The Perfect Rejection

Chapter Twenty-Seven

My hands shook at the thought of closing my eyes. I was absolutely terrified that I would wake any second and learn that it was all just a dream—that I was still trapped in that room, awaiting the day I would finally succumb to Thayne's demands.

"What are you thinking about?"

My gaze snapped towards the door where Xavier stood. "I'm scared this isn't real," I admitted.

He smiled weakly. "It's real. I promise." His voice was soft, almost a whisper.

"Thank you," I murmured.

"I wish I could have done more. I wish I could have gotten you sooner."

I chewed my lip. I didn't know how to respond.

He cleared his throat and sat down in the chair beside my bed. I frowned a little when I noticed he was limping.

"What happened?" he asked me.

"I'm not entirely sure, it's all a bit of a blur," I sighed. I glanced down at his leg. "Are you okay?"

He shrugged. "It's just a bite, it'll heal."

I nodded a little. "Well after I got out of the hospital, I let Aetrix take over. I don't know what happened but I woke up to you dragging me."

"My border patrol said you made it to the edge of the territory but there were two dozen guards waiting for you. You held them off long enough for me to get there with more warriors. By the time I actually got to you though there was a wolf tearing open your throat. You almost bled out but you held on," he recounted, offering me the tiniest of smiles.

"Aetrix was hurt really bad," I murmured.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know." My voice cracked and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

Xavier's hand curled tightly around mine. "I'm so sorry Roxie, I wish there was some way I could help," he sighed.

I closed my eyes and a slowly let out a breath that shook in my chest. "You're here, that's all I need right now," I croaked out, barely holding back a sob.

He shushed me gently before pressing a kiss onto my forehead, letting his hands rest on either side of my face. "I promise I'm not going anywhere."

*****

My gaze flicked to the door at the sound of a faint knock. Xavier stepped in a moment later, a sheepish smile on his lips. "I didn't know if you were sleeping or not," he said.

"No. It hurts too much," I muttered.

"What hurts the most?"

"My neck."

He sighed. "That's going to take a while to heal. Sara was surprised you could even breathe much less speak, she said she'd never seen so much damage without permanent loss of function," he told me.

"Story of my life," I mumbled.

He sat down on the edge of my bed with a quiet sigh. He stared down at his lap until I reached for his hand. His fingers interlaced with mine as he looked up. "Thayne is livid," he murmured, "the bastard declared war this morning."

"Really?" I asked, my voice breaking.

He nodded. "I thought you should know," he said, running his thumb across the top of my hand.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" He stared at me with disbelief.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, my lip curling at the immediate pain in my neck. "I know war was the last thing you wanted and I'm sorry I caused all of this and put so many wolves in danger and got you hurt and all those warriors killed and I—"