Page 45 of Bellamy

“It’s okay, big guy,” Simon whispered, rubbing Galen’s arm.

Galen bent and pressed his face into his husband’s hair, visibly relaxing. But he wasn’t the only one I needed to worry about.

“What the actual fuck, Bell?” Castor asked, a tremble going through him. “I understand fate fucked you over by making that waste of life your mate, but how fuckingdare youbring him here. After all he’s done.”

Their reaction was just as expected. “I’m sorry—”

“He almost killed Kyo!” Castor barged toward me with his fists clenched. Both anger and sorrow burned in his emerald-green eyes. When those eyes met mine, I sensed the color Lust made him see. Orange. The same shade as Kyo’s.

Gray sat up and frowned at me. “He hurt my human too.”

Mason rubbed the top of Gray’s shoulder.

“Yeah, and your human shot Phoenix in the heart,” I pointed out.

“So?” Castor said. “That demon is our enemy. Better if he’s dead. You’re the one who healed him.”

“I was put in an impossible situation.” A deep pain slashed across my chest. “He’s my mate. I can’t change that any more than you can change Kyo being yours. So yeah, I saved his life. But Phoenix has savedmylife too.”

“In Hoia Baciu?” Daman asked.

I nodded. “I was wounded, remember? Before Asa dealt a fatal blow, Phoenix convinced him to leave me alone and head to the main part of the battle to find Gusion.”

“I remember,” Daman said. “It was right before Asa bit War and hypnotized him to try to kill me.”

Warrin’s body tensed, and he turned more toward Daman, arms folding around my brother’s slim waist. That shit had been intense. Under Asa’s influence, Warrin had tackled Daman and held a blade to his throat before snapping out of the hypnotic state.

I continued. “After we joined the others in the clearing, my wounds were bad enough I could barely keep myself upright. I collapsed on the battlefield.”

“That fucking sucked,” Castor said, less angry than before. “I thought you were going to die.”

“I almost did.” I stared at a frayed edge of the rug beneath my feet. “The rest of you had to keep fighting. Too much was at stake. That’s when Phoenix dragged me to the edge of the field and kept me from bleeding out. He stayed right by my side until…”

“Until Belphegor drove his sword through my chest,” Daman finished for me.

Gray pushed his face into Mason’s T-shirt. He got upset anytime his dad was mentioned.

“I know you guys are pissed,” I said, glancing at each of their faces before settling on Galen. “But put yourself in my shoes. When you realized Simon was your mate, you were powerless to stop it. You craved him, body and soul. Because that’s what this fated mate shit does. We can fight the connection for a while, but it’s inevitable.”

“Simon wasn’t our sworn enemy,” Galen responded.

“And if he had been? What then? Would you have been able to kill him? Or stand aside while one of us did?”

Galen ground his teeth together. Said nothing.

“I’m not asking you to trust Phoenix. Hell, I don’t trust him either. All I’m asking is for you to back off. Let me handle it.”

“You expect us to be okay with him here?” Daman asked. “He’s wrapped around Asa’s finger, B. That’s where his loyalty lies. Not with you.”

“He risked his life to get me out of that hellhole,” I said through gritted teeth. My anger at them started to bleed through the wall I’d concealed it behind. “It’s more than what you assholes did. You were prepared to let me die down there.”

Alastair frowned at my words. “That wouldn’t have happened. I knew Phoenix would make the right choice.”

“Yeah, and you were right. Congratulations. Does that make Pride happy? You gambled with my life on a whim. But it’s okay because it turned out fine.” I put my hands up and took a step back. “You know what? Fuck all of you.”

I left the study.

“B,” Daman called after me.