CHAPTER 43
WREN
∞
Alex looks flustered as well as I make my way over to him by the door. I wonder what happened between the two of them to have them completely on edge like this.
“Alex,”
I murmur. He jumps at the sound of my voice and his eyes dart past me for a second before settling back on me. “What is wrong with you?”
I snort. “You look like you just saw something you shouldn’t have. Why are you so nervous?”
“Frankie is fucked up, Wren,”
he sighs, and I feel my pulse increase as anxiety courses through me.
“What do you mean?”
I ask cautiously.
“She wants to tie you up. She joked about kidnapping you and having you tied up and then she basically stood there silently…and I just knew she was picturing it in her head.”
I press my lips together to stop myself from laughing at him. That explains why Chess was so flustered when she came back into the bedroom, and clearly Alex’s mind wandered to that mental image himself. He shakes his head and presses his fingers between his brows as he lets out a harsh, rattling breath.
“Hmm, that sounds fun actually,”
I chirp playfully.
His head whips up to look at me and his mouth gapes open. “Don’t fucking tell me that!”
He hisses. “I do not need to picture you two fucking around like that.”
“Why are you picturing us fucking at all, Alex?”
I raise an eyebrow at him, and he takes a step back from me, shaking his head in horror. “I’m not!”
He screams. His voice goes up to an abnormal pitch and I can’t help it, I burst out laughing. “You two really are perfect for each other. You’re both assholes,”
he grumbles.
“Was there something you needed, Alex? I’m a bit preoccupied at the moment.”
He rolls his eyes before settling his face into a frown. “We need to talk…in private.”
The pit of anxiety in my stomach, rears its ugly head at his tone. I nod my head and motion for him to step outside and I follow him, closing the door behind us.
“What is it?”
“You didn’t kill the entire pack, Wren.”
“What? No. I know I killed everyone in that building.”
“You did, but that wasn’t the whole pack. Collin is one of the pack members and works as an enforcer. He was out on assignment when you went rogue. He found them all dead when he went back this morning, and he called Adrian.”
“So? It’s not like he knows anything. It’s just a random attack and Adrian won’t do anything about it.”
“Collin begged him to investigate. One of the guys you killed was his brother, so Adrian is going to do it. They’re putting people on it to try and find out what happened.”
“I’m not concerned, Alex. I left no traces that I had a hand in it, I swear.”
“Alright, as long as you’re sure. The last thing we need is this coming back on us.”
He leans into the wall and glances at me from the corner of his eye. “Are things okay between you two?”
“I think so.”
“Are you going to let her help you?”
“No,”
I say bluntly.
“…and she’s okay with that?”
I can hear the sadness in his voice.
“She’s resolved herself to be with me until the insanity takes hold.”
“I hate you. I hate you so fucking much, Wren.”
He wipes at his eyes and glares at me with tears streaming down his face. He pushes from the wall to stand in front of me and shoves me back, making me stumble in surprise. “You’re leaving me!”
He wails and I can feel my own emotions breaking. “You’re willingly leaving me behind and I fucking hate you for it.”
“Alex---”
“Shut the fuck up, Wren,” he sobs.
“I’m leaving the tower to you,”
I say quietly.
“I don’t want your fucking tower! I want you to want to be here. I want you to stay! I resolved myself to the thought that I’m not enough to convince you, but Frankie?! You clearly love her and you’re just…you’re so fucking selfish.”
“I won’t deny that I’m selfish, Alex, but neither of you need me…not really. You’re both strong all on your own.”
“The fact you’re not only breaking my heart but hers, just goes to show how much of an asshole you really are,”
he says angrily.
I know he’s hurting right now, and I’ll take his anger and pain willingly. “I’m not going anywhere until I deal with Charlotte…we still have some time.”
“That’s not enough for me! I thought you loved me. I thought I was your family! Family doesn’t hurt family like this, Wren. I can’t bear to watch you suffer like this.”
His sobs of anguish rack his body. I grab his wrist and pull him to me, wrapping him in my arms. He tries to push me back, but I hold him tighter until his arms wrap around me. He cries against my shoulder, gripping at my back and I feel my heart breaking for him. I do want to stay with him, but I can’t because I refuse to taint others with my blood. I led myself to this and it’s my decision.
“If Frankie changes her mind about becoming a vampire, would you turn her?”
He murmurs.
“She won’t, and I won’t because I won’t risk her dying, Alex. She’s going to live a long human life and that’s just how it is.”
“You don’t know if she’s not compatible,”
he sniffles, pulling back from me.
“Both her brothers died during a turning, Alex. The chances of her being compatible are very slim.”
“But there’s a chance…”
“Alex, I’m not risking it. I care about her too much to kill her.”
“I don’t think I can handle this, Wren. I can’t do this without you.”
“You can, and you will, Alex. Please don’t hate me…I can’t handle it if you actually hate me. You can be angry and hurt me for the pain you’re feeling, but the thought of you hating me, hurts so much worse than anything you could possibly do to me physically.”
“I’m angry,”
he hiccups as he rubs his forearm across his eyes.
“I know and I’m sorry, but this is still my choice. I’m not doing this to hurt you, I just can’t handle it anymore.”
“So, you’re just giving up on everything.”
“Not until I’ve done what I need to in order for this to truly be over. You know I never wanted this life for myself. It’s been nothing but pain for me. The only good thing that happened, was you coming into my life. You wanted this life, Alex, and that’s okay, but you can’t expect me to go on just…existing. Existing isn’t living.”
“…but you have Frankie now.”
His voice is so broken that I feel like my heart is being ripped out of my chest. I’m hurting him so much with this decision, and the guilt I feel is crippling. I wish I could get myself out of this mentality. I don’t want to hurt him like this. My thoughts could be clouded because of the insanity, but in this moment, I can’t bring myself to do what he’s asking.
“Try and get some rest, Alex. We don’t need to talk about this right now, okay? I’ll…think about it.”
His head snaps up to look at me, and the hope in his eyes has the air squeezing from my lungs. I settle my hand on the doorknob, pushing it open and hearing a gasp and a thud from the other side.
I peek around the door to see Chess on the ground, rubbing at her ass from the fall. She looks up at me and my breath hitches. Tears are streaming down her cheeks as she looks at me.
I have no idea how much she heard, but it was enough to upset her.