Chapter 28 : Apex Predators

Mads's POV

I never wanted Theo to look at me like that. Hands balled into fists. Shoulders quaking. Tears streaming down red-tinted cheeks. It killed me. My throat felt thick as she screamed at me, the pain she couldn't control just under the surface.

I could still feel the sensation of where she shoved me, imprinted onto my chest. She didn't hurt me, only used me as an outlet for her anger. Better me than anyone else.

Because I could take Theo's anger.

Daxton was still reeling from the realization that he left his parents behind. Almost lost his sister too if I had let her jump back into the barn. I saw Theo staring down at the hay, hand on her pistol, a resigned look in her eye.

She would jump down there, fill herself with holes, and throw herself on the sword if it meant anyone else had a chance. Her sacrificial nature was sometimes her worst characteristic. Even if I knew she had the best intentions, she didn't think them through.

Because if she had landed in the hay, a