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Ezra

Ezra stood staring at Scarlett’s door, blood boiling in his veins.

Though Vince had finessed the ability to withhold his feelings from them, Ezra could feel that he was very much enjoying whatever he was doing right now.

He clearly wasn’t fucking her like Mateo the other night, but that did nothing to lessen the heat simmering beneath the surface of Ezra’s skin.

“Want to talk?”

Ezra didn’t even move. “Fuck off.”

Mateo shrugged, walked past him, and disappeared into his own room. Curious, Ezra creeped into Mateo’s mind. He felt slight disappointment and a hunch of jealousy but Mateo made it clear that he was happy for the both of them.

Fuck, he groaned to himself, storming after his friend. He didn’t care to knock, instead marching right in and letting himself fall onto Mateo’s couch.

Mateo chuckled and came out of the closet, pulling a shirt over his head. “So, why are you so upset? I thought I felt you and Scarlett having a breakthrough last night.”

“Why aren’t you upset?” Ezra countered.

“Because we are taking steps in the right direction. She’s warming up to us one at a time.”

“You don’t want her all to yourself?”

“I do, but I also want her to be comfortable with all of her mates. Sharing is caring, Ezra,” Mateo taunted.

“I fucking hate you.”

“I’m perfectly okay with your hate.”

“Stop being such a perfect unicorn.”

“I like to see myself as a golden retriever. Although, I recently saw something about referring to men as ‘cinnamon rolls.’”

“What in the ever-loving fuck is wrong with you?”

“Are you seriously asking me that? You black-eyed tattooed demon from hell.” Judging by the grimace and puppy eyes, Mateo knew he’d hit a sore spot. “Sorry.”

Ezra did his best to brush it off, but it was no match to someone who felt his every emotion. “Whatever.”

Mateo dropped onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling where he’d installed glowing stars. “What would help you feel better?”

“What do you mean?”

“Would something like having boundaries ease your jealousy?”

“Like if I knew I had her for myself every Wednesday?”

“Something like that.”

Ezra rested back, looking up at the stars for himself. Mateo had taken forever to install them, making sure each little stone was perfectly placed to his liking. “I don’t think so.”

“So it’s not the fear you won’t be able to spend alone time with her. You’re struggling with the thought of not having her for yourself at all .”

Ezra grimaced. He hated this feeling. Never had a woman messed with his emotions as much as Scarlett did. She had him hating and longing for her, wanting to crawl to her on his knees and then fight her at the same time. “I guess.”

“She’s ours, Ezra. Her mind, soul and heart belong to us and us alone. No one else will ever call her theirs.”

Somehow, that calmed his rage. Ezra wasn’t used to women who stuck around of their own accord. They got what they wanted and left, unable to be near him for very long before his true colours shone through. With Scarlett being his mate, she would never leave—any of them.

“I think jealousy will always be a part of our relationship with her,” Mateo continued. “It’s natural to not want to share something you love so fiercely. We just have to be open about it. We need to check in on each other to make sure it doesn’t overtake our friendship.”

Friendship. Why did that scratch an itch in Ezra’s mind?

Deep down, he’d always known that if it weren’t for their blood bond, he’d have been left alone.

Vince and Mateo wouldn’t be able to stand his irrational and impulsive behaviour.

Hearing Mateo call their forced arrangement “friendship” was surprisingly soothing to his soul.

“We need to include Scarlett in that too. I don’t want us to smother her. Having days like these where she can be for herself are important, no matter how long she’s lived with us.”

As he considered Mateo’s words, Ezra couldn’t help but wonder if she would’ve been better off with just him. After all, Mateo was the only one who had been all in with the bond from day one.

“Ezra, I can feel your thoughts spiralling. Don’t do that. Don’t let yourself go down that path.”

Easier said than done.

“I wanted to sit down with her tomorrow and talk to her about our findings for the lycan hunt. I don’t want to leave her here alone. Especially when we don’t know how long it’ll take.”

“We can’t take her with us.”

“I know, but maybe we can find a place for her to stay nearby.”

“You just said not to overwhelm her! She could barely handle the farmer’s market.”

“I was thinking a small cabin or something.”

Ezra didn’t like the idea of taking Scarlett on a hunt.

She wasn’t ready to be out there. Not even hidden away in a cabin.

He’d seen how stressful it had been for her at the market, even how she hesitated to leave the walls of her own home.

She was fragile, a clueless pup in a dark twisted sense.

The worst part about it? He hated it. So much so that he wanted her family punished for it—severely.

It would take years to break the habits they’d instilled in her, and even then she might second guess herself at every turn.

“I liked seeing you with her at the market,” Mateo said, breaking Ezra’s train of thought. “You seemed happy.”

“Don’t expect a compliment in return.” But Mateo was right: he had been happy. He had enjoyed her company and the way she didn’t mind being seen with him in public. He’d loved spoiling her with gifts and showing her the freedom she’d obtained by choosing them.

“I think her brother’s visit might mean that he’ll welcome her back once he becomes alpha.”

“She’s not leaving us,” Ezra growled.

“No, but she’d at least be allowed to see her family—and Kurt.”

“Whatever.”

“I shouldn’t tell her that though. It might get her hopes up.”

“Ah, yes, how thoughtful of you.”

“What can I say?”

“Fucking golden retriever.” Ezra hopped up from the couch and started for the door, turning back at the last second.

“I’m sorry— cinnamon roll. ” He shut the door before Mateo could drum up a response.

Surprisingly, he felt better. The jealousy was still in the depths of his mind, but it wasn’t burning his mind and consuming all his thoughts.

But he’d never tell Mateo that.

The next morning, Ezra found Scarlett in the kitchen cutting fruit into a bowl.

No wonder she was nearly skin and bone. Instead of commenting on it he pulled out his usual oversized cereal bowl and stood next to her as he poured his chocolate puffs into it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Scarlett looked up at him, crooking a brow expectantly.

He was happy to share, pouring a bit of his breakfast into her bowl.

Perfect. It was working.

He followed her to the couch but instead of sitting next to her, he sat on the floor in front of her. They ate in silence and once she’d finished, she set her bowl aside and brushed her fingers over the shaved hair at his nape.

“Will you practice driving today again?” he asked, desperate to simply talk with her.

“I should, huh?”

“Not necessarily. You don’t have to do anything.”

“What are you going to do?”

You, Ezra thought, but he didn’t dare say that out loud. Instead, he drafted a more appropriate answer. “Spend time with you.”

Scarlett hummed, deeming his response sufficient. “Tell me how you grew up, Ezra.”

His name rolled off her lips like a kitten purring and Ezra swayed on the spot, drunk off the sound.

The words fell from Ezra’s mouth easily.

“My mother and father married for convenience. They didn’t care for each other, only to create a strong bloodline that would produce powerful witches and warlocks.

Nothing was more important than teaching us what had been passed down over generations. ”

“So you learned everything from your parents?”

Ezra nodded, leaning into Scarlett’s touch. “Mmhmm.”

“And you have siblings?”

“Two sisters.”

“Older or younger?”

“I’m the oldest. Probably why I’m so fucked up.”

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

He shrugged it off and rolled his head back to look up at her.

Her fingertips crawled down his neck and teased back up to his ears, just like she had before—just like he loved it.

“They only cared for success. A warlock’s magic comes with age, it’s something one grows into over time.

It depends on your bloodline, of course, but it’s like learning to walk or write. ”

“But your parents weren’t patient enough to wait for it to happen naturally,” Scarlett deduced.

“No, they weren’t. They had me learn spells instead of nursery rhymes and had me carve runes when I was far too young to be wielding sharp objects.

The older I grew the more I understood what they were doing to me.

They pressured me. I always felt like I had no other choice but to please them by trying even more advanced spells.

It’s hard to explain, but if you don’t have a good relationship with your magic, it taints it. ”

“When you hate something, you will never be as good at it as if you love it.”

“That’s right. I left once I was old enough and rediscovered magic. I taught myself what it meant to me . My parents always wanted to achieve pure magic, powers solely from within like our ancestors. They didn’t need spells, nor did they have to use other creatures’ magic to create theirs.”

“Do you feel like you found your own path now?”

Ezra nodded. “I do.”

“When did you decide to become a hunter?”

“I was looking for a new supplier when I met Mateo and Vince. They were just starting out and had stumbled upon a vampire. I offered to help them for a share of their rewards.”

“And somehow you managed to talk them into a blood bond.”

“That was later down the line, but they did enjoy the perks of liquid luck.”

“Have you talked to your family since leaving them?”

“No.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Fourteen years.”