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“I haven’t sought you out a single time since I walked out of your classroom, and I won’t be. You won. You convinced me of how horrible of a person you are and how much I want nothing to do with you. So why don’t you go back to running away every time you see me, and I’ll just pretend like you don’t exist? Does that work for you?” I practically spit out my words at him, ire rising the longer I have to stand here and talk to him.

“What’s wrong, Audrey? Do my words hurt?”

I bare my teeth, annoyed to give him even that much of a reaction. He knows exactly what he’s doing and how much he’s hurting me.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it, Nex. Go fuck yourself. You’re not worthy of me, and I’m not going to spend another damn minute thinking of you.” I smirk. “But you won’t be able to stop thinking about me and the lives you’re ruining by depriving another man of the fated mate that he’ll never be able to have because of you. Adding a little more guilt onto your plate shouldn’t be a big deal since that’s all you seem to care about, anyway.”

His hand tightens on my arm again when I try to pull away, and this time, I can’t bite back the pained noise that escapes me.

Donovan is there in a second, ripping Nex away from me and slamming him into the wall. “Do not put your hands on my mate. I know Audrey’s already said it, but you’re the pathetic one. You’re the one throwing away the most amazing woman you’ll ever meet. You’re a fucking idiot hiding behind guilt like it’ll keep you warm at night—like it’ll love you. That’s okay. Your loss is my gain. That’s one less fucker I have to share her affections with.

“If I see you so much as glance her way again, I will fuck you up. You don’t deserve her or her time. She’s entirely too good for a piece of shit like you. You’re lucky your punishment from Lucifer is ironclad or you’d be looking for another home. Any friendship you had with me or Wraith? Hell, even Brenden and Cassian—that’s done and over with.” Donovan growls when Nex tries to break away from him.

“Brenden cares for you. He’s the real reason we all kept trying. He was convinced that you would come around. This is going to break his heart. But when he sees the marks you left on his mate? He’s going to tear you to shreds. I hope you’re happy with what you’ve done because now you have to live with it.”

He steps back, rolling his shoulders and shaking his head from side to side before he offers me his hand with a small smile. “Why don’t we head home, pretty girl? I can think of some ways to occupy our time while we wait for the sun to rise.”

“That sounds amazing.” I take his hand and allow him to lead me back toward the house. I don’t glance over my shoulder. I don’t worry that Nex might be hurt.

I’m officially done. No matter how many times I’ve said it before, I mean it now. He’s gone too far and done too much to damage the relationship we could’ve had.

I bury the hurt deep inside, determined to forget his entire existence. I only worry about what this will mean for me and Cassian. I’m not prepared to lose him.

I won’t lose him because of Nex. I just need to figure out how to fix it.

“I think we need to talk to Wraith,” Donovan says quietly, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Why?”

He glances at me, worry in his eyes. “I don’t think you working at the academy is the right call anymore. I think he should put you on the reaper roster. It’s what you should be doing anyway—gathering souls and transporting them to the underworld for judgment. You never wanted to teach at the academy, did you?”

“Not really,” I admit, excitement simmering inside me. “Do you think he’ll go for it? I mean, my first reap wasn’t great, but at least I don’t have any more sisters to find dead.”

He grins. “That you know of. But yes, I think Wraith will be happy to move you over to reaping if that’s what you want. He only had you assisting with classes so you could be closer to us. And to Nex. We all thought if you were always there in his face, he’d accept you. Clearly, we all overestimated his smarts.”

“Clearly,” I grouse, face pinching at the mention of him.

“Are you really done with him?”

I nod. “I am. He’s pushed me away before, and I was okay with that. Now, he’s just being cruel. He’s made it clear that he doesn’t want me. Why should I keep trying? He’s telling me he doesn’t want me, and it’s about time I start listening. I don’t know what this means for all of us—especially Cassian—but we’ll figure it out.”

“Together,” he says, and I find myself returning his smile.

“Yes. We’ll figure it out together.”

Fuck.

I really hope we can because I’m not prepared to be miserable for the rest of my life.

Chapter Twenty-two

Audrey

“Hedidwhat?”Brendenlaunches to his feet, stalking over to look at my arm. He growls when he sees the bruises already forming. “Who the fuck does he think he is?”

Donovan made good on his promise to occupy me until the sun came up, making me come over and over again—on his fingers, on his tongue, and on his cock. It helped me forget everything that happened for a few hours, and it meant the world to me.

Unfortunately, as soon as everyone started waking up, he called for all my mates and my sister to join us. I wouldn’t have minded a little longer before explaining everything to them, but Donovan thought ripping off the bandage and getting it over with was the best idea. I was too tired to argue with him.