Page 81 of Alpha
"I needed that as much as you did."
My eyes went to his and I bit my lip to keep more tears from breaking free.
"I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I need time to process this," I told him, brushing the tears from my cheeks.
"You take as long as you need."
It seemed to be enough that somehow he'd found me.
I turned to see Cade watching me. I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he saw right through it. Overwhelmed, I turned and rushed out of the study.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Scarlett
Thankfully, I managed to get to the gym without running into anyone. By the time I made it inside, I was breathing hard and I felt like I was going to explode from the emotions tearing into me.
Tears stung my eyes as I tried to take a deep breath and expel it. A couple of tears slid free and I brushed them away angrily. I hated being so emotional; it made me feel vulnerable.
I stood in front of the punching bag. I swung my fist and hit the bag hard. I repeated the motion again. It was a way of expelling some of the anger building up inside of me.
If I had a brother, it meant that my parents had lied to me. The betrayal was too much to deal with. No matter how hard I hit the punching bag, it didn't ease the feeling of betrayal. Why had they kept it from me?
I hit the punching bag again and again, the sweat pouring down my face as I kept at it.
I closed my eyes and held the punching bag as I tried to imagine what Kyle's life was like without our parents. I swear I felt my heart break for him. I was getting upset over the fact that our parents lied to me, but what they did to him was far worse.
He'd grown up without a family.
The tears I'd managed to hold up to that point broke free and I began to sob. I didn't hear anyone come in, but I felt hands turn me around gently. Through my tears, I looked up to see Cade looking at me with concern and understanding.
Another sob trembled through me as he pulled me into his arms and held me close.
"It's okay, Scar," he soothed as he rubbed my back gently. I clung to him. He was like my anchor to Earth while everything spun out of control.
Slowly my sobs began to ease and finally the tears dried up. I rested my cheek against his chest as he continued to hold me. I felt like I'd cried so much and experienced so many emotions all at once. Now that I'd stopped crying, I felt emotionally exhausted.
Gently, Cade pulled back slightly and tilted my gaze to his with his finger under my chin. He brushed the tears from my cheeks as I closed my eyes.
He led me to Hank's small office and made me sit down in one of the chairs as he got me a drink of water. He handed me the cup and I took a sip. He sat down on a chair across from me and leaned forward with his elbows resting on his thighs.
"Talk to me, Scar," he pleaded gently. I couldn't even look at him at the moment so I dropped my gaze to the floor.
I took an emotion-filled breath and released it like it would help me let go of all the negative emotions I was feeling, but nothing eased them. One minute ticked into two. I don't know how much time passed as I sat there feeling like my whole life had been a lie.
They hadn't told me I was a werewolf. They hadn't told me I had a brother. What else had they kept from me?
I set the glass of water down on the table and stood up. I began to pace back and forth as I tried to come up with a reason why my parents had done what they did. But I couldn't come up with an acceptable excuse.
"Scar." Cade said my name and I turned to face him. I crossed my arms across my chest as I held his gaze. I didn't like people seeing me exposed and vulnerable like I felt at the moment.
"I hate feeling weak and emotional," I said to him.
He let out a sigh then he stood up and walked over to me as I held his gaze.
"It's okay to feel weak and emotional," he said as his eyes softened and I bit down on my lip to keep from crying again. "You don't always have to be strong and in control. You just found out that you have a brother you knew nothing about. I can’t even imagine what you're going through."
He paused for a moment.
