Chapter 9

Max POV

I woke to the sound of arguing. That's odd I thought to myself. I didn't think we were with anyone else. Who could Luke be fighting with?

I started to move and heard the voices stop talking, almost in shock or surprise. "Damn..." I heard Luke swear softly. He hated when I work early as I found it hard enough to get to sleep in the first place.

"What the..."I heard a voice start to ask. But that really brought me back. I knew that voice. I had comforted that voice so many times and I would recognise it anywhere. Angel!?

"What's happening?" I rasped out, I hadn't used my voice in hours. Was she really there?

I heard a gasp and thought that maybe it was Angel and she had heard my thought. But I crushed that as quickly as I could. I mustn't think about the flock. That only hurt. But the gasp and Angels almost-voice had pulled me into a sitting position. Now I rubbed my eyes and pulled my hair away from my face. At this I heard more gasps and even a low exclamation. What was happening, and why did my head hurt so much? Oh yeah the flyboys. That thought made me open my eyes in fright in case I had been taken back to the school. But what I saw was much worse.

Fang POV

I was still staring at Max's face in ecstasy when she opened her eyes suddenly, as if she was scarred. They zoomed in on the guys face first and I saw her relax when she had asserted that he was ok. That made my blood boil. Now that I had found Max I wasn't going to let her go so that guy was in for a surprise. I remembered that he had been sleeping with his arm around her, had been holding her to his side and had to struggle to regain my emotionless mask.

Then Max's eyes swept through the clearing. She registered us with shock and ...fear? Her eyes came to rest on me and I felt the familiar tingle that her gaze had used to cause me. I rejoiced in the fact that that wasn't lost. We could be whole again.

Max POV

I looked at Luke first to see if anything was wrong. He looked annoyed and angry but not as if there were flyboys surrounding us. I took a sweep of the clearing and my eyes came to rest on the one group of people that at one point would have saved me from despair but now that feeling of love was tainted with anger, betrayal, and pain.

But then my eyes stopped on the one person I needed most in the world. Fang. He seemed shocked and upset though. His usual mask was easy to see through now, he wasn't trying that hard.

Seeing him sent all sorts of thoughts off. At first I almost couldn't contain my joy at seeing him again. I wanted to jump up and wrap my arms around, to feel his arms around me again, to feel whole for the first time in a year.

But then my mind caught up with my heart and reminded me of several facts that I really didn't want to think about.

These were the people who had left me in the school, who had flown off without a second thought or a backwards glance. These were the people who had caused me more sleepless nights than I care to remember, caused me to shed so many tears that I was ashamed of how weak I had been, those first few months.

And though Fang was the one person that I needed right now, if I let myself get duped again I would never forgive myself. I couldn't live through the pain if they tricked me again, even if I did have Luke now to help me. He was the one that had hesitated.

So I held myself down and called on the rage that I used to be able to summon almost at will, but now it took some work to find. The School had done a good job in beating me into submission.

Taking a deep breath I turned towards the flock.

"Looks who's here! Long time, no betray. How're you doin' traitors?" I snarled, putting as much venom in to that sentence as I could.

I felt Luke smile beside me and had the satisfaction of seeing the flock flinch at the hate in my voice. I still got it, I smiled to myself.

"Max....we thought..." Iggy started, but I cut him off.

"Let me guess, you thought that I was dead? Well sorry to disappoint you but I'm still alive and kicking. No thanks to you lot, I might add,"

Again I say the flock flinch at that reference to their betrayal. Well, you deserve it, I though angrily. You deserve to know what it feels like when someone you though loved you turns against you. See how you like it.

"Max we didn't..." Angel started but again I cut across her.

" I don't care what you did or in this case DIDN'T do. I've put it behind me." I lied smoothly. No need for them to know that I still dreamt about them almost every night and woke screaming at them, begging them not to leave me. "But I have to ask you to leave now. I'd rather not be near people that I can't trust, sorry."

The flock looked shocked at this, I bet they were expecting me to jump up, hug them, forgive them and come back with them to wherever they're living. Boy were they in for a surprise!

"What do you...?" Gazzy started but this time Luke cut across him before I could.

" I think that she's asking you, very politely I might add, if you would all get your sorry buts out of our immediate presence because she doesn't like being around people that she can't trust." He translated for them.

"Thank you Luke," I turned at him and we shared a smile. Turning back to the flock I finished the statement "Like he said...BEAT IT!!"

The flock looked at each other in shock. They were at a loss for words. But then Iggy spoke up.

"Alright we can tell when were not welcome. Let's go guys" And spread his wings, taking off in one smooth movement.

"Don't let the branches hit you as you slink away" A called after him, and then looked back at the rest of the flock. "That goes for the rest of you too, and aren't you supposed to have gone with him, or is he just ignored on a daily basis?" I asked snidely.

At that the rest of the flock took off too and I watched them fly off with a sense of foreboding. They would be back, I knew them too well to hope that they would leave me alone now. But for now I would survive. It was what I was best at. Surviving.

Fang POV

AS we flew off I was in shock. I couldn't think, I couldn't function. After the initial joy that Max was alive her comments had cut me deeper that I thought anything could. She obviously blamed us for her being trapped in the school. But why all of us? I was the one that had left her, the one that had given her up in a moment of weakness and indecision. If it came down to it I would take the blame squarely on to my shoulders. But why did she hate the rest of the flock? Cause it was there, hiding behind all of her comments and her looks. She loathed us! How was that possible? Wasn't she happy to see us at all? I though in despair.

She was happy, she was ecstatic, she was even happier than you were to see her.

Angel get out of my head, this isn't the time! I mentally yelled at her. And you're wrong, didn't you see how she looked at us?

Honestly, she was over the moon to see us all, and when she saw you she had to make a conscious effort not to get up, run over to you and throw her arms around you. She desperately wanted to know what your arms felt like again. "To feel whole and safe again", were her exact words, or thoughts.

I closed my eyes for a second and enjoyed the fantasy where that was how she had felt, that she had done that.

But then why did she say those things if she still loves us? I asked Angel and knew that I had her trumped.

I don't know, she's got much better at her mental block. It looks like it's there all the time now and it's too strong for me the break. It sounded like that love was her natural reaction to seeing us all again and then her thoughts caught up with her and she remembered what happened. That would explain how I got nothing from her the whole time after that.

Oh. I thought simply. How the hell could I have lost Max like this. How. And who was that guy she was with? I love her. I really love her, and she broke my heart.

I know you love her Fang, everything will be ok.

Everything will not be ok and GET OUT OF MY FREAKING HEAD ANGEL. I made up my mind right then. I was going to find Max and make everything right again.