Chapter 13 #2
Now, I have done a lot of stupid shit in my life, but punching a Wraith prince may have topped them all. The minute my fist collided with his jaw, I was being slammed against the floor by my throat, silencing any conversations occurring between anyone in the establishment.
"We are not doing this, Nico," Adrien's voice was level and low, almost threatening. My Incubus magic instantly roared up defensively, surrounding him as his hand lifted off me and he let out a low growl, seemingly offended I would pull that shit on him. To be fair, it was a low blow.
I used momentum to push myself up, and instead of walking away, I surged forward, knocking his feet out from under him and hitting him in the face. What occurred next had nothing to do with magic and everything to do with aggression and anger on my end.
Adrien and I had never fought like this, and I had to admit, he not only outweighed me but was probably stronger by far.
Still, he was playing defense, and I managed to get some hits in before he started hitting back.
It was worth it when he started hitting back because each blow stunned me enough to forget everything else and leave me feeling almost euphoric from the pain.
I hadn't even realized the fight had stopped as I lay on my back in the empty pub, bleeding from my nose and staring at the ceiling.
The room was spinning, and I could hear conversation around me, but I was far too exhausted and dizzy to look at who was speaking.
My emotions were all over the place, so I wasn't even surprised when tears started to leak from my eyes, blurring the vision of Adrien appearing over me and offering a concerned yet disappointed look.
"Are you done?"
Was I?
"Yeah," I mumbled, my mouth almost feeling numb from the hit I'd taken directly to it.
As he helped me up, I realized just how much pain I was in and I avoided the others' gazes, leaning on the Wraith as he helped me upstairs.
It wasn't until we reached the top of the stairwell and I smelled Ama's desire that I remembered why I'd gotten so pissed.
Surging forward, down the hall and out of Adrien's grip, I leaned against the wall near her room.
"Amare!" I yelled out, sounding almost hysterical, "Come out here, my lovely mate!"
"She's sleeping you idiot—"
Colt's words were interrupted by the door opening and Ama appearing in the doorway.
A groan left my throat at how gorgeous she looked.
Her face was flushed but sleepy, her hair a bit messy and a sheet wrapped around her perfect frame, making me think about how easy it would be to just pull it off her.
Fuck. I would love nothing more than to explore her soft skin—
"What the hell happened to you?" she demanded softly, stepping out into the hall further, seemingly more focused on me than the fact that she was practically naked. I knew the others noticed, which brought me to exactly why I was upset.
"What happened to me?" I chuckled before putting an arm up on the door frame above her head and offering a dark smile, "What happened to me is you.
You fucking happened, Ama. But you didn't just happen to me, no you happened to all of us...
including the man of the hour, Finias, who is probably exhausted after you fucked him. "
Ama's lips opened in surprise, hurt flashing through her gaze as she shrunk against the wall, and instant guilt hit me. I didn't have a moment to fully explore that, though, because the cold knife against my throat and Finias’ grip on my hair had everything inside of me turning cold.
"Ama, say the word," Finias' voice was nearly pleading. "Tell me I can kill him."
Ama's eyes were dark, and her expression was shuttered as she shook her head, "No, it's not worth it, Finias.
" I wasn't worth it. That was what she meant.
Tears started to sting my eyes again as she stared at me with what I assumed was pity, and my defenses started to fall, leaving me feeling like a devildamned shell of a man.
Finias shoved me away from him, and I fell forward, my knees folding so that I was kneeling in front of my mate, her face filled with a sadness that caused me an immense amount of pain. I had put that sadness on her face. I'd done that. Holy shit. I'd fucked up big time.
"Ama—" My voice was choked and strained, but she was already shaking her head. Stepping back, she looked at the others and, without a word, closed her door.
I fisted my hands on the ground, dropping my head as I muttered a curse under my breath, hating everything about this moment. Hating myself. When I heard the lock to her door click in place, I knew I had to walk away from this situation tonight. I was only making everything ten times worse.
"Let's go," Damien pulled me up by my collar like a misbehaving pup as I stumbled to standing. I kept my gaze down, not willing to look any of them in the eye, since they'd just born witness to my humiliating and toxic display of emotions.
"I'm standing watch first," Drayven said evenly.
"I'll switch with you in an hour," Colt agreed.
No one asked me about doing a shift for Ama, and I knew why. I couldn't be trusted with our mate. Not her safety. Not her emotions. I was untrustworthy, just like my parents, and now everyone knew it.