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Chapter 27

last update Last Updated: 2024-03-09 17:10:54

I take advantage of Eric's state of unconsciousness to move him from the floor to our car, parked just a few steps away. Ryan helps me without as much as a complaint, and I can see that there's something he's dying to tell me, but his pride refrains him from it.

We deposit the limp body on the back seat, and Eric doesn't jolt awake, too drained from the shift. I say nothing as Ryan starts the car and drives us to the nearest safe house. And I don't have to.

Ryan clears his throat. "That was... brutal," he comments lowly, almost testing my reaction to his words.

I stare out of my window as sadness fills me to the brim. "You were right. About mates," I reply in the same tone.

Ryan's eyes snap in my direction, but I refuse to look back. Instead, I focus on my intertwined fingers, and for a split second, I imagine another hand holding mine.

"I would never torture anybody. Not now, not back then. I would never put somebody through the hell I lived. And for you to even accuse me of it..
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