Ch. 8 Never Good Enough

Olivia

“It’s okay, I’ve got you. Livvy!” I hear a voice talking to me and feel myself lifted into someone’s arms, but I can’t focus on any of it.

Pain. My body is wracked with it. Ripping, gnawing, searing, shredding. All of it at once. It’s all-consuming and demands every ounce of my attention.

I have vague memories of the pain I suffered when my mates betrayed our unacknowledged bond. But that all blissfully stopped the night they refused to believe my claim. Maybe the months since have dulled my memory of that time, but I can’t remember it ever being as excruciating as this.

Something scratches at the back of my mind as Mason carries me to the car. This pain serves a purpose, right? It will bring something good. But the band around my abdomen contracts again and the thought slips away again.

Maybe I pass out. Or maybe my mind just shut down completely, protecting me from a reality I’m not ready to face. But the next time awareness creeps back in, it’s to the sound of people