Prey

Chapter 38

Doe's Pov:

Xander left the room unnaturally fast, leaving me to catch up before he shut the door.

Well... that was a lot to unpack, and certainly not what I was expecting from this conversation.

I hoped that talking to Nico would have solved or at least helped figure out what was happening to Xander right now, but if anything, I think it made it worse.

Especially that last part.

I'm pretty sure I flinched with him as Nico proclaimed his disappointment.

He hid it well in the moment, but that moment was fleeting fast.

His back was against the door the second it shut, head pressing against it too as a hand came up to cover his mouth.

His heavy, almost consternated breaths he was trying to suppress came out ragged.

I just stared, trying to ascertain what to do, or at least first try to figure out what was going on with him.

This wasn't him right now, not entirely.

Which was why I didn't worry too much about what he said at the beginning.

Not yet at least.

I was only really worried that Layla had slipped him right back under her due to his intense and sudden outward desperation for a few seconds.

But then Nico brought up how she was using him, and then spoke those harsh words I just know shattered him.

Even so... they were words he needed to hear.

Especially from the brother that he cared so deeply for.

His posture suddenly crumbled, head shaking and eyes squeezed shut as if he was in physical pain.

For all I knew, he might be.

I didn't know enough about these types of vampiric situations to make any sort of conclusion.

"Fuck" he breathed out in a whisper, the hand on his mouth now rubbing his eyes, while the other pressed back against the door for support, claws fully extended.

There's no way I could describe how he spoke that word other than absolute defeat.

It was so raw and broken that I felt it too.

No. I didn't like this.

I wanted to be able to actually talk to him, But I couldn't do that until whatever happening inside him gets sorted out.

And I couldn't try to do anything about it until we're out of this hallway.

I felt a small flicker of determination spark in me, and not a second of hesitation passed my mind before I grabbed ahold of his sleeve near his wrist.

Then watched his pupils round as his head snapped to me

And with that, I turned and speed-walked back to our room, feeling him stumble a bit at first.

I knew where to put my thumb to make it quickly read it and click open, and used it to not lose any momentum until the door was shut behind me.

I had stopped and released his shirt, but he kept going.

He scrambled a few feet over to his desk, hastily grabbing the phone with one still-clawed hand, the other one again being used to support him in his pitiful hunched-over position.

I panicked for a moment, thinking that he was rushing to tell Layla the news that she had requested of him before agreeing to go to him with the ball