Xena''s POV
Ama sat on the ground, rubbing her injured ankle in frustration. "Damn it," she muttered, clearly annoyed. William was still pacing back and forth, patrolling the area with watchful
eyes.
Leonard''s girl-Cindy-looked much better than before. She was now clinging to Leonard, sobbing into his chest as heforted her.
Ryder and I straddled the fallen tree trunk. He gently tilted my chin up as I kept my hands at my sides to avoid shing anyone. His movements were incredibly gentle as he
removed pieces of ss from my face one by one.
"By tomorrow morning, most of these marks will be gone," I said, trying to make it sound
like no big deal.
"What about your ribs?" Hepletely ignored myment, his eyes flickering with
concern I couldn''t ignore.
"They don''t hurt that much, actually," I said, while mentally debating whether to tell him
the truth-that each breath felt like a knife slicing through me.
"Probably still the adrenaline working," Leonard mumbled. Looking up, I saw him
watching Ryder''s "work" intently.
"Hmm," Ryder hummed softly. He''d moved to my neck and corbone, even having to shift
my T-shirt. "Anywhere else?"
I pulled my shirt open with one hand to check. “I don''t think so." Hell, whether there was
or not, I wasn''t about to tell him.
"Need help checking?" Leonard joked. His date immediately pped him on the
arm.
We allughed. “What? It''s not like I''m getting lucky tonight anyway."
"Leonard, you''re never getting lucky with me," I said with augh as I adjusted my position, no longer straddling the log but sitting with my legs crossed.
7:30 pm
"Are you two mates? The chemistry between you is really good," Cindy asked, looking
between Ryder and me.
An awkward silence followed. I felt a little disappointed when Ryder remained silent,
saying nothing.
"I don''t turn eighteen until Friday," I told her, keeping my voice t despite the thoughts tumbling through my head.
"Oh... so Ryder-" Cindy clearly wanted to continue probing.
"How far to the pack house?" Ama suddenly interrupted. I appreciated her thoughtfulness
and felt relieved.
"About ten miles. We''ll need to wait a bit longer." William and Ryder were walking around like they were searching for danger. The hooting of an owl made me think the danger had passed.
The longer we sat there, the more the adrenaline faded, and the soreness crept in. My back ached no matter what position I tried. After a few attempts, I gave up and justy
down on the ground. The dirt wasn''t the mostfortable, but it was better than the tree trunk. I was at a slight downward angle and had to adjust a bit to make sure blood
wouldn''t rush to my head.
"Are you okay?" Opening my eyes, I found Ryder looking at me. His hand twitched like he wanted to touch me, but with so many eyes on us, he didn''t.
"Just want to shower and sleep," I closed my eyes, letting my hearing amplify to sense the
quiet of the night.
At some point, Ama joined me, and we huddled together. The next thing I knew, headlights were shining on me.
"Xena!" My father''s voice boomed, vibrating through the trees.
"I''m fine!" I quickly sat up, waving at my father and calling back loudly, trying my best to
reassure him.
"Your head..." Dad rushed out of the car and ran to me, crouching down to examine my head up close.
"It''s probably almost healed. Just some minor scrapes. Once I clean up, it''ll look good as new." I tried to stand, but I was still sore.
"Here." Dad helped me up, steadying me, and then Ama supported me as we walked toward the vehicles.
"Leonard, take the girls home. We''ll handle the rest here," Dad ordered.
"Yes, Alpha."
I cast onest nce at Ryder, who was staying behind, and caught him looking
at me. Our eyes met, but I couldn''t make out his expression in the darkness.
With Ama''s help, I painfully climbed into the back seat. Cindy sat in the passenger seat, while Ama and I quickly fell asleep in the back.
"Ama, X, wake up." Leonard shook us after parking the car. Ama and I rubbed our eyes and supported each other as we walked upstairs to my bedroom. We showered together, turning the shower floor a brownish-red. It stung a little, but thankfully Ryder had done a good job removing all the ss fragments.
I pulled two sets of silk pajamas from my closet, handed one to her, and put on the other. We both crawled under my covers. Our heads had barely touched the pillows before we fell
asleep.
I vaguely heard voices in my bedroom, then the sound of the door closing. I wasn''t even sure if Ama was still in my bed, but I couldn''t wake up enough to check what was
happening.
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