Animals ✔

Chapter 5

         I start to gag again, backing away from the body. "No," I say, "She's not... no." My head is spinning. I've lost my equilibrium and it feels like I could tumble to the ground at any moment. I shake my head, "No."

            Warm hands wrap around my waist, and on some level, I register Tiberius nuzzling his face into my neck. The action feels strangely intimate and inappropriate, but I don't have it in myself to shove him away. If anything, I should be grateful that he's keeping me from collapsing.

            "I didn't want you to see this," he says. "That's why I wanted you to go." His thumbs rub soothing circles onto the flesh of my sides, and I snap back to reality as I notice his hands have slipped under my sweater to brush against my bare skin. I shove myself away from him, disgusted.

           "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Maybe my anger is misplaced, but he should know better. He reaches toward me again and I flinch back. "Don't."

            He steps toward me and I step back. I no longer notice the wolves and men around us. It's just Tiberius, the body, and me. The body.

            "I didn't want you to see this," he repeats, sounding more placating than soothing.

           "Not your call," I tell him. I try to keep calm, but every time he opens his mouth I just seem to get angrier and angrier. He reaches toward me and I snap, "Don't fecking touch me."

             Tiberius pulls his arm away and steps back, "I didn't mean to alarm you, Clara."

             I stare at him, taking in his wary expression. "Give me back my lighter."

            This time he doesn't try to stop me. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the pale pink lighter, tossing it to me gently. Maybe it was my voice, unforgiving and cold, that did it. Or maybe he's finally beginning to realize it isn't his decision.

           My fingers wrap around the lighter and I hold it to my chest, feeling a warmth flare up that I haven't felt in days. I pull off my bag and reluctantly drop the lighter inside it before zipping it back up. "I'm leaving now," I tell him.

            "No!" Tiberius jumps forward, growling, and wraps his arms around me.

           Face pressed tightly against his chest, I sigh. "What are you trying to do now?" Do these people have no sense of personal boundaries? I drop my bag and try to shove myself away from him, frustrated but unafraid. I press my hands to his stomach, like the last time he grabbed me back in his kitchen, and will them to heat up. Of course, they don't.

             To his credit, Tiberius doesn't even flinch when he thinks I'm trying to burn him. Or maybe he just doesn't think I can do it again.

             "Get off me, Tiberius."

          "No," his voice is more beast than man, and I can only imagine his eyes have gone back to black. "Protect. Must protect mate."

        Before I have a chance to comment on his transition from clingy to caveman, he's released me, only to wrap one arm around my shoulders and the other beneath my knees. And just as suddenly he's lumbering forward, carrying me bridal-style to who knows where.

          The wolves have gathered near Jon as they watch him carry me away. The two men Tiberius was standing with are crouched over the body, completely ignoring us. I lock my eyes on Jon as I'm taken away. He just shrugs, quirking his lips up in a mildly concerned smile as if to say good luck.