赤裸裸的滑稽故事

“I was surprised when I saw the team from Bustling Bush running toward us,” Myka said. His elbows were on his knees, and he stared down at his hands. “But I was so thankful I didn’t think too much about it then.”

He let out a soft chuckle, licked his lips, and took a deep breath.

“Dane carried Stefan on his shoulders while I carried you,” he continued. “We hiked down the mountain for two hours without stopping. After Sadie told me that the creature had come out of the lake, I pushed them to keep going even after they were worn down and hurting in order to gain as much distance as possible.”

Ashleigh closed her eyes. She swallowed painfully as silent tears fell.

“That was when they found us,” he sighed. “A whole team of them. Emergency responders, ready and able to help us all get back down the mountain, quick and clean.”

Myka sat back in his chair. He crossed his arms, clenching at first as he felt the sting of his wounds.

“We made it to our car and followed them back here to their territory,” he said. “As soon as we got here, there they were, waiting. A medical team from Summer.”

He nodded to himself and gave a bitter smile.

“I’m not the smartest guy in the world,” he said. “But even I knew that something wasn’t right about that.”

Ashleigh took a deep breath, holding her jaw shut tight to keep from letting out the mournful cry that was building in her chest.

“Still,” he continued. “If they hadn’t been here, Stefan would have died.”

Her eyes shot open, and she turned to look at him. His jaw clenched, his nostrils flared as he took a deep breath through his nose.

“The wounds that covered his body, from the tail of that thing… they had that stuff in them too. The acid.”

Ashleigh took a shaky breath. Then, a soft sob escaped her lips.

“Putting your armor on him kept him alive during the travel time,” he said. “It’s why you got as bad as you did. Nothing was stopping it from seeping into the deeper layers of skin. If we had taken it off him without a medical pin to replace it….”

Myka paused. He took a deep breath and pushed it out.

“Stefan,” he sighed. “Is going to be all right.”

Ashleigh closed her eyes, thanking everything and anything that might be able to hear her.

“Sadie, too,” he said. “Her wounds were treated; she will be sore for a week or two, but she’ll recover. Stefan… has a long road to travel, but he will come out of it with no more than scars.”

Ashleigh turned her head to look at him.

“Myka…”

He looked away.

“I understand…” he whispered, swallowing the heavy feeling in his chest. “I know how badly you miss Caleb. How much you want to find him.”

Ashleigh chewed her bottom lip as she listened to him.

“If it was Peter…” he whispered.

Myka closed his eyes and shook his head. He remembered the feeling that had come over him when he saw Peter in danger... when he saw Sadie and Stefan in danger. The blinding rage and desperation.

The roots, the creature by the lake. It wasn’t a request for their help. It was a demand. He had imposed his will on them. He had used the vines to crush the hybrid that threatened his mate, and he had felt the strength of his claws as he tore open the monster that threatened his children.

He understood exactly why she had done what she had done.

“I thought…” she whispered. “I thought I would be able to keep them safe.”

Myka clenched his jaw.

“I know,” he said.

Myka stood from the chair.

“The children and I will be returning to Winter,” he said. “Peter will be able to treat my wounds, and now that Stefan has had the worst of it taken care of, he will be able to take care of him as well.”

He turned and moved to the door. He stood before it without even reaching for the handle.

“You’re being taken back to Summer,” he said.

Ashleigh’s heart began to thump wildly, and her breaths became thick. Finally, she turned and stared at the ceiling as the tears gathered in her eyes.

“They are the only ones that can treat your stomach,” he said.

“I don’t want to go there…” she said in a pained whisper.

Myka closed his eyes. He felt the pain in her words. He knew how hard it would be for her to return to where they had started a life together, to the place filled with endless reminders of him.

“You’ve left yourself no choice this time,” he sighed.

Ashleigh closed her eyes.

“I didn’t think… I didn’t think it would be this bad,” she said. “I swear, I never thought anyone would get hurt.”

“I know, Ashleigh,” he said, looking down. He took another deep breath. “I don’t blame you. I knew how desperate you were, and I knew there was something you weren’t telling me.”

He paused, thinking of the children, of their laughter around the campfire. Then he thought of the moments when he had felt uneasy and how he had ignored that feeling.

Myka swallowed down the lump in his throat.

“I chose to bring the kids into this. So, I don’t blame you, Ashleigh,” he said. “And I really do understand…”

Myka turned, looking at Ashleigh lying on the bed, tears running down the side of her face as she squeezed her eyes closed. He hated that she lied, but he truly wasn’t angry at her. Instead, he could recognize that she tried to take steps to keep them safe and that she had realized her mistake in the end and tried to get them back home.

But when he thought of Sadie, of Stefan, he couldn’t look at her the same way.

“I can’t help you anymore, Ashleigh,” he said quietly. “I have to focus on my family now.”

A fresh stream of tears fell from her eyes. Myka felt a painful grip on his heart.

“This isn’t what he would want, Ashleigh, none of this,” he said. “You said he would be disappointed if you had found him in Moonguard. I think you're right.”

Ashleigh squeezed the blankets between her fingers and held tightly to the painful feeling growing in her chest.

"I think he would be disappointed to see you like this," he said. "To know how much you're hurting yourself."

Ashleigh heard the door close behind him, and there was no reason left to hold back the sobs that threatened to choke her.