Page 92 of Blood and Trouble

“Fucking say something,” he blurted, daring to look at me. His wild, panicked eyes almost broke me. Almost.

I took my time gathering my thoughts. I wanted to lash out at him. I wanted to punch his beautiful fucking face and kiss every scrape. I wanted to throw him around the room, force him to his knees, and remind him who he really belonged to. I wanted to stand up, leave, and give them both to each other, my final act of grace in an otherwise earth-shattering tale of tragedy.

Instead, I swallowed down my fury and rubbed my index finger over my mouth, choosing my next words carefully.

“Did she choose it?” And the Academy Award goes to me because, despite the scorching flame in my ribs, I asked the question like I was apathetic about the answer. Which, of course, I wasn’t. I’d never been apathetic about Poe, and certainly never about Ava.

He licked his lips and shifted his eyes to the floor again.

Typical. Can’t even look at me while he breaks my heart.

“Yes,” he said.

That poured a mountain of salt into my gaping, bleeding heart. I pressed on. “Did you?”

He cleared his throat. “Yes. Our wolves chose it, and I… We didn’t stop it.”

Even though it gutted me, I’d admit I saw this coming. It was there the first time they met—his heated stare, his bonding scent, her flirty laugh, that breakfast food fight in the kitchen. Sometimes, the mating bond didn’t make sense. Sometimes, it happened spontaneously, even for shifters who’d known each other all their lives. And sometimes, like Poe and Ava, the pieces fit so perfectly, any fucking idiot with half a brain could tell it was meant to be. I guessed I was the fucking idiot in this situation. To be so hurt by it, to be so fucking jealous. I’d known it would happen, and instead of slamming on the brakes, I’d added gas to the inferno. I’d stripped them both naked and commanded him to lick her cunt and fucked him while she watched.

Honestly, Mitchell, what the fuck did you expect?

The silence stretched on.

“Are you pissed?” he asked in a murmur.

“Beyond belief,” I said.

“Why?” He pushed upright, clenching his hands into fists at his side, his jaw squared for a fight. “You don’t want me. You only married her because you were drunk.”

He paused for a reply, and I sat there, staring at him, waiting for him to tip the scales.

“This is all some stupid game to you,” he went on. “Some scene. Something you can control until you can’t, and then you’ll fucking leave. And what about her and me, huh? At least, now we’ll have each other when you fuck off and ruin us the next time.”

Until that point, I’d maintained a tenuous hold on my restraint. I couldn’t begrudge them wanting each other. Hell, I wanted them both and couldn’t decide if I was furious at myself or ecstatic about having two people I cared so deeply for. But that…that crossed a line, and my wolf snarled in response.

I shoved to my feet and stalked toward him, closing the space between us in two quick strides. He was only an inch shorter than me, but my place in the pack had me towering over him.

“A game?” I snarled.

He took a step back, but no. I wouldn’t allow that. I grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him toward me, my fangs extending, my hackles raised.

“You’re the one who broke it off with me,” I growled. “You’re the one who watched me fuck my wife through a window before disappearing for the whole day. You want to get close enough to the flames to feel the warmth, but you won’t chance getting burned if it means you have to admit you’re worthy of the heat.”

“Shut up,” Poe said, shoving my shoulders. “You don’t know what the fuck⁠—”

“You think I don’t want you? You think I ran from you, from this, because I didn’t love every fucking thing about you? That was never the problem.” The words spilled out before I could stop them, billowing from somewhere deep inside me, a pressure cooker that needed release. “I almost lost both of you tonight. Ever think about what that would do to me?” I tugged him closer, shaking his body like he weighed nothing. “Losing you, losing either of you, would finish me.”

All the fight drained out of Poe. He gasped and stared at me with big brown eyes, his features slack. I would never have admitted any of that had my wolf not been prodding me so relentlessly. Spurred on by the threat of vampires taking the two most important people in my life and the sight of those fucking marks on their necks, my inner animal promptly planted my ass in the bitch seat and took the steering wheel.

He reacted before I could stop him.

I grabbed Poe by the back of the neck and struck, sinking my fangs into his skin on the opposite side of where Ava had claimed him. My teeth punctured his scent glands, forcing my magic deep inside him. His blood spilled into my mouth, and I swallowed it, reveling in the way my magic settled deep in his soul. He moaned and wrapped his arms around my chest, hugging me closer while I ravaged his flesh.

It wasn’t easy.

It wasn’t gentle.

It was a claiming, a predatory message from a provoked monster. They were both mine, and if I had to prove that point, I fucking would.