Why hello there faithful readers! Yes, I realize it has been a while but the new chapter is FINALLY up! Hoping you're all still with me! I'm not sure what was wrong with me this week, just could not seem to get my ideas on to paper. It felt forced everytime I tried, and bad writing comes when it's forced. The quality of this chapter may be slightly below par and I pray that you don't get bored! Let me know what you think! REVIEW!

Also, I would just like to thank yall for reviewing! I went somewhere the other day and came back and I had gained 36 reviews! Made my whole day! I love you wonderful people!

Anywho, this chapter is actually really long so I hope you enjoy it. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!

KarleeRay

"Look, I just came here to get what you took from me. Do you have it or not?" Carter asks testily, entering the restaurant she finally agreed to meet me at.

"Sit down," I direct without glancing up. I don't need to see her to know what I'll find.

She sighs, puffs the tangy scent of alcohol in my face. My jaw clenches, anger spilling into me at the fact that I shouldn't even be in this situation.

"I have it," I say wearily. "But you're not getting it back, not this one." And when her jaw drops and she starts to protest in outrage, I cut her off. "Don't act like you don't have another one."

She falls silent. The air is thick around us, a blanket of caution. There's so much I want to say, need to say, but I can't find the words. Carter saves me from having to find them, "Need I remind you again, you are not my mother, Max."

"What did you expect me to do?" I snap. "Obviously I'm not your mother, but I'm your best friend and that gives me the right to care about you!"

"As my best friend it's your duty to try to understand where I'm coming from," Carter says calmly, taking an enormous swig of her drink.

"As your best friend it's my duty to look out for you when you're making stupid decisions. You are playing with fire," I hiss, brown eyes boring into blue ones.

Carter softens under my gaze. "I'm fine, babe. Don't make this into a bigger deal than it is. I've got it all under control. It's just a few drinks, a little weed, that's all."

"You're lying," I state. I know she is, see right through her.

"I'm not." Her tone hedges back towards defensive.

"What else?" I ask.

Her eyes fall to the tabletop, linger there.

I swallow. "You have to tell me, Carter. This isn't the time for secrets."

"Ecstasy. Oxy… No heroin, I swear… Just a little crank, just a little, Max, not enough to do any damage," She says, voice lined with a little desperation, as if she's willing me not to overreact.

Even so, I choke on my drink, splutter as she confirms my worst fears. "What? Meth? Carter! You said it was just weed!" My hand strikes out, wraps around her wrist in a viselike grip. "Meth will ruin you."

"It was just a little… I wasn't going to take it, but Nolan said that-"

"Nolan," I confirm, nodding to myself. "That's the guy you've been seeing. The one 'I don't know'?"

"You don't know him," Carter protests weakly.

"I don't need to," I snap. "Not after what you're telling me. He got you to try crank? And you think he cares about you? He is ruining you, Carter. He will ruin you."

"He's not like that, really, he's a good guy. I think I might even love him…" She admits, having the decency to look slightly sheepish.

"Oh come on," I scoff. "You love him?" I bark out a laugh.

Carter stays silent, mouth set in disappointment.

"You obviously need help," I say after a moment.

Carter's eyes snap up to my face in panic. "What? No Max. You can't out me! My parents would kill me!"

"Yeah well if you don't get help, you'll end up doing the job for them," I say wearily.

"If you tell, we're done as friends," She threatens.

I stand. "You tell them, Carter. You tell them or I will." With that, I walk out, fighting back waves of stiff emotion.

"I said a one piece, Ella!"

"I know, but you have a perfect body. It would be a crime to cover that up in old lady fabric," She tells me, ripping the tags off of a sparkly, midnight blue bikini that would leave absolutely nothing to the imagination.

"Old lady fabric?" I ask, wrinkling my nose.

Ella looks at me as if I'm two. "The only people who wear one pieces are toddlers and old people."

"That is so not true."

"Whatever. Just put it on." She's annoyed with me, but I could care less. I drop the bikini onto the floor, lie back on my bed. Mom is throwing a small party at our house due to the fact that our in-ground pool in the backyard is finally finished. She invited work friends, and we invited friends from school. Nothing major, but that doesn't give me a reason to walk around with my junk hangin' around like a fourth street hooker. Okay fine. Slight exaggeration. The swimsuit really isn't all that bad, cute actually, but it's a string bikini. So un-Max.

My mind does a throwback, sifts through memories until it comes to a stop at one from a very long time ago. The flock was in New York City. We were being chased by erasers and had merged with a steady stream of students on a class trip to the zoo. The younger kids were ecstatic to see animals in person that they had only ever heard about. The bears' habitat had contained a swimming pool, and I remember distinctly the Gasman turning to me. "Man, I'd love to have a pool." His blue eyes tugged at my heart strings. I would never be able to give him anything he really wanted.

And now look where we are. I sit up on my bed, swallow down the tears that threaten as a weight of gratefulness settles onto my chest. My eyes land on Ella. Just a short year ago, a relationship with her was practically impossible, more than I could ask for. Now, I get to see her every day.

I sigh and stand up, wishing, for my sake, that I could be like Kace and not feel anything. Cursing under my breath, I strip off my current clothes and snag the sparkly bikini from the ground.

Ella turns from my mirror, face alight. "Yay! You're going to look totally gorgeous!"

I roll my eyes. "You're lucky I love you."

I survey myself in the mirror. The bikini is, uh, cute, I guess, if you're into that kind of thing. It's a known fact that us bird kids are all tall and skinny, so as I look into my mirror I'm not worried about thunder thighs or a muffin top like most girls would be. I'm worried about my wings, totally exposed, for everyone who looks my way to see. Part of me is proud of my wings. They are some kick-ass looking wings. The other part feels slightly like the freak I've always known I was. I think they're interesting and unique and beautiful, but what will everyone else think? The un-enhanced people?

I stop short. Since when does Maximum Ride care what other people think? I roll my eyes at myself, feeling suddenly ridiculous. My wings are breathtaking. I'll wear them like a badge of honor.

Raising my chin high, I exit my room, listen to the sounds of chattering people downstairs. As I walk down the stairs, I scan the room around me. Yeah, small party my butt. I see grown-ups, little kids, teens from school, the whole nine yards.

I quickly begin to feel exposed in my little bikini, but shrug it off, make my face and body language exude confidence. Once, Dylan had told me that my arrogance was one of the things that made me attractive. I had promptly slapped him upside the head. It had been the only thing that Dylan and Fang had ever agreed on. I slapped Fang also, just as hard.

I give polite greetings to the adult guests that I pass along the way to the kitchen, just like Mom told me to. Really all I want to do is get some food and then head outside, by the pool, where the younger people are hanging around.

"Max, honey, look who decided to show after all!" Mom calls, catching me right in the middle of gathering a mountain of food from the buffet of dishes that caterers brought.

I look up just in time to see Mom dragging Victoria up to me. "Hey, I haven't seen you in forever! I thought you weren't coming! How are you?" I ask, genuinely surprised and happy to see her as she pulls me into a hug.

She pulls back, gives me a smile. "It's been rough, but I'm getting there."

"And your mom?" I prompt, sitting on an empty barstool and giving her all my attention.

"Yeah not so much. It's almost like we've switched places and I'm the mom now because I have to worry about her and take care of her, you know?" Victoria's eyes grow sad, and she gives a small shrug. "Trent was her baby, you know?" She smiles, fighting off tears. "But I came here to have fun, not to talk about my brother… cute swimsuit by the way."

I glance down. "Ella forced me."

"Aah," Victoria comments. "Thought it didn't really look like something you would pick out."

I grin at her through a mouthful of cupcake, and she links her arm through mine. "Come on. The real party looks like it's outside."

We saunter out the backdoor, come to a stop on the outdoor patio. My eyes scan the groups of people before they find Fang, Iggy, Austin, and a few other guys all clustered together. I look up just in time to see Fang's eyes discretely make their way up and down the full length of my body…. Twice. He doesn't even look at my face! Oh he is so going to hear about this later! What a boy! He swallows hard before quickly looking away, having no idea that I caught him in the act.

I look over in time to see Gazzy do a huge cannonball off the diving board, soaking some of Nudge's little friends in the process. I grab Victoria by the arm, drag her behind me as I sneak up behind Fang, wrap my arms around his neck. "I saw that," I whisper into his ear, a smirk in my voice. Then, I sashay on past him, all in one smooth move. Victoria laughs, linking her arm back into mine, and we head over to sit on the side of the pool, let our feet hang in the water.

I notice Victoria watching Angel, who has been at the bottom of the deep end for about five minutes now. "Don't worry. She has gills."

Victoria nods. "I know, it's just hard to comprehend. I'm not enhanced, obviously, and seeing enhanced people in action still fascinates me."

Angel finally comes up, holding a ton of diving sticks in her hands. "If you can't go get them yourselves, then don't throw them," She says snootily, placing them in front of some little boys. I have to grin.

"Oh hey Max," Angel chirps, catching sight of me. She swims over, and I pull her up into my arms, not caring that her swimsuit is getting me all wet.

"Where are all your friends?" I ask her, turning her in my arms so that I can see her face.

"Over there," She points to the shallow end and makes a face. "They aren't very good swimmers."

I laugh and throw her back into the water. "You want some food? I'm all out."

I show Victoria my empty plate for emphasis, and she grins, standing up with me. "I don't get it." She reaches for my belly, squeezes the tight skin. "Where the hell does all this food go?"

"The perks of being part bird," I tell her smugly, and she swats me on the arm. I take a step towards the house, but being the incredibly perceptive person that I am, I notice Victoria staring past me. She gives a slight smile, and I whirl fast, but not fast enough. Iggy comes rocketing into me at full speed, launching us both into the pool. The water is cool, but not uncomfortable except when you have tons of it in your nose. I come up, spluttering and gasping for breath, even though I could have breathed under water if I had really needed to. Everyone has seen this little incident and is standing around laughing at the angry and surprised expression on my face.

Iggy surfaces beside me, giggling maniacally. I launch myself at him, pushing his head back down under the water. I have to laugh at the way he struggles under my hands, but then I panic when he stops struggling and swims downward instead of upward. My feet kick harder trying to ward off any possible attacks, but it does no good. Iggy catches hold of my thighs and drags me underwater.

We struggle at the bottom of the deep end, and my nose takes in a massive amount of water from trying to laugh. Finally, we surface.

"Okay, okay. Truce," Iggy laughs, and I quickly agree.

"Let's play chicken!" Nudge squeals, treading over to us. "Come on! It'll be so fun. Remember the last time we played? At the ocean? That was so awesome. I wish we could go back in time and redo that. But we can't, so let's do it now! Come on. Me and Jett against Iggy and Ella, and Max and Fang. Deal?"

I shrug, and Iggy guffaws. "You think I'm going to complain about Ella getting put on my shoulders?" Just for that, I give him a nice long dunk.

"I'm not getting my hair wet," Ella confirms, walking up to the edge of the pool.

"Then you can't play," I say simply. "Fang come on!" I call, motioning for him to jump in. He pulls his black t-shirt over his head, and I try not to drool. Looking around, I notice a bunch of other girls also trying to keep their spit in their mouths where it belongs.

He jumps in, and I tread over to him. He looks me right in the eye. "I saw that," He murmurs smugly.

My eyes roll. "You only see what you want to see. Besides, I wasn't even looking in your direction."

He smirks, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close. "You're still in trouble," I mutter playfully.

"What can I say? I have the hottest girlfriend here," He murmurs. It's a playful, not true, teasing remark, but there's something so seductive about the way he says it. I swallow hard, and turn so that I'm facing him.

"Whatever. Let's just go kick some butt." Turning around, I see that Nudge is on Iggy's shoulders instead of Ella.

"Hurry up! It's go time! We're taking you guys down!" Nudge shouts, hyping herself up.

Fang ducks under water, and I slide myself onto his shoulders. When he stands, I notice that pretty much everyone has stopped to watch. They're all gathered around the side of the pool, laughing and waiting to see who wins.

Oh it is so on.

Nudge and I lunge at each other, trying to knock the other down while simultaneously trying to help the boys underneath us stay balanced. Our arms lock onto each other, and we struggle. "Iggy back up, I'm falling!" Nudge squeals, and Iggy immediately obeys. By this time, everyone is laughing, even Fang, and I decide that dreading this party was the most ridiculous thing I had ever done. I'm having a great time.

Nudge latches onto me again, and it all comes down to sheer strength. I jerk her hard to the left, taking Iggy off guard and they both fall over.

I punch the air, doing a little victory dance on Fang's shoulders. "Yeah! What's up now?!"

Nudge sulks, crossing her arms and demanding a rematch. Fang and I agree that we can beat them again, and we do. Then it turns into an all-out chicken war, and people start realizing that they also want to play. Angel and Gazzy join the mix. I put Angel on my shoulders and Iggy put Gazzy on his, and we took them down over and over. At one point, I was on Fang's shoulders and we were matching up against a kid from school and his girlfriend, Alexis, whom I didn't know. I latched onto her and she gave me a hard jerk and I swear I went sailing four feet in the air. She immediately apologized, said she didn't mean to jerk me that hard, and we shared a good, understanding laugh. She was obviously enhanced and I immediately took a liking to her.

Everyone wanted a bird kid or a little kid on their team because we're lighter so we're easier to hold and balance, but eventually I made my way out of the pool, feeling starved.

I'm on my way to the kitchen when I catch sight of familiar blonde hair and head on over. "Well look who decided to show up." I smirk as Dylan turns around.

An excited smile flits across his face. "Max!" He picks me up, spins me in a circle. "I was going to come say something but you looked pretty busy in there." He gestures to the on-going chicken matches in the pool.

I grin. "So how are you? I feel like I haven't talked you in forever."

"It's been a while, I suppose," He agrees, sipping a Mountain Dew.

I nod. "I mean how are you really though?" I ask again, making my voice serious.

Dylan swallows, turns turquoise eyes on me. "I'm okay… I'm working on… um… finding someone…"

My eyes flick up to his. "And?…"

"So you see, I have this problem. I am still madly in love with a girl who is madly in love with someone else," He tells me, bitterness dripping from his words.

I sigh, not sure what to say. I was so sure Dylan could find someone other than me, so sure he didn't actually love me. I give him a sympathetic squeeze on the shoulder, but he flinches at my touch.

"I'm making some progress though…. There is this one girl. Mikayla. She's something special," He admits, eyes going slightly vacant as they travel to another place.

I grin. "Great! That's really great."

Dylan doesn't return my enthusiasm, but he does return my smile. "No but seriously, I miss you, you and the flock…. Don't really miss your boyfriend that much though. No offense."

I have to laugh at that. "We miss you too." I look around. By this time, you would think the party would be dying down, but no. It seems to be growing. It's dark outside at this hour, and the air seems to hold a slight chill.

Victoria comes up to me then, hugging me from behind. "I gotta say, you are one kick-ass chicken teammate."

"Duh," I tell her, reaching for Dylan's Mountain Dew. He hands me the bottle, and I begin chugging.

"Don't drink it all…. Max!... Max don't dr-" Dylan complains, and I grin at him as I finish the drink off. "Great. Thanks," He mutters as I hand him back the empty bottle.

Victoria assesses Dylan with her eyes. "Max, why don't you introduce me to your friend?" She asks politely, her eyes never leaving Dylan, who is completely oblivious.

"How rude of me," I comment dryly. "Dylan, this is Victoria Burks. I'm sure you remember her mother, Isabella. She rescued us from above ground."

Dylan gives her a smile worthy of a magazine cover, and Victoria raises her eyebrows at me as if to say Why have you never introduced me to this glorious boy?

"So, I'm going-" I start, but I break off as my eyes catch sight of a figure standing outside the gate in the backyard…. A figure with jet black hair and luminescent skin. Carter.

"What the hell?" I whisper, standing, and marching across the yard to the side with the gate. "What are you doing here?" I hiss.

Carter looks deranged, scared. She runs a hand through messy hair. "You invited me."

I start to say that I did no such thing. Then, I remember that I had, in fact, invited her, though it was before all of this stuff went down.

"Are you drunk? High?" I ask her. "Don't you dare lie to me."

She swallows. "A little of both. I'm good though. I can behave."

"You're not welcome here when you're in this state," I tell her, shutting the gate that I had opened to let her inside.

"Max I… I'm… I'm going to tell my parents. I'm... I was going to ask you if you'd come with me. I'm scared," She tells me, stumbling over her words. She looks utterly miserable and terrible lost.

I soften. "Of course I'll come. Listen, you're doing the right thing. Are you hungry? Cold? We'll get you something…" I open the gate for her, and she starts to step inside, when the headlights of a truck stop us. A red Dodge comes barreling up to us, driving through the grass.

My brow furrows in confusion. Carter pales, turns to me. "Max, I swear, I told him not to come here."

"Who?" I ask, trying to see past the headlights.

A guy angrily jumps out of the driver side, comes marching up to us.

"What do you think you're doing?" He snarls at Carter. "You were supposed to come to my place."

Carter's bottom lip quivers, but she stands strong. "I told you I'm done, Nolan. We aren't right for each other."

Nolan? So this was the yahoo that drug Carter into the partying? A kindling fire starts in my stomach, but I stay quiet.

"You don't get to decide when we're done. You can't just leave me," He snaps. The tangy odor of alcohol wafts off of him in waves. "Besides, you think if you leave me, you can find someone better? Baby, I'll make sure everyone knows just what kind of trash you are. I've still got the video."

Fear flashes in Carter's eyes. "You promised me you deleted that!"

"Promises are made to be broken. It's my trophy. You really think I would throw that away?" A slur begins to enter his voice. "Just get in the truck babe, and it stays between you and me."

Carter looks at me helplessly, and then takes a step towards the truck.

"Don't you dare," I snap, pulling her back and standing in front of her protectively.

"You're trespassing," I say, voice dangerously low. "If you know what's good for you, you'll get the hell off my property."

"Is that a threat, Angel?" He asks, eyes drinking me in, and I mentally curse the day this bikini was made. "What's wrong? You jealous? Don't worry. There's enough of Nolan to go around."

My face scrunches in disgust. "Yeah I'm definitely jealous. Beer guts, dirty beards, and tobacco cheeks are so my type." He doesn't really have a beer gut, not a big one at least, but he does have one nasty looking beard and his lower cheek is fat with chewing tobacco.

For a moment, I'm afraid he'll be too drunk to pick up on my sarcasm, but his face blazes with anger and he takes a step towards me.

"Look just give me back my bitch, and I'll go," He sneers.

I close the distance between us in seconds, putting us chest to chest. "I'm sorry, what did you call her?" I demand, right in his face. "This is your one chance to save yourself."

"Max please," Carter begs, pulling on my arm.

I ignore her. All my attention is on Nolan's answer. My vision is a fuzzy red haze. How dare he! How unbelievably sexist!

"You heard what I said," He grunts. And get this. That boy swung at me. Like he actually swung. Now get this. He swung so quickly and powerfully that I didn't duck in time. He caught me right in the lip, and blood immediately filled my mouth.

Behind me, Carter starts screaming and sobbing for help, knowing what's next.

My fist strikes out immediately, and Nolan stumbles backward but doesn't fall. I decided he must be enhanced, which means I don't have to go easy on him.

I go on the offensive, making him back away from me. My foot shoots out, a well-placed kick to the knee. His legs give out and he falls to the ground. Perfect. I jump on top of him hastily, aware that people are running over to answer Carter's cries for help. They will break up the fight, and I'm not walking away from this guy until I can make sure he remembers just who Maximum Ride is.

I straddle his waist and let fly. Five good ones. Yeah, he's going to be feeling that for a while.

I'm still doing what I do when strong arms grab me under the armpits and lift me off of Nolan. I turn to see that it's Dylan. The second he sets me down, I lunge for Nolan again, blinded by intense rage.

Dylan goes to stop me, but Fang is quicker, wrapping my waist in a tight grip. "Let me go," I growl, twisting in his arms. The only thing that matters is beating the crap out of this kid.

"You touch her again, and I'll make it ten times worse," I threaten, my words directed at Nolan, who is shakily getting to his feet.

Fang catches sight of the blood running down my chin, and I see the anger light in his dark eyes.

Nolan actually has the audacity to come at me again. Dylan immediately meets him halfway, bowing up to him. Fang passes me off to Iggy in case I try to run at the kid again and steps up beside Dylan, radiating anger. Nolan assesses Fang. "That's your girl right? You better keep her on a leash. I like my dogs nice and trained."

Fang's jaw clenches, and I'm afraid for a moment that he might deck the kid himself. Thankfully, Dylan stops him, pushing Nolan over to his truck. "Just get outta here, man."

Luckily, Nolan gets into his truck, and we all watch as he barrels away.

Fang immediately turns, coming back to check on me. His hand reaches out to brush some blood off my chin, but I shake my head, duck past him. I find Carter curled into a ball, sobbing on the ground. I grab her arm, pull her roughly to her feet. "Come on. You're staying here tonight, and we're telling your parents in the morning. Enough is enough."

I drag her behind me through the back door. Mom is standing in the kitchen surrounded by tons of other adult guests, but she immediately catches sight of us.

"Max! What happened?" She cries, rushing over to me.

"Ask them," I growl, continuing to the stairs. One of the flock members or one of my other friends can fill her in.

Carter sniffles as I drag her up the stairs and into my room. She sits on the bed, and I angrily pace in front of her.

"Please calm down," Carter whispers to me.

"I am calm," I snap.

Carter shrinks back and stays quiet, letting me pace for about two more minutes.

"It's just, God, what are you doing with a guy like that?" I ask her desperately. "He could have hurt you! Did he hurt you?"

Carter shakes her head. "He's not like that when he's sober."

"Don't. Don't you dare stick up for him. That guy is no good."

She hesitates before nodding. "You're right."

I sigh, go over to my dresser and pull out some pajamas for her. "Go shower. Clean yourself up. Get yourself together. Then, you're going to come in here and go to bed, and when we wake up in the morning we're going straight to your parents' house. We clear?"

She takes the clothes with trembling fingers. "Thanks," she murmurs, before silently walking out my door.

I sit down on the bed, drop my head into my hands. I hear car doors slamming down below and decide that Mom has probably shut down the party.

I look up when Iggy pokes his head in my door. "You okay, Max?"

"Fine."

He's silent for a moment before he walks into my room. "Did you give it to him good?"

"Of course," I tell him. "Don't I always?"

Iggy snorts. "Yeah I suppose… What a jerk."

"Understatement…. Where's Fang?"

"Downstairs, cooling off. He's pretty pissed," Iggy admits, drumming his long fingers on my dresser.

I nod, feeling guilty. I ruined such a great night. "I should go find him."

Iggy nods. "You sure you're okay?"

I lift his fingers to my face, let him examine where I got hit.

"Pretty swollen, but nothing feels broken," He says after a moment.

"Told you I was fine," I call back as I walk out my door.

I find Fang standing on the outdoor patio, arms crossed, expression unreadable. The party is mostly cleared out, only a few remaining guests linger inside gathering their things.

I slide the glass door open, step out into the night air.

"You okay?" I ask mildly.

He turns to me. "You're asking me if I'm okay? I'm not the one who got hit, Max," He replies, bitterly.

I start to answer but he hushes me, lifts the hem of his shirt and dabs it against my chin. Shoot. How dumb of me to forget about my blood crusted chin.

Fang stops brushing his shirt over my mouth, brings his hands up to hold my face. For a moment, I think he's going to kiss me, but he doesn't. I realize that his fingers are probing.

"Nothing's broken. He didn't even hit me that hard," I tell him earnestly, and finally, he drops his hands.

"I'm sorry," He murmurs, eyes trained on something in the distance.

"For what?"

"Sorry I wasn't there," He swallows. "Again."

My hands come up, roughly grab his face, force him to look at me. "If you don't stop blaming yourself for everything that happens to me, Fang, I swear to God, I'm going to teach you a lesson… Don't' make me teach you a lesson. You know you don't want that."

He half-smiles softly into my hand. "Guess not."

"What are you thinking about? You're a million miles away," Fang murmurs later that night. I had put Carter into my bed, and she was out within minutes, taking up the whole dang bed… which is how I found myself creeping down to Fang's room, snuggling up under his comforter, and curling myself in to his side. There is no TV tonight, just us and our thoughts.

I sigh. "In the morning, I'm going with Carter to tell her folks what she's been up to."

"Joy," Fang says sarcastically, playing with my fingers.

I shrug. "I'm just happy she's willing to tell them at all."

I shoot upright in bed when I remember something I had meant to talk to Fang about, something that frankly scared the piss out of me. "Nudge asked me about sex," I say slowly.

Fang's eyes snap up to mine. "What did you say?"

"Well, I told her the basics obviously, but I told her that I forbade her to even think about it after we were done with the conversation…. You don't think she'd…" I leave the sentence dangling in midair.

"Nah," Fang answers immediately, and the confidence in his voice makes feel a little better. "She won't. She's just a little girl, Max. She's curious, that's all."

I breathe out, squeezing the bridge of my nose as if I can squeeze out the stress. "Just caught me off guard, I guess."

"Come here," Fang murmurs, pulling me back down to him. He grabs my arm, pulls until every part of me is flattened out against him. "Try and get some sleep." He presses a feather light kiss to my busted lip.

"All better," I whisper, a smile in my voice.