Page 80 of His Retribution

Milos barks out a laugh. "No shit! Gods, you need to hurry the hell up and mate the little one before war breaks out!"

He is not wrong, but that is not something to be discussed in a group, especially a group of happily mated males who seem to have forgotten how difficult it is for one to focus on anything but their mate prior to claiming them. Not to mention, her life is at risk as well. So yes, my thoughts are elsewhere. Justifiably so.

Which is why I slam my hands down on the table, practically throw my chair back, and get to my feet. "Fuck you, you disrespectful little shit!"

When he only laughs harder, I lunge across the table and have his throat in my hands before anyone can even draw their next breath.

"You have no idea what kind of hell I've been living! The kind of agony my mate and I have experienced!" I pull one hand back and punch him square in the nose. "You have no fucking clue what life has been like for either one of us, what it is still like knowing it could be taken away at any second!"

I move to hit him again but big arms wrap around my waist, my neck, pull my own arms back, and pin them behind me.

And Milos, the shithead, uses this and charges me, spears me in the exposed gut which knocks all five of us to the ground. He gets in a few good blows—my cheek, my jaw, my stomach—but the scuffle continues as Kai, Andrej, and Henrich get in on things and it turns into a complete knock down drag out.

I have no idea who's punching who anymore, but by the time Hank and Karel get us separated, all five of us are black, blue, and bleeding.

"Enough, you dumb shits!" Hank bellows. "This was supposed to be a meeting to try to plan our defense, to take what that deranged vampire said and sift through it. We've all got too much to lose to sit by and wait for Ivan and the vampire king to show up and you idiots are just wasting our time!"

I spit out a mouthful of blood and glare at everyone with a pulse.

Hank is right but he also should understand my frustrations.

He lost his mate, found his second chance, and had to wait until Henrich healed him before he could claim her properly. Hank should fucking get it better than anyone, but I suspect no one really can understand what my Cora and I have been through, what we are going through.

“You." He points to Milos. "Apologize for being an insensitive, disrespectful little bastard."

Milos looks to me, sighs, and pushes a hand back through his shaggy hair. "I am sorry, Havok. I spoke out of turn and made light of something that should be taken seriously and not discussed aloud."

I nod and spit a little more blood.

Gods, I hope they didn't knock out a tooth.

"And you.” Hank points at me. "Get the hell out of here for now. Go home, get your head on right, and don't come back until you do."

"You wish me to leave?"

He nods. As does Karel.

So I turn to my brothers.

Henrich shrugs but won't meet my eyes.

Milos nods despite the remorse in his.

Kai just shakes his head likeyou probably should just listen to them. And Andrej, my best friend in the whole world, just stares blankly at me, save for the muscle in his jaw that ticks slightly.

He actually agrees with them.

“Fine," I spit out. "I shall go home andget my act together. Surely leaving a meeting about all the ways we need to figure out how to protect our clan and save my mate will help me reset while I sit on my ass and do nothing."

“Havok," Andrej grunts.

The only reason I stop and glance over my shoulder is because it's him.

Which is why when I do, I see his words without him having to speak.

Too much for today. Too soon after your beating, too soon after the little one returned. Rest. Refocus.

Then his lip twitches.