensely. Finally, she shrugged. “If you’re going to vomit, aim for the bushes, not the walkway,” she said before heading back inside. That was fine by me. I sat, face upturned to the sun, to wait for Brea.

The heat had always been good for my headaches. When I was younger and ended up with a pounding migraine that just would not quit, I’d bury myself under blankets, letting the warmth of my own breath brush over my face. It wasn’t a cure, but it was soothing. Took the edge off the pain enough to not want to scream from it.

Maybe Brea would give me a massage when we got back home. The pressure in my neck and shoulders could definitely use some easing. Oh, maybe I’d convince her to run a bubble bath for us both too. Hot baths were a favorite of mine. And hot baths with my lovely alpha…what was better than favorite? Uber-favorite? Platinum? Double-platinum?

Baking in the sun took the edge off the headache, the hot pokers becoming more like a molten foam roller inside my head. I didn’t know how long I sat there before hearing the approach of a car engine that stopped just to my right. I sighed, lifting my head and shading my eyes as I looked at—

“Caine,” I said in surprise, freezing.

He stood beside an open passenger door, arms crossed, face unreadable as always.

I swallowed, standing on weak legs. “What’re you…”

“Brea called,” he said, voice rough. “Asked me to bring you home.”

Right. Because we didn’thavea car. So Brea driving back to rescue me, I now realized, was not an option.

Shit, I really needed to go rest.

I nodded, the motion reigniting the sparks of agony in my head. I groaned, pressing the heels of my hands into my eye sockets. “Well, thanks,” I said as I made my way to the open car door.

The warmth of a hand cupping my elbow startled me. Color flooded Caine’s cheeks, but he didn’t pull away. “Careful,” he muttered as he helped me into the car. I was shaky enough that the assistance was appreciated.

We didn’t speak on the short drive. Which, considering my head still felt like it had been cleaved in two, I was fine with. But unlike past times being around each other, the silence wasn’t pained or awkward either. Thefuck offvibes were still strong with this one. But…but it almost seemed like it wasn’t directed at me like it had been in the past. Like if his grouchiness were a huge wave that took out any potential annoyances, then I stood like a wizard as the water flowed around me entirely, never touching me, never stealing my air.

When we arrived home, he helped me to my door with the same hold on my elbow, firm but surprisingly gentle. I fished my keys out of my bag (silently thanking Jennie again when I realized I’d never retrieved it for myself) and let myself in. Caine dropped my elbow the moment I crossed the threshold, as though it were some territorial boundary and his stepping over it would incite a war.

I tried not to take it personally. That was just Caine. And, really, I wasn’t his problem. It was nice enough he’d picked me up at all. Leaning against the kitchen island, I gave him a pained smile. “Thank you,” I said, already halfway turned for the bed in the corner of the living room. “Really.”

He nodded once, blessedly reaching forward to pull my door shut for me. Moaning, I made my way to the bedroom, stripping off my jeans and polo and bra before finding my biggest, softest sleep shirt. I swam in it, but the well-worn cotton felt like silk on my skin. I had the good sense to shuffle into the bathroom and pop some meds before collapsing onto the bed and promptly passing out.

Sharporangeandgoldenlight slanted through the windows when I woke. The worst of the headache had passed, abandoning me in headache hangover territory. Most of the pain had subsided, leaving a ghost of the sensation in my head. It felt kind of hollow, like how a rubber band must feel after it’s spent too long holding something really big, stretched all the way out, before being unfurled and let loose again.

I sat up, sighing. I moved gingerly to the edge of the bed, checking my phone. Brea still had one more appointment before she was done and could head home. I groaned. The absolute best cure for headache hangovers were alpha cuddles, but it would likely be another three or four hours before that was a possibility.

Resigned to an evening on my own, I covered a yawn as I stood and stretched and shuffled to the kitchen. Something with protein would help. Maybe some peanut butter on—

A shoe squeaked behind me. I jumped, spinning to look into the room. I hadn’t turned the lights on when I came home, and the pre-sunset lighting cast much of the room in shadows. My heart pounded as my tired body finally registered something else wrong.

---