Shift

Chapter 19

He released my hand and stepped a little closer, "you're a strong girl, Sang. You can protect them. You have to protect them. Have them train you. They don't know all that you're capable of. Don't let the Hunters get their hands on you again." He slipped the window open and gripped the ledge. "Use that brain of yours. You have experience with all of this. You have to remember it."

He hoisted himself up and slipped through the small window with a show of grace and flexibility that would have made Luke envious. I turned the faucet off, dried my hands then headed back out to meet Sean. I froze to see that he was standing in the doorway. His hands were fisted as he stared me down. How much had he heard?

"We're leaving." His eyes were dark with anger. He pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed a button before typing something.

He stalked closer to me, pulling me against his chest. I had a moment to brace myself before his lips slammed against mine. I could feel his anger, his fear, and his helplessness in the way his mouth moved with urgency. Sean stepped back, releasing a harsh breath. He tugged on me like he was going to drag me out to the hospital.

"I don't know how much of that you heard, Sean, but we need to speak with your elders still." I pulled him back to me. His chest heaved with each breath. "We need to act as normal as possible. We can talk about this afterward. Let the others know."

He let me pull him from the bathroom while he sent a message to the guys, "I don't see this going well, Sang."

"We'll handle it." My voice sounded more confident than I felt. I wasn't worried about what the elders were going to say. It was the thirteen others waiting for us at home that had me concerned.

I kissed the corner of his mouth, and he released a shuddering breath before plastering his smile on his face. Fake it until you make it, I guess. He guided me down the hall, stopping at a door that had a plaque on it reading: Dr. Roberts. He knocked before opening the door. Sitting behind the desk in the center of the room was an older man with a warm, friendly smile. His eyes were blue; soft age spots kissed the thinning skin over his cheekbones. The man's white hair was thinning on the top.

"Sean! It's good to see you," his wrinkly grin seemed to age him a bit more. "This must be Sang Sorenson."

Sean blinked a few times, "Ah, yes. This is Sang." He sounded puzzled. "Where are the rest of the elders, Dr. Roberts?"

"How many times have I told you to call me Phil?" He scolded gently. "We all wouldn't have been to fit into my small office; besides, a few of us thought it would be less overwhelming if she were to meet just one of us at first."

He turned to me with that same grin, "Sorry dear, I don't mean to talk over you. I'm Dr. Roberts."

I flashed him a shaky smile. This was somehow worse than facing all of the elders together. Dr. Roberts was disarming and made you feel at ease. If I stayed in his presence for too long, I'd end up spilling my guts. Unfortunately, Sean didn't seem to be faring any better.

"She's cute," the words were barely out of his mouth before Sean was growling at him. The older man held his hands up in surrender. "I assure you, Dr. Green, I am mated and far too old."

A snort left me before I could stop it, and Dr. Roberts was back to grinning. At least now I understood where Sean got his mannerisms from. Sean looked a little shocked with himself. He'd destroyed his façade with that growl. If we were going for stoicism, then Axel and Owen should have been the ones doing this.

"Why don't we jump straight into then? Sang, I'll call a nurse to come to do a blood draw and mouth swab, if that's alright with you." Dr. Robert scanned his desk before pulling out a few documents. "I need you to sign these. A formality, I assure you."

My brow furrowed. "No, thank you."

He froze. His gaze lifted to meet mine before darting over to Sean. "Is something the matter?"

"A small complication," Sean had found his voice again. "Sang refuses to have needles anywhere near her or have any tests done. She has some trauma that she's dealing with."

Dr. Roberts sat back down in his chair. "You understand that they won't like this, right? They may become adamant about meeting her."

"I assure you that it is just trauma, Dr. Roberts."

"Alright." He still sounded unpersuaded. "Sang, would you like to speak with someone? We have many great psychiatrists and therapists."

I met those blue eyes head-on. I didn't say anything, but I held his gaze until he looked back at Sean. My nerves were nearly fried; I needed to get out of here. Part of me wanted to go after the masked man and get more answers out of him. The other part of me wanted to hide away in Axel's bedroom.

"She's speaking with Owen about it." Dr. Green responded.

"Good, good." The man couldn't have sounded more suspicious if he had tried. Sean and I are horrible actors. "Tell him to keep me updated, yes?"

Sean gave a curt nod before they exchanged pleasantries. Then I was being hustled out of the hospital and straight into the vehicle waiting outside for us. Sean held the rear door open for me, and I slid in. He followed behind me, wrapping his arms around me as soon as the door was closed. Owen and Kota were in the front.

Sean exhaled, "That could have gone better."

"Why did you redline us and then cancel it?" Kota asked.

"Sang had a friend waiting for her in the bathroom."

Way to throw me under the bus, Sean. I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "It's not like I knew that he would be in there."

"Who?" Kota asked, turning in his seat to stare at me through narrow eyes.

I was beginning to get sick of his problems with me. I knew that there was a story there, but if he didn't explain himself for treating me like crap, I was going to hit him with a pillow. Or send him through a wall. I'd decide that later. "The masked man."

Kota's lip curled, and he looked like he wanted to crawl into the backseat and strangle me. "What did he want?"

"Ask Sean."

"Aw, come on, Pookie. You were the only one who wasn't aware of my presence. His words were a warning to us." Sean complained. "Sang's beautiful brain holds the answers that we need. She has to remember. I think he was also staking claim of Sang."

"What?" Owen's head whipped towards us. I cringed—his poor neck.

"He told her that he would be the one protecting her and that we couldn't." So, that's what made Sean angry?

"Let him," Kota snorted. I scooted over into Sean's lap. Leaning forward, I grabbed Kota's seatbelt and yanked it backward until he was pressed back into his seat. A strangled sound escaped his lips. Oops.

"Would you please be quiet?" I growled at him. I turned to Sean, "That's not how he meant it, and you know that. There are things about me that we are all unaware of, and he knows me somehow, knows everything about me. He wants me to keep you all out of it so that none of us get hurt."

I released Kota's seatbelt. Kota and I sat silently while Sean explained our visit to Owen. That brought up more questions for them, but I didn't have the energy to try to figure them out. I just wanted to find someone warm to cuddle with.