Page 193 of Fangs
“Ember,” he snapped, “will you quit throwing a temper tantrum?”
“I’m not,” I snapped back.
He let out a sarcastic laugh. “You forgetIwas the one who always had to deal with your temper tantrums? I know one when I see one.”
My face heated, his words stinging unexpectedly. “Well, good news, you don’thave todeal with me anymore.”
“What?”
“I’m not your burden to bear anymore.”
He swore under his breath and grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop and face him. “What?”
“Do you need me to spell it out for you?” I hated the angry tears pricking in my eyes. “No one is making youdealwith me. I don’t know if you’re a fucking masochist or what, but you don’thave tokeep parenting me anymore. I’m not a child.”
His brow furrowed as he stared at me, but he said nothing. The longer he waited, the more frayed I felt.
“Do you think I hated raising you?” he finally asked, a rawness to his voice that startled me.
“Didn’t you?” I shot back.
“No, Em.” His eyes were pained. “No.”
We stared at each other for a few breaths.
“I hated having no fucking clue what I was doing. I hated that I lost my temper so much. I hated that you didn’t have Mom, who would’ve done a hell of a lot better job than me, but not you. Never you.”
I looked away, trying to hold myself together, and he released my arm.
“Did you always think I hated raising you?” He sounded gutted. “I mean, did you think that before Dune died?”
I wasn’t sure I could speak, so I just shrugged. The silence continued for a long time, but I stubbornly refused to look at him.
“You were so small,” he finally said in a rough voice. “Any time I put you in the cradle, you’d just cry and cry. Pa said you’d cry yourself to sleep eventually, but I couldn’t just lay there and listen to you sob. So I’d get up and bring you back to our pallet and hold you, and you would immediately grab my shirt or my finger.” His voice grew more choked. “Then you would fall asleep, so long as I was there next to you, and you could hold onto me. I was so terrified of your trust in me, but at the same time, I loved you more than I ever knew it was possible to love someone.”
“I always felt like a burden,” I said, low.
“You weren’t a burden.” His voice cracked. “I always assumed I’d have children in the future, and now that I won’t get that chance, I’m even more grateful I at least got you.”
I stared hard at the mountains, but my voice wobbled when I spoke, “Did you?—”
“Wolf! Bones!”
We both whirled around to see Lee and Smith running toward us. My heart slammed into overdrive.
“Mac’s crew is under attack,” Smith reported, his words clipped with worry.
“What?” My stomach was somewhere on the ground.
“By who?” Wolf immediately asked.
“The Voiceless,” Lee answered, his face sharp with urgency. “Nemo wants to know if we can go.”
“Gear up,” Wolf ordered without hesitation, and Lee immediately took off and headed back toward the clinic.
“I’ll tell Nemo. We’ll meet you at the gate,” Smith said, relief visible in his ruddy face as he left.
Wolf started striding toward the clinic, and I had to jog to keep up.
