Page 29 of High Stakes and Soulmates (Fanged Mistakes #3)

EZIO

Cyrus hasn’t answered a single call…

When I arrive, I rush right to his vehicle, but of course it sits empty.

“You looking for that man of yours?”

I jump and turn, surprised to see a familiar face. “Atticus?” I ask. I haven’t seen him in a while. Generally, Yorick speaks with him when we need to talk, all the while claiming that he hates speaking to him.

“When I came into the club, he was walking into the back,” he tells me.

“He’s been attacked. Someone attacked him,” I say, not even sure how to form words.

“What do you mean? I didn’t notice an attack in the club, but with all of the smells and the awful noise, I suppose I could have missed it.” Atticus looks back at the club.

“Check the club. Please. Make sure he’s not in there. I need to find him. He’s not answering his calls,” I say as I start moving around the area until I find his scent. But what’s even more concerning is that I smell someone else with him… is… that a werewolf?

Fuck.

I dash into the darkness while my heart pounds out of my chest. What the fuck would Cyrus even do against a werewolf?

He has his gun, but is it enough? Werewolves can be quite ruthless on a full moon, their instincts driving them to hunt and kill, and often they feel no pain, causing them to refuse to back off.

They feel nothing, so a gunshot might not even stop them—and that’s only if Cyrus brought his gun with him.

I hear someone and draw back as they rush toward the club, not having seen me. I slide around behind them and press my hand against their throat, silently warning them that I’ll kill them if they’re the one after my precious Cyrus.

“W-Wait! Wait!” he cries. “Ezio, right? You’re—Cyrus… you’re Cyrus’s friend, right?”

“I am,” I say.

“I’m his brother. I’m Cyrus’s brother. I have to warn him. I have to get him away.”

I pull back as I realize what he’s saying.

“The man who killed our family is out here. He’s hunting us down. You have to help.”

“Where is Cyrus?” I ask, but before I can even turn him to face me, I feel a presence unlike any other. I shove him back, but I’m not quick enough and I watch as Louis throws him to the ground.

He hits hard with a cry and tries to scramble to his feet while Louis stands over him and laughs.

“Ezio. It’s been a while,” he says.

My whole body tightens as I try to keep that sinking feeling of despair at bay.

“You didn’t really think I was dead, did you?” he asks. “Then again, you weren’t always the smartest. I never really understood what Arturo saw in you. Like… what exactly did he see in you that was worth giving up his life?”

“You—” Cyrus’s brother begins before Louis kicks him in the head hard enough to cave part of his face in. He drops to the ground, unmoving. I clench my jaw, aware that up against this man who is hundreds of years older than me, I’m nothing, but I will do whatever it takes to protect Cyrus.

“Fuck, he’s annoying,” he says as the man in question starts crawling away. Louis watches him for a moment before fixating on me. “You knew back then that Arturo was mine. And still, you wanted him for yourself.”

“What do you want?” I ask. “Is this a game to you? You’re sneaking around and just… destroying lives for the fun of it?”

“What can I say? I get bored. You know what’s less boring? Your dear Cyrus is over there being mauled by a werewolf. I thought about saving him, but then I thought about the look that will be on your face when you hold his broken and bloody body like you did for my sweet Arturo.”

I’m shaking with rage as I realize I need to figure out where Cyrus is.

I shove him back, wanting to get away from him so I can find Cyrus, but just like hundreds of years ago, I’m no match for the man.

My job was being an assassin. I knew how to sneak into the night and destroy a life, but a one-on-one fight was never my specialty.

He slams me against a tree, hand around my throat so crushingly tight I can’t get a word out no matter what I do.

“You’re going to tussle with me when the man of your dreams is getting mauled? Fuck, that’s cold,” he says as he throws me onto the ground. I need to get to Cyrus, but won’t I just be leading Louis to him? I scramble up, uncertain how to get away from him.

“I’m fucking sick of you, Ezio, you know that?

Ever since I met you, I’ve been sick of you.

I let you play your fucking game,” he snarls before rushing at me.

I dart to the side, drawing back as quickly as I can.

This seems to piss him off, and he’s so pissed about it, he doesn’t even see Cyrus’s brother crawling farther away.

“I thought it could be fun to watch Cyrus fall in love with you, and then kill you in front of him, but I like the idea of you crying over another dead lover. Arturo was mine, do you understand that? MINE. Not yours. MINE. I raised that kid. I cared for him. I adored him, and then you came along, and suddenly, he only had eyes for you. And I will not ever let you forget that. I will haunt you for the rest of your fucking life. I will find every person you ever fall in love with, and I will rip them apart until there is nothing left of them.”

“You claim to have adored him but you hurt him. You beat him. You fucking killed him.”

“Because of you .”

“You can’t tell me you only started when I came along. I know you hurt him before I ever even showed my face. And I’m going to make you pay for what you did,” I growl, but I know I can’t. I know I’m not strong enough. All I can do is hold him off until Casimir comes.

Just as he lunges for me, there’s a flash of movement when Atticus cuts him off.

Louis pulls back as he gives Atticus a look, like he’s examining him. I know Atticus is significantly older than me. Maybe even as old as Louis or older.

Atticus pushes me back. “I’m sorry, you’re interrupting my evening and it’s quite irritating hearing you go on and on. Like if you’re going to torture the man then torture him. Why all the blabbing on and on? Go on, Ezio. Find Cyrus. I’ll deal with this asshole.”

I scramble back, unsure how old Atticus is or if he really can deal with him alone, but I can’t waste any more time getting to Cyrus. He’s defenseless against the werewolf.

Rage is eating me alive that I’m leaving behind the very man who has torn my life apart. I’m letting him get away, but it’s worth it to make sure Cyrus is safe.

I follow his scent to what looks like a park and hear noise coming from the bathroom.

Panic consumes me as I hurry in and see a werewolf dragging Cyrus’s limp body out of a stall.

I lunge forward, tearing the were off him and throwing it hard against the wall.

I want to crush it, to kill it, but I have to make sure Cyrus is okay.

I grab Cyrus, pulling him off the ground and into my arms where he hangs limp as I realize that everything I’d felt before—all the panic, all the desperation—was nothing compared to what I’m feeling while I hold the man soaked in blood.

I’m going to kill that thing. I’m going to destroy that monster that thought it could hurt my precious Cyrus. Just because I can hear his heartbeat doesn’t mean he’s going to be okay. Dashing forward, I grab the werewolf by the neck, prepared to snap its neck and destroy it for daring to touch him.

“Stop,” Yorick says as he grabs me. “We don’t know if it was an accident. I’ll deal with the werewolf. You get him to a hospital.”

I rush from the bathroom as Casimir reaches me. “There’s a man out there; Atticus is dealing with him. It’s Louis. Kill him. Please, kill him. And then you need to find Cyrus’s brother who he tried to kill.”

Casimir simply gives me a nod before disappearing into the darkness.

“Cyrus, are you with me? Cyrus, please hang in there, please, I can’t lose you too.

Please,” I beg. I hold him tightly, careful not to hurt him but needing to feel him.

Needing to make sure that he’s okay. There’s so much blood.

It’s coating my hands and I don’t even know which injuries to press my hand against.

“What the hell happened?” a vampire woman asks when I near the club.

“There’s a werewolf out there. Get it under control,” I snarl.

“Oh fuck,” she says as she pushes a human man toward me. “Get him to the right doctor.”

“Yeah, of course,” he agrees. “Do you know where the hospital is?”

“No. Quickly. Please.”

“Get in, it’s quicker than explaining. It’s not far,” he says as he hurries me over to a car. “I’m going to call ahead and request a certain doctor there. He deals with werewolves and attacks.”

I slide into the back seat before he floors it out of the parking lot.

“Cyrus, hey, come on, please,” I beg as I hold him tightly, hand pressed against a severe wound on his shoulder that won’t stop bleeding.

He can’t bleed this much. There’s blood smeared across his face, and suddenly, I’m sitting on that fucking ship holding Arturo while he dies in my arms. A sob escapes me. No, I have to stay in control.

I can’t lose Cyrus. I can’t. “Cyrus, please. Cyrus.” I smear the blood off his cheek, but I realize I’ve just made it worse. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” I don’t know who I’m talking to. Am I reassuring him or myself? I would do anything to make sure he’s okay.

“Cyrus, please wake up. Please?”

The blood leaks between my fingers when I ball up his shirt and press it hard against the wound.

I’m shaking as I hold him tightly, and suddenly the car is stopped. I’m afraid to let go of the wound, but I don’t even have to before the door is opened and people are there taking him from me. I don’t want to let go of him, but I know I have to so they can help him.

I cling to his hand while they lay him down on a gurney and start rushing him into the hospital. And only at the last moment do I let his hand fall from mine as he’s swept through the doors and out of sight.