Rage boiled within me, my veins and muscles like hot wires beneath my skin, tautly coiling my body with a seething energy. My teeth clenched so hard they threatened to break, and my jaw locked tight with the effort it took to not unleash my fury on Alina. She was saved from the brunt of my wrath, which was meant for Andrei alone. Even in my haze, I wouldn't let her feel an ounce of it.
My lip curled as I tore my mask of indifference away, exposing a sinister and triumphant smirk. I could almost taste my sweet revenge as I thought of the smug face that had provoked me so many times before, throwing the protection of his father and the board in my face.
No longer could he use that excuse. Not when the King of the board was damn well going to be on my side in this.
The horror in her eyes faltered my smile as her fingers dug deep into my forearm.
Did she seriously want to protect him just because he was too chicken to go against his father? He had plenty of people who would help him if he'd grown the balls to make a stand against Jeoffrey. Just because I wasn't a fan of his before didn't mean I wouldn't have helped him. I knew more than anyone the way living under the dog and pony show of the board as a child warped you. He would have had nothing short of my respect for trying to expose the depravity of his father, but instead, he tucked tail and lashed out at the one person in this realm who would have had his back against anything.
That was perhaps the most beautiful thing about Alina's soul. She didn't let many people in, and she made you work to get there; but once you were in, she'd go to the ends of the earth for you.
Yet he spat in her face. The thought made my lip curl in disgust.
My attempt to turn away again only seemed to anger her more. She yanked me back roughly.
"Oh no you don't!" she growled out, breathing heavily in her attempt to stop me as she dug her heels into the floor. "He probably already feels awful enough, Lincoln. I told you all of this because I wanted to game plan how to handle Jeoffrey, not how to hurt Andrei!"
A dark laugh fell from my lips, and I could feel my brows shooting toward my hairline with my shock. "How are you defending him, Alina? There's no excuse for his actions. You would have helped him, and so would Drake and I, yet he chose the coward’s way out."
Fury sparked in her eyes in defiance as she stared me down and gritted out, "He chose the survivor's way. You told me how horrible life is as a child attached to the board, Lincoln. He doesn't have parents that want out. He has a father who is willing to do anything to claim more power and control."
We stood toe-to-toe, our heated breath the only sound in the silence stretching between us. I felt the anger radiating from her body in waves, blazing like an autumn bonfire. We stood there for a beat, neither of us backing down from our stance.
She finally broke the silence when I made it clear I had nothing to say, seething as she faced me like an avenging angel. "Don't you dare sit on your high horse and act like you can judge him for his actions. Or are you so quick to forget that you even made mistakes and walked away from me after saying hurtful things?"
I gritted my teeth and shook my head. That blow stung.
I had made mistakes, but unlike Andrei, I hadn't purposely tried to hurt her. I'd been overwhelmed, confused, and shocked.
I'd realized so fucking quickly how badly I messed up and took immediate steps to try to fix it.
How could she expect me to not want to rip his head from his body?
Everyone from Sanguis and throughout Praeditus knew how precious our mates were to us with the rarity of the bond. If you were going to attack or insult someone's mate, you had the retribution coming, and you'd better say a prayer to the gods and goddesses in Divinus to protect you from that wrath.
Deciding to take a different approach, I tossed my hands in the air, causing her to take a step back. "Fine, I won't hurt him, but I'm going to get some fucking answers from him."
At the very least, I wanted to hear him own up to his mistakes. He broke his promise to me the one time I gave him a chance to prove himself. He could earn back an ounce of respect if he did own up to it, because right now all he'd proved was that his word meant nothing.
It was time for the little boy to become a man.
My pulse raced as I rushed out the door and thundered down the stairs, the bottom of my dress shoes echoing on the cold stone. The open layout seemed to amplify my name as Alina shouted it after me. I was already on the second floor, racing toward his room.
"Show your face, Andrei!" My voice erupted like thunder, reverberating around the hall as I headed toward his room in the corner.
Doors flew open with a bang as people cautiously peered out, only to be met with my withering glare. "If your name isn't Andrei, get back in your rooms this instant!"
The doors slammed shut as quickly as they opened, but not before I heard Alina's voice behind me. "Lincoln," she hissed, her fingers biting into the fabric of my shirt. "This isn't the way I want to handle this. Does that mean nothing to you?"
Fates, how did she not understand? She meant everything to me, and that was exactly why I wouldn't stand to see her treated this way by someone she'd chosen to share her heart with.
Whirling on her, I gripped her upper arms as I lowered my nose to hers. My nostrils flared as I tried to contain myself enough to speak calmly with her, failing instantly as my voice boomed, "I refuse to stand back and watch the woman I'm falling in love with treated like a plaything to use and discard when he decides you're not worth it anymore!"
She sucked in a breath, and the fight seemed to bleed out of her at my words.
Lowering my voice, I whispered, "I know I've fucked up before, Alina, but that's exactly why I refuse to stand back and watch you get hurt again. I'll never let anyone disrespect you and get away with it." Turning on my heel, I whispered, "You're worth any consequence that comes from my actions."
"How fucking cute," Andrei’s voice was laced with contempt as it echoed through the hallway.
