Page 138 of This Blood That Breaks Us

“I trusted you to protect him, but you did something even you don’t want to admit to yourself. You hurt my brother.”

My voice shook with more sadness than anger, though I felt that too. The bond was eating me alive with the pain. It was my fault. I deserved to shoulder it all. Luke had done his shift already.

“No. I’d never hurt him or any member of our family.”

“Oh, come off it. Admit it, Ez, this was your destiny. To be an evil bastard. She’s orchestrated all of this. It’s all your fault.”

I can’t believe I’d trusted him again. My eyes burned from the betrayal and guilt at my own words, but I had a share of the blame. I’d wanted Luke to be happy and to have some peace, but I’d led him right into the arms of the people who hurt him the most.

“No.”

“You’re seriously denying it?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ha! No, you don’t get to be the good guy anymore. Because I see you. You’ve been parading around playing the part of the morally righteous. But you’re the worst one of all of them, and I can’t tell if it’s because you pretend to care or if you do. Either way, it makes you a manipulative bastard that lured me and my brother here. At least Sirius is honest with who he is. You want to be the good guy, and you want everyone else to believe that you are, but I know the real you. You can’t hide from me.”

He stepped up to me, squaring his shoulders and shoving me back a step. I shoved him too. I’d finally struck a nerve.

“Come on. You have to start hitting me. You want to, so do it. What’s holding you back? That fake moral righteousness? We both know that it’s all a lie, so why don’t you hit me?”

“Watch what you say to me.” He grabbed me by the collar, and I flung him off.

“No. Fuck you. Come on, it will make you feel better for hating me so much. Hit me!”

The pain hit me hard and fast, and I stumbled backward. He hit with the force of a semitruck, and I rubbed my face, reeling through each emotion. First, shock. He actually fucking hit me. Then, pain and the seething anger that bridged on utter hysteria. I couldn’t contain the laughter that sputtered out of my lungs.

“See how good it feels when you’re not holding back and you’re honest about who you are?”

“You don’t know everything!” Ezra’s calm was finally cracking.

“I would have never been here if it weren’t for you. We didn’t follow Her. We followed you. We trusted you while you pretended to care. Being a shoulder to lean on so we wouldn’t lean on anything else. So when you look at me and my brother and all the pain you caused, I want you to remember you did it. You created this.”

“There’s your problem. You think you’ve been the victim, but this is what you wanted. You are the only problem here. Lukeis happy. She’s happy. We’re all happy. And then there’s you, going around and blaming others for your own failures. Where were you last night? Maybe if you hadn’t run off in your vendetta to hurt the queen, your brother would have never gotten into trouble.”

My vision went red, and heat flushed through me so quick it stole the air from my lungs. Bloodlust curdled in my veins, and my shoulders pulled back at his outright admission. I was sure I’d never wanted to kill someone as much as I wanted to kill him then, and I didn’t care how long it took or if I had to train morning to night. I would watch the light leave Ezra’s eyes someday.

“You’ll have to answer for this. I won’t let this go. The reason you leave this earth will be by my hand. And you won’t see it coming.”

Ezra paused as he stared back at me, and his eyes softened. “So be it.”

I turned my attention back to Will, but I had to find Thane and warn him. If this was his fate, they’d be out to get Thane too.

“I’ll be back, Will.”

“Why are you abandoning me? You’re supposed to be my friend. Why won’t you help me?” Will sobbed again.

“I’ll come back to visit you in a little bit. I promise.”

“You can’t leave me here. I hate you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck—”

Will’s words bore into my skull in an echo as the door shut behind me.

Forty-Five

Zach

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.I couldn’t find Thane, and he never showed up. I’d waited all night in my room, but my paranoia pushed me back out into the hallway. I hadn’t seen my brother or Connell all day, but that was probably because I’d been hiding all day.I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t. I’d dodged everyone who came looking for me.