AEGIS ↠ EMBRY CALL [R.U]

61| REALITY

Callas could feel the pain in her throat as she gasped for air, sitting up fast enough to cause her head to spin and a painful headache to form. Beside her, Embry woke up, breathing in deeply as he opened his eyes to look at her, after feeling the sudden shift on the bed. Her breathing was uneven as she struggled to catch her breath and regulate it, she squeezed her eyes shut while her left hand gripped at her throat, expecting to feel warm blood spurting out, oozing down her hand, or something other than the warmth of her skin that she felt instead. Callas opened her eyes and continued to calm her breathing, feeling Zeus lay his head on her lap while looking up at her, sighing to himself. Embry, being careful not to startle her, gently wrapped his arms around her midsection, resting his forehead on her right shoulder, giving her time to relax before he would ask her any questions. When she finally felt as if she could breathe, she placed her left hand onto Zeus's head, away from her throat, while shakily placing her right hand over Embry's, automatically feeling the warmth from his body on her hand.

     "What happened?" Embry asked as he lifted his forehead from her shoulder, placing his chin down instead, glancing at the side of her face while she continued to stare off into nothing—although her eyes were fixated on the small, grey, knitted, throw blanket at the end of the bed that had shifted due to the movement of them under the quilt.

     With a gulp, she spoke quietly, "Will. Will happened."

     He moved his head slightly, still watching Callas closely as his eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

     "My dream," she responded. "He was in my dream again, but I don't think it was his fault, I think my mind just went there itself. Either way, it was like a bad acid trip, it was like I was experiencing what the people of Salem were during the witch trials."

     "C—" Embry shook his head, nudging her shoulder with his chin as he did so. "Callas, you've never taken acid before." His expression dropped. "Wait, have you?"

     "No, no, I just—" This time she shook her head. "It's just how I explain things."

     "Right. Okay. Well, do you want to talk about what happened?"

     Callas shook her head again. "Not right now."

     Embry hummed in response, he knew that, when she was ready, she would tell him about it. He just had to wait. Callas sighed to herself, knowing that she would have to face the others about the message at some point, so she crawled off the bed, making her way to the bedroom door while Zeus, who jumped off the bed and followed her, waited to leave with her. Embry pushed the quilt off his body and rubbed a hand down his face. He stood up and stretched while Callas opened the door. Zeus began to walk out, making his way down the stairs while Embry placed his hands on Callas's shoulder and gave them a soft squeeze, encouraging her to walk out as well. With a shaky, deep breath, Callas nodded to herself and walked over to the stairs. Her hand shook with nerves as she placed it on the railing and made her way down to the others. Embry was right behind her, which might have made the situation a little less daunting for her as she finally stepped down onto the floor, glancing up, her eyes searching for Reed before anyone else. Everyone else was silent, and she figured that at least one of them—no doubt Seth—had picked up on the speed of her heartbeat.

     "Callas—" Sam started, but Reed quickly cut him off by standing up abruptly, making his way over to Callas.

     "You can be the alpha in a second, but for now I'm going to need you to shut up." Reed turned his head from Sam and over to Callas as he pulled her into a tight hug, resting his right hand on the back of her head, keeping her as close to him as he possibly could. "I will never let him hurt you like that, I will protect you with my life, I promise," Reed whispered to her, despite knowing that almost everyone, bar Emily, could hear him. "I love you, Callas, I love you so much. I know my actions don't always show that, but I do, and I won't let that happen to you. I love you."