Page 25 of Blood of the Fallen
He thought the revulsion that had shown on my face had to do with him, but that wasn’t the reason. I’d only been afraid of his skin touching mine. Did that mean his desire to claim me didn’t bother me anymore? I… I didn’t know.
Kall sneered. “Then why look at me?”
“I don’t…” I had no idea how to explain the jumble of feelings swirling in my chest, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I can’t stand to be touched. By anyone.”
A knot formed in my throat, and my eyes stung. Unwilling to cry in front of him, I skirted around him and walked to the middle of the clearing.
“What do you mean?” he asked in a whisper.
I didn’t know why, but I felt I owed him an explanation. Maybe because he’d helped save my life.
Hesitantly, I started explaining what had happened at the Academy the same way I’d done with Ila. Kall stood still, listening until I was done. I didn’t even hear him breathe as I painstakingly pushed the words out. When I was done, a long silence stretched between us. I didn’t dare turn around and look him in the eye. I didn’t want to discover that he pitied me or thought me weak.
Kall moved, his steps purposely loud. I knew that because he always moved like he was stalking prey. As he came around to stand in front of me, I stared at his leather boots.
“You’re stronger than I’d imagined, Sheela,” he said.
I glanced up, surprised. This wasn’t what I’d expected him to say. Moreover, there was no hint of the disappointment I’d thought I would find in his expression.
“I’m not,” I said. “I’m broken.”
“If you are, you’ll heal.”
“I want to.”
Cocking his head to one side, he thought for a moment, then slowly offered me his hand. “Should we go back?”
My first instinct was to retreat, but if I wanted to get over my phobia, I needed to at least make an effort. Swallowing thickly, I raised my hand toward his. I froze several inches before making contact.
I shook my head. “I can’t.”
He shrugged it off as if it was no big deal. “When I was a pup, I jumped off a boulder and broke my hind leg. It hurt so much I howled like a lone wolf,” he said, starting to walk back toward the camp. “After that, I was afraid.”
I joined his side, watching the lithe way he moved and trying to mimic him. “What happened next?”
He shrugged. “I jumped, afraid.”
Was this his idea of a pep talk? I rolled my eyes. “Wow, you should become a... mind doctor.”
He stopped and frowned at me. “Don’t you mean a psychologist? Or a psychiatrist?”
“Um, yeah, I just thought you wouldn’t know those terms.”
“What do you think I am? A savage?” He put a hand on his chest, feigning shock. “I amnotil-lit-er-ate, you know?” He enunciated each syllable with care.
Shortly after I’d joined the pack, I’d called him illiterate, and he’d pretended not to understand the word. He smirked as if in a private joke.
“You… know how to read?” I asked.
“Of course, everyone in the pack does.”
“That’s not what…”
“Not what the Academy taught you?”
“Why did you let me insult you like that?”
“You weren’t ready to hear it all, but I think now you are. C’mon, I’ll show you.” Once more, he extended a hand toward me.
