9 #3
“Give me a moment, Alby. I am not . . . experienced in these situations.” Flicking her coffee and crimson eyes over all of us, Tate finally joining us after his moment, she says with an unreadable expression on her face, “I cannot tell you what things will be like when I do not know myself. All I do know is that I will not change who I am.”
“We wouldn’t want that,” Alby rushes out, hold on her tightening. “Y-you’re perfect. I love how you are.”
“Hm.”
My lips twitch at the familiar non-response.
“He’s right, Vengeance. None of us would ever want you to change.
You’ve landed yourself with five men who’ll stay with you no matter what, no matter how fucking immoral you may be.
Might make me fucked up, but I’m well past giving a shit.
” Though from the lightning-fast flash of wicked glee in her eyes, I do wonder if it’s not the best idea to tell her things like that, because as true as my words are, I don’t exactly want to encourage a mindless massacre here.
“Preferably don’t kill any innocents if you can help it, though, Wifey.” Tiger flutters his lashes rapidly, and she stares at him, unimpressed.
“No one is innocent,” she states. Then she muses, “Except for maybe you and my shy boy.”
Alby gasps at the possessive way she referred to him while Tate grumbles, “What about the rest of us?”
A single dark brow rises. “Do you consider online stalking and a thirst for killing innocent, Tate?”
Tongue running over his top teeth, a slow grin takes over, unrepentant. “No, Havoc.”
“And me?” I ask.
“You piss me off,” she tells me simply, and Tiger snickers at my expense.
Scotty’s next, and he waits calmly for her judgment with his sturdy arms folded across his chest. I’m happy to say he’s relaxed somewhat the longer we’ve talked, no longer looking so tormented by his guilt, although I know it hasn’t truly left him.
“You cheated on me before we met,” she tells him, eyes narrowing.
His lips roll in, and those mismatched eyes slit even further as Ezla watches him attempt to keep his amusement in. “I apologise, Love. I didn’t mean to share what belongs to you, but I wasn’t actually aware at that point in time.”
Pulling back from Alby, she turns fully to Scotty. “Do you find your betrayal funny?”
Blue eyes—eye—widening, he raises his hands up as he quickly tries to placate her. “Of course not, Ezla. But what about Cooper?”
I huff at him as our girl slides her murderous look my way. “Seriously?”
His wince is apologetic as Vengeance says darkly, “You are right.” She appears to consider, running through something in her mind, before she tells us, “I will punish you both, in due time. You both have a few things I am eager to whip you for.”
My jaw drops while Scotty coughs into his fist. Alby chokes on his spit.
“Oooooh, I wanna be whipped, Ezzy! Do me!”
“In due time,” she repeats, and he lets out an excited, “Whoop!” But that energy crashes down a heartbeat later as Ezla continues, “For now, I must go. I have already stayed too long.”
All our faces fall.
Alby goes to reach for her before thinking better of it, his quivering hand dropping back to his side.
“Please don’t go back to him,” he whispers.
“We can . . . we can find a way to keep you safe.” He looks around at all of us, silently pleading.
He pauses on Scotty, but he only shakes his head with that look back on his face that’s starting to become far too familiar.
Alby’s eyes gloss as Ezla reaches a hand up to smooth her palm over his raven head of hair. In her usual tone, she says, “Do not worry about me. I have survived much throughout my eighteen years of life; I can live through much more.”
“But you shouldn’t have to.” Alby’s voice breaks.
“But I must.” Her voice firms, and she steps back.
Pure panic stretches out his eyelids and fills the room in an instant from more than just him.
I step forwards without permission. “Wait, Vengeance—”
“No. I have to go now.”
Another step.
Tate begins to rush for her with a desperate growl of her name, and Scotty lunges after him, earning a brutal elbow to his ribs that he’s in no condition to receive.
He doubles over with a pained gasp, which snaps me back to reality along with Tiger and Alby, all of us jumping on our largest brother to help control him.
“No. NO! FUCKING GET OFF! HAVOC! HAVOC, DON’T GO TO HIM! DON’T!”
Choked breaths sound in my ears, and I don’t know if they’re mine, Alby’s, Tiger’s, or all of my brothers’ mixed together as we struggle to keep the raging one in our arms in check.
Our Bonded keeps retreating, but her eyes don’t leave the scene before her for a second. Her stare is intense, dark almost, especially as it shifts to my right when Scotty rejoins our efforts with gritted teeth, lingering there before deliberately coming to rest on mine when she reaches the door.
Velvet and sin slinks into my mind on pitch-black smoke:
Watch him, Cooper. Keep an eye on Scotty.
And then she’s gone, leaving us to deal with the devastation left in her wake.