Nine

I couldn't find the right words so I remained silent. I chewed on the inside of my cheek as Xavier scooped me up into his arms and held me tight against his chest. I kept my arms wrapped tightly around myself, letting my head rest against his shoulder as I tried to ignore the tingling in my extremities.

My hands started to grow sweaty as he carried me up the stairs, past my bedroom . . . and into his. He went directly to his bathroom and my stomach flipped when he put me down so that I was sitting on the counter. He grabbed a washcloth from a cabinet and ran it under the faucet. Just as I went to ask what he was doing, he brought the towel up to my face and I flinched as he ran it over my cheek. He paused. "Is this okay?"

I swallowed down the fear creeping back up my throat and gave him a tiny nod. There was nothing but focus as he cleaned the blood off of my face before moving to my arms and my hands. I had no clue how to process the emotions barreling through my mind.

My wolf w