His words made my fingers curl into a tight ball, and I quickly released Alina from my embrace and spun around. I found him leaning against the doorway of his room, shoulder against the frame with his arms crossed over his chest.
His expression was cold and unyielding. There was no apology or remorse in his gaze, only disdain as he stared at us like he wanted to get this over with and go kick puppies or whatever the hell he did to pass his time.
“Shut the fuck up, little boy,” I snapped, taking a menacing step toward him before I remembered I promised not to hurt him.
A smug smirk tugged his lips up as he lazily said, “There’s nothing little about me. Your girl can attest to that.”
My eyes fluttered closed as I clung to the single percent of self-control I had left in this moment.
If I was being brutally honest with myself, I felt hurt by his actions toward Alina on a deeper level than simply how it impacted her. I had begun to realize that Alina wasn’t going to choose only one of us and was beginning to come around to the idea of not being as hard on him or Drake—for the sake of making her happy.
When I’d entrusted him with her safety and he’d made that promise to me, it was an olive branch from me to prove that we were on the same team at the end of the day. A team that worked toward ensuring her happiness and safety in the fucking insanity that was the breach of the academy’s security and the dangers of the board. I was a big enough man to know I couldn’t protect her from all of that by myself, especially when I had to stay at the academy when she went to Sanguis.
I was fucking disappointed in him. I was mad that he ruined the first opportunity for us all to come together for this incredible woman who brought us together and made us better men.
Alina’s soft voice piped up as my eyes popped open in time to see her walking in front of me toward him, “Andrei, there’s no need to act like this now. Your dad isn’t here. Can we please talk about what happened?”
He might think he’s a good actor, but there was no hiding the distinct look of pain in his eyes as he moved his gaze from me to her. His throat bobbed as he shook his head and pushed off the door and moved to close it, “We have nothing else to talk about, Alina.”
Before he could shut it though, she slammed her palm into the door. It cracked back against the wall with a splintering sound. That door was definitely broken.
Her voice rang out, strong and unwavering. “No. You don’t get to shut me out like this. You gave up that option when you exchanged blood with me and completed our bond.”
That was my Spitfire.Fuck, I loved her. I was absolutely in love with everything about her and couldn’t imagine anything that would make me give her up like Andrei had.
I decided to stay back and let her take the lead now that she seemed to be calling him on his shit.
A lifeless chuckle came from him as he shook his head. “I already made it clear to you that I got what I wanted from you—a quick fuck. I’m going to get a tattoo to cover up the bond mark like the mistake it was.”
This time her voice shook as she laughed right back in his face. “You’re so lucky that you’re a horrible actor, otherwise my fist would have been through your teeth by now, Andrei. But I hope you know that you’re digging yourself further and further into a hole that even a lifetime worth of groveling might never get you out of once you realize there are people here to help you out of the situation with your dad.”
Silence ensued, and I knew her words had actually infiltrated his pea brain. There was no false bravado or arrogance on his face now…just emptiness.
Dammit, even this small look into how he truly felt inside tampered my rage. Alina was right when she said I knew better than anyone the way board members and their families were trapped in these situations. Could I check my own emotions in regard to Alina and still offer him a way out?
Despite having my mental wall up, I knew she could sense my emotions by the way she glanced over her slender shoulder at me with those big, pleading eyes.
Letting out a sigh, I put on a burst of speed to stand at her back. Placing a reassuring hand on the small of her back, I forced myself to try one more time for my Spitfire. If nothing else, I could do this for her.
“While I don’t have the same reservations about punching your teeth in for breaking your promise to me and hurting Alina,” I started, and a shadow of amusement bloomed on his face as one of his eyebrows quirked up. Taking a steadying breath, I continued, ready to share something personal that might help him realize that I truly understood where he was coming from and that there was another path forward, if he would just choose to take it.
“I know how hard it is to get out. My parents died when we fled to the human realm to escape the deadly atmosphere. Hunters found us and killed them. When I came back, the board sent me to live as a ward of Sanguis.”
Alina leaned back into me, silently lending me her support as I tried to figure out how to best phrase my thoughts.
Andrei’s eyes snapped to meet mine as I breathed out, “I know the board won’t help you or listen, butwe willif you cut your shit out and let us.”
So much anguish and hope curled through Alina, projecting so loudly onto me that it made my chest tighten.
This was his chance. We’d find a way to forgive him and move on if he took it.
I wanted him to take it so damn badly, purely for the pain it was putting her through. But all you could do was lead a horse to water, you couldn’t force it to drink.
Chapter9
ANDREI
Alina’s blue eyes were wide and glassy, her lips trembling as she leaned back against Lincoln’s chest. His hands rose to rest gently on her shoulders, his expression sympathetic. I tried to keep my composure, clenching my teeth so hard that I felt my jaw lock, but it was no use. My fists clenched and unclenched, my nails digging into the skin of my palms as I tried to keep from fucking screaming into the void.
