She looked at me for a long moment, then shifted her gaze away.
"Because I'm scared," she whispered. "And I hate being scared. Hate it more than anything." Her hands clutched her knees, fingers digging into the fabric. "When that alpha charged today? For a second I thought it was going to ignore everyone and go straight for me. Because I was the weakest. The one who couldn't fight back."
"It went for me instead."
"I know. Which is worse somehow." She laughed without any humor. "The fat lottery kid with E-rank stats stood his ground better than I did."
"D-rank now actually. Strength broke through."
"Congratulations. You're less pathetic than Wednesday." She shook her head. "Sorry. That was mean."
"It's fine. I've heard worse."
"I'm sure you have." She looked back at me, her amber eyes serious. "But my point stands. I need to be stronger. Need to stop being the person everyone protects. And you can give me that. So here I am."
