The Winter Reckoning 2
His eyes flicked over me like he was peering right through my excuses. A quiet, knowing pause stretched between us before he finally spoke. “Surely you're not hiding in this room for their sake, right?“
I blinked at him at his tone. He'd become too serious too fast. I clenched my jaw, looking away. My fingers itched so I gently played with my fingertips. “I’m not hiding.”
His boots thumped closer and I looked right at him as he stood next to the bed. “Come then,” he challenged with a tilt of his head.
“You should go.“ My wolf urged, her voice dancing through my thoughts. It felt like she'd accepted his challenge. I wasn't sure what to feel.
On one hand, I hated to admit it but I was hiding and if I continued like this, it'd take longer to leave the house. On the other hand, I wasn't sure it was right to confront them all.
Though, I did want to see someone. Becca. I hadn't heard much about her since I returned and I owed her an explanation for my disappearance. But I was hoping it would be in a proper setting.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “I’ll think about it.”
His lips twitched back into his carefree grin. “Good. I’ll come drag you out regardless of how ready you are.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I'd prefer you don't.”
He laughed as he strolled toward the door. “Merry Christmas, Sage.”
And with that, he left me to contemplate the invitation. I peered at the peppermint candy he’d left behind. A party. A room full of everyone who'd tormented me months ago.
The time I got away from them was little but it was enough for me to know I didn't want to return to that dynamic.
I didn't want to be a victim anymore. I didn't want to be known as an omega, as a weak link unwanted by the man crafted for her himself. Was I really ready to face them?
My body continued to run cold, so much so my breaths came out in visible puffs. It was quite an unnerving idea.
“It's scary,” I mumbled to myself as my hands shook.
Tess' backhanded comments, her friends pulling me aside to pull my hair, making comments about my body, hitting me. No matter how strong I used to stand against them and how stubborn I'd be about defending myself, it never took away the fact that it all still hurt.
The bullying. I didn't deserve it. My public humiliation. I didn't deserve any of it. But knowing that was not enough to stop it from hurting.
“You could hurt them back,” My wolf bit back with a growl.
“I could but what good would that do?“ I fell back on my bed with an oomph. “It certainly won't erase the things I've had to go through.“
I lay there, my fingers curled into the sheets, staring at the ceiling like it might hold some kind of answer.
My wolf’s voice still echoed in my mind, taunting, expectant. “Then destroy their perception of you,” she suggested. “You're not weak, not anymore.“
I could do that or so I contemplated. I swallowed, a strange heat settling low in my stomach. It might have been my rage in a way, It certainly wasn’t fear but It did feel like something new. Something that brewed through my veins with quiet finality.
I rose to my feet slowly before moving to my favorite spot in the room. The window. Past the curtains, past the glass, the world looked deceptively calm. The Stark mansion’s long driveway was dusted with snow, the treetops glazed in frost.
I couldn’t see the town from here, but I could feel it. The subtle hum of life that caressed my ears if I tried hard enough to listen, the people moving on like I had never been there at all.
Would they even recognize me? Or would they just see her? The weak girl who was always one harsh look away from breaking.
I pressed my palm against the cold glass, it cracked under my touch, frost spreading into its splits. I retracted my hand, exhaling softly. The mirror fogged under my breath, disappearing just as quickly as it came.
No. They would not get to remember me as something broken when I had been whole all along. I turned from the window, something in my chest clicking into place.
I was going.
In the same breath as establishing my decision, I walked to the bathroom. Passing the mirror, I side glanced at my reflection. My eyes looked sharper than I remembered.
I reached for the tub faucet, letting hot water pool into my hands before splashing it over my face. The warmth grounded me and pulled me into my body in a way that made my decision feel real.
A good hot bath later, I yanked my towel off the rack, drying my skin as I moved to my closet.
No pastels. Nothing soft. Nothing that let them think, even for a second, that I was still small enough to push down. It was at that moment I felt grateful to Abigail for her constant insistence on shopping in New York.
Having that much effort did well for my confidence. I grabbed a black loose-fitted cashmere sweater. Something effortless, something that said I don’t need to prove anything to you, but you’ll see it anyway.
I paired it with a pleated mini skirt, tights and knee-high boots. The black leather jacket Ethan had let me borrow once sat folded on a shelf. It was a little too big, a little too heavy, but strangely the idea of having it on felt grounding.
Without thinking too much about it, I grabbed it, throwing it over my shoulders.
Luckily my hair had been trimmed shorter so I didn't need to worry about what to have it look like. Its wavy fall caressing the sides of my face was comforting. Not overdone. Not playing pretend. Just me.
I was ready.
Or so I thought.