Without a word, Derick carried me to the car, Matt a silent shadow just behind. I tried to find solace in Derick's familiar scent, a desperate anchor against the storm, but Josh's parting words had carved a raw scar that refused to fade. The dawning comprehension that Josh hadn't sought my death, but a chilling vow, only deepened the tremors still wracking my body. *Run while you can,* he'd breathed into my ear, *It will make the prize so much better.*
The thought sent a shudder through me, and I buried my face in Derick's neck. He offered no words as we reached the car, and Matt was already darting around to open the door for Derick and me.
I anticipated being set down, as usual, but Derick simply held me tighter and entered the car, still carrying me. Matt closed the door and then took the driver's seat, Derick's embrace unwavering. The quiet was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, his silence and the persistent pressure of his arms making me wonder what he was thinking.
A creeping dread began to settle in, the fear that he regretted bringing me, that I was more trouble than I was worth. My chest tightened involuntarily, each breath becoming a conscious effort. My wolf whimpered in the back of my mind, mirroring my own burgeoning anxiety. A potent mix of Josh's vow, the tightening knot of unease in my chest, and Derick's deafening silence finally overwhelmed me. It felt like years of pent-up emotion erupted, and hot tears began to stream down my face. In a blur, I was embracing him, my voice thick with sobs, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Derick, jolted from his daze, returned the embrace, his fingers tracing comforting patterns on my back.
"Cassy, what are you sorry for?" Derick's voice was laced with genuine concern. Yet, his attempts to soothe me, meant to comfort, only intensified my turmoil. Words failed me, and tears began to fall, hot and heavy, as I clung to his frame. A wave of helplessness washed over me; I felt like an unwanted burden he simply didn't need. This was my fault, I reasoned, because I had chosen to be with him, because *I* was the one with the obsessed stalker. Derick deserved so much better than a broken mate like me.
An eternity seemed to pass before the storm inside me finally began to subside. Still, my chest ached, and the aftermath of tears had left my nose stubbornly clogged. "Are you doing better now?" Derick's voice was gentle, as if the slightest pressure might shatter me.
"I'm sorry," I choked out again, the words thick with residual sobs. "I'm sorry for being a burden. I'm sorry you're stuck with me." The familiar sting of tears pricked at my eyes, and I braced myself, waiting for him to confirm my fears, to blame me.
"No, Cassy," Derick's voice was a low rumble, firm yet impossibly gentle. He shifted, tightening his hold on me as if to physically press the thought from my mind. "Don't you dare say that. You are never a burden." His thumbs brushed across my damp cheeks, his gaze searching mine with an intensity that momentarily silenced the remaining tremors. "I am the one who failed you. I promised I would protect you, and Josh… he touched you. He was chocked you. And I couldn't stop him. That's what I'm sorry for." He swallowed, his jaw working, and I saw a flicker of something raw and dangerous in his eyes before it was carefully banked. He was holding back a storm of his own, I realized, a tempest of rage and frustration that he was carefully shielding me from.
He pulled me even closer, his chest a solid wall against mine. "I'm upset because I couldn't be faster, couldn't be stronger. Because he got to you. My only thought was getting you safe. Every second felt like an eternity, and I was… I was losing control. I'm afraid if I let myself feel it all, I might do something I can't take back, something that would put you in even more danger." He sighed, a shudder running through his massive frame, and for the first time, I felt the immense weight of his power, the incredible restraint he was exerting.
My own shame began to recede, replaced by a burgeoning understanding. He wasn't angry with me; he was angry with himself. He saw my fear, my distress, as a reflection of his own failure, not a personal accusation. I was not the problem, but the consequence of an enemy's actions. The realization was a balm, a gentle easing of the tight knot in my chest. I leaned into his strength, letting his reassuring presence, his quiet determination, seep into my bones. He would protect me, and I, in turn, had to trust him.
"But you did save me, Derick," I whispered, acutely aware of his lingering doubt. "You saved me just now, from the pack, and from a life that would have surely killed me." The guilt still clung to me as I spoke.
My words, though meant to soothe, seemed to strike a chord, eliciting a low growl from deep within his chest. He pulled me impossibly closer, his voice a rough murmur against my hair. "It wasn't enough, Cassy. He still got to you. He made you afraid. He hurt you." His grip tightened, not painfully, but with an urgency that spoke of a fear I hadn't yet fully grasped. The raw emotion in his tone chipped away at the last vestiges of my self-pity, replacing it with a shared sense of dread.
With a steady hand guiding the car, Matt's gaze swept over the rearview mirror, lingering on Derick before flicking to me. A silent current of understanding flowed between them, a shared burden communicated without words. "We still have a long way to go until we get to a hotel for the night," he murmured, his voice quiet, as if respecting the delicate peace that had settled between us.
Derick exhaled a long, shaky breath, the coiled tension in his arms slowly releasing. He gently tilted my chin, his thumb tracing the soft curve of my jaw. The fierce intensity in his eyes had softened, replaced by a quiet, weary resolve. "We're going home, Cassy," he stated, his voice firm, a promise. "And we'll figure this out. Together." The sheer weight of his words, the unwavering certainty, felt like a lifeline. He wasn't just shielding me from Josh's interference; he was protecting us from the insidious way Josh sought to tear us apart. In that moment, I knew, with absolute clarity, that I wouldn't let him.
Soon, my eyelids grew heavy, and Derick's familiar scent enveloped me, a comfort that coaxed me into sleep. It was an ease I hadn't experienced while drifting off in what felt like a very long time.