Page 39 of Beast in the Badlands
CHAPTER 30
EMRY
Istomp back toward the med tent, my boots crunching against the gravel. Each step feels like a hammer striking my chest. How could he be so warm, so passionate one moment, then turn into a heartless bastard in the next? I replay his words in my mind: “You belong to me.”
Belonging. The word clings to me like a shroud. What does that even mean? I want to scream at him for saying it, for laying that claim over me like some kind of ownership. But beneath that anger is confusion.
Can he just… turn off his feelings? One moment, he pulls me close, and the next, it’s like he flips a switch and becomes this cold, unyielding wall. It makes my head spin—no, it makes my heart ache. The warmth of his embrace still lingers on my skin, while the chill of his words settles deep in my bones.
I reach the tent entrance and push through the flap. Inside, chaos reigns as medics hustle between cots and civilians scream for help. My heart races at the sight of them—broken bodies everywhere—each one a reminder of what I’m fighting for.
I move instinctively into action mode, but Renn’s voice echoes in my mind:“You can’t stay here.”
Why does he think I can just leave? Does he think abandoning these people is an option? They need me more than he does right now. But then I wonder: Does he even care about them? Or am I just another mission to him?
What did it mean that we were supposed to be… mates? He said it like it was something inevitable, yet it felt like shackles tightening around me instead of an embrace meant to comfort.
I push through the flap and stride into the chaos of the med tent, the cacophony of cries for help and the frantic shuffling of feet hitting my ears like a relentless drumbeat. But just as I start to gather my bearings, I feel Renn's footsteps pounding behind me, the urgency in his stride unmistakable.
“Emry, wait!”he calls out, his voice cutting through the noise as he catches up to me. His hand grips my arm, firm yet tinged with a desperate kind of urgency that I can’t quite ignore. “Be reasonable.”
I yank away from him,my heart pounding, heat rising in my chest, fueled by a mix of frustration and the fierce need to protect those around me. Reason? What kind of a time is this for reason? There’s a time for cold logic and calculated decisions, but now is a moment that cries out for compassion. I can feel it thrumming beneath my skin like a living thing—compassion is what these people desperately need right now, more than anything else.
“Reason?”I scoff, spinning around to face him, my voice laced with incredulity. “What part of this is reasonable? Look around!” I gesture wildly at the scene unfolding around us—the blood-soaked cots filled with the injured, the medics hustling to save lives, the fear etched on the faces of those who have losteverything. “These people are bleeding out while you want me to run away with you.”
“Listen,”he says, his tone dropping to a low, steady murmur, his eyes darkening like storm clouds gathering in the distance, threatening to unleash a tempest. “You have to look out for yourself first. We live in a universe where no one else will.”
His words hangheavy in the air between us, laden with unspoken truths. The intensity of his gaze meets mine, and for a fleeting moment, I almost see the battle raging within him, a conflict that mirrors my own. But I push that thought aside, unwilling to let his resolve sway me.
My breath catches. I thought he was the one doing that for me—the one who would stand by me against the chaos that surrounds us. His words cut deeper than any knife ever could.
“If I’m the only one who’s going to look out for these people,” I say, forcing each word through clenched teeth, “then so be it.”
I turn to walk away again, but he grips my wrist tighter this time.
“Emry…” he starts but falters.
“What?” My voice rises without invitation. “What do you want from me? To abandon everyone just because you claim ownership over me?” The air crackles between us—a tension thick enough to suffocate.
“I’m not asking you to abandon anyone,” he says slowly, trying to catch my gaze again as if we were still standing on some battlefield where we were allies rather than adversaries caught in a war of wills. “But think about it! You’ve been fighting this battle alone for too long.”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” I snap back before turning on my heel.
He steps closer, closing the distance as if magnetized to me despite my anger. “You’re strong enough to fight—but even the strongest can’t shoulder everything alone forever.”
I swallow hard at that truth—the harsh reality I’ve tried so desperately to avoid. But there’s something else behind his words—something deeper than just concern.
“So what then?” My voice wavers as emotions swell within me—a mix of anger and vulnerability battling for dominance in my chest.
His brow furrows as he reaches out again but hesitates before touching me—a caution born from the weight of our circumstances.
“I want you safe,” he says finally, voice strained but sincere. “Let me save you.”
The flicker of hope ignites within me despite myself—like a spark lighting kindling after too long buried under ash and smoke.
But then reality crashes back down—the stench of blood and burnt metal seeping into every pore reminds me of why I'm here.
“I don’t need saving,” I say sharply, meeting his gaze with unwavering resolve even as tears threaten to spill over.
