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I reach up, cupping his cheek. “I’m okay, Brenden.”

He shakes his head, still snarling. “No, you’re not. He put his hands on you. I’m going to kill him.”

Donovan chuckles. “I told him that’s how you’d respond.”

“How else would I?” he asks, staring at the bruises. “I don’t understand why he would do this. I’ve been making headway with him—“

“Have you?” Wraith asks gently. “Can you truthfully say you’ve been getting through to him about accepting his mate bond with Audrey? Or has he just been warming up to you?”

Brenden blinks at Wraith, his anger falling away. “I…I don’t know.”

Taking his hand, I lead him back to the couch. I push him to sit beside Donovan before climbing on his lap. He needs me right now.

I might be hurting, but it’s buried beneath so much anger and resentment that I can ignore it. I’m really afraid of what this realization will do to my vampire mate. I expressed my concerns to Wren not that long ago, and I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but here we are.

“Is it possible he was using you to put more distance between him and Audrey?” Wren asks quietly, sympathy written all over her face.

“I don’t know,” Brenden admits again. “Was I deluding myself into thinking he cared about me?”

I shake my head, hating the desolation in his voice. “I don’t think so. I think he feels something for you, just like he does for me. The problem is that he doesn’t think he deserves us. It’s possible he was planning to use you to hurt both of us, but we won’t know the answer to that question unless we speak to him—which I have no intention of ever doing again.”

“So that’s it?” Cassian asks. “You’re truly done with him? Not to be a selfish bastard, but where does that leave us?”

I shrug. “I have no idea. I’m not giving you up, Cassian. I will fight for you, but the Fates were clear when they spoke to me. It’s either three or five—no in between. Maybe that just means we’ll never be able to bond.”

I hate the idea of not being able to share with him what I share with my other three mates, but if it keeps him in my life, who am I to complain?

“If it’s as simple as that, I can live with it. You’re it for me, little mate. I’m never giving you up.” Cassian says it with such devotion. Like he’ll move heaven and earth or raze it to the ground if that’s what it takes to keep me, and I love it.

We all fall silent, lost in our thoughts when Wren speaks up again.

“Does this change anything?”

I glance at my sister with a frown. “What do you mean?”

“Does this change anything with me being here at the school and becoming a reaper? Does it change us dealing with Michael? Where does this leave you?” Wren has tears at the corner of her eyes as they flash with indignation on my behalf. “How can you be expected to work with him? I don’t know how I’ll be able to look at him after knowing the shit he pulled.”

“Oh! Donovan had an idea about one part of that.” I sit up so I can see Wraith better. “I don’t want to work at the academy anymore. I don’t want to see him or deal with him. I want to start reaping.”

Wraith cocks an eyebrow as he considers me. “Oh, do you, trouble? And this was my pet’s idea? Of course it was.”

“Don’t be like that, Wraith.” Donovan snuggles further into his lover’s side. “You know it’s a good idea. I think Audrey is going to love reaping—you know, when it’s not her sister’s soul that she’s reaping. Yes, it means she’ll be away from us sporadically, but I also don’t want her anywhere near Nex.”

“You do make some good points.” Wraith rubs his hand against his chin. “Okay, Audrey. I’ll get your name added to the roster so you can begin reaping.”

Then his attention turns to Wren. “As far as the rest of your questions. This changes nothing about your schooling—except I’ll have you reassigned to one of Brenden’s classes if you’re not comfortable remaining in Nex’s. It also changes nothing about our plan with Michael. He might have been here for the planning stage, but we were never counting on him to participate. After he left, we adjusted it to only be the six of us. Though it can be adjusted to just five if need be.”

His and Cassian’s gazes clash as my fallen angel shakes his head. “I’m not backing out of this, Wraith. I’m in this, and I’m not going anywhere—no matter how much you want me to.”

“Until it gets too hard or too real. After that, who knows if we’ll be able to count on you then.” Wraith sneers. “Your track record hasn’t proven you to be someone we can count on.”

“Well, if you’d just let me fucking explain.” Cassian jumps to his feet, stepping toward Wraith, and I feel like my heart is being ripped from my chest.

Why do they have to keep fighting?

“NO!” I yell, yanking myself from Brenden’s grasp to stand up. “We are not fucking doing this. I’m not dealing with the two of you fighting on top of the bullshit Nex just pulled—“

I cut off with a frown, a realization hitting me out of nowhere. I think back on to the fights between Wraith and Cassian, checking the timing, and sure as fuck, they coincide with the confrontations with Nex.