Zara
Ryan sat in the back. His face was haggard, but a strange pride gleamed in his eyes. I did as Nova instructed, focusing on him. The guilt and horror of what I'd done faded into the background, but icy splinters still gnawed at my bones.
"I'm sorry..." My voice caught in my throat; thoughts I'd pushed away reared their ugly heads. "I didn't know... we didn't know what happened to you."
"You came," Ryan breathed, and the sound reminded me of sandpaper scraping. "You came, and that's all that matters."
Everyone fell silent, lost in their own thoughts. Alpha Kane's hand squeezed mine, and I realized he'd grabbed my hand the moment he got into the car.
His calloused hand, clutching mine, was the only thing holding me in place, the only thing keeping me from falling apart.
