Finn

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"So, anything else I missed while I was gone?" Turin asked me, his voice surprisingly chipper despite the direction we were heading. We had already been walking for a couple hours, and the sun was starting to set above us. I knew I had no other choice but to go back, but I couldn't help the anxious feeling growing in my stomach at the idea of facing Cillian. I wasn't going back for him, but I knew I wouldn't be able to avoid him and his wrath.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, grinning as I turned to Turin. I had shared all of the bad news with him and forgotten the most important piece of good news, "Rory is pregnant!"

"You're kidding?" Turin's eyes widened in shock, but immediately narrowed on me. He searched my face for the joke he thought I was telling, but I shook my head. His jaw dropped, before a similar toothy grin took over his face. I had missed that smile.

I knew that he wanted me to tell him I felt the same way. It was the thing neither of us wanted to address, but hung desperately in the air between us. And I felt guilty that when I had the opportunity, I just told him he was my best friend. Truthfully, I didn't know what Turin was to me. He had been nothing but nice to me, and I knew that I cared about him, I just didn't know the extent.

Still, I couldn't help the small part of me that feared he would tell me he didn't feel that way anymore. The part of me that longed for his attention was terrified he'd grown to regret having feelings for me and treat me differently. She was happy to find Turin seemed to grow only more affectionate, constantly keeping his hand in mine or kissing my forehead. He never pushed it too far and kept it relatively platonic, but I couldn't help but smile when he did it. The butterflies in my stomach told me I felt more for him that I was willing to admit to myself. With Cillian's bite still throbbing on my neck, and our bond still itching and trying to push me to find him, I didn't trust anything I felt.

"It's too bad I won't get to be there for the little guy," Turin's smile fell as he looked ahead of us at the forest. Every tree looked the same to me, and I had lost track of direction the second we left the waterfall. I was trusting he knew where he was leading me. He glanced sideways at me, offering a small smile, "I've always wanted to be an uncle."

"What do you mean? Why can't you be an uncle?" I asked him with a frown. I messed with the straps of the backpack I'd forced him to let me carry a while ago. It was heavy, and dug into my shoulder blades, but I didn't want him to do everything. Luckily, Turin knew how stubborn I could be and give in quickly.

When he saw me fidgeting with the straps, he huffed and reached a hand out to take it from me. I slapped his hand away and glared at him, which earned another huff from the blonde wolf.

"I abandoned my pack. I'm a rogue now, Finn." Turin answered with a small shrug, as if the sadness in his eyes didn't exist. My heart tugged at the look on his face, though he quickly tried to hide it. He had left his family behind. Because of me.

"I'm sor-"

"No. Don't do that," Turin snapped at me before I could even get the sentence out. I shrunk away from him on instinct, but he didn't drop the glare he sent my way, "do not blame yourself Finley. I make my own decisions."

"Finley?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him as I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Despite his narrowed eyes, I couldn't help but chuckle at his attempt to be mad at me. It didn't invoke the same fear that Howard or Cillian's anger did. I had seen them act on their anger, and knew I wasn't exempt from being victim to it. But Turin was always so carefree and happy; a stark contrast to the serious, stone face of Cillian. I couldn't imagine him lashing out at anybody.