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“Are you going to kill me?” Zakrem snorted, but his eyes reflected something besides the cockiness he’d radiated before Eleazar had shown up.
“No,” Eleazar said. “You’ve come close to exposing us to humans, and you’ve taken innocent lives. I’m going to punish you, and the pain will be worse than anything you’ve ever felt. You’ll spend the rest of your life suffering for what you’ve done.”
“Are you sure that’s the best solution?” Rayne asked.
Eleazar cut his eyes to Rayne, then his gaze lowered. In that moment, Rayne saw grief and rage fill Eleazar’s eyes. “You’re mated?”
Felix curled his fingers in, but Rayne didn’t hide his mating mark. Eleazar’s gaze fell to Rayne’s hand, and the snarl that erupted was animalistic.
Before Eleazar could say or do anything, Zakrem attacked, taking Eleazar to the floor, but Eleazar was too fast, flipping them so that Zakrem was beneath him. “You dare attack me?” Eleazar bellowed as he pinned Zakrem down.
Then Eleazar opened his mouth and bit down on Zakrem’s neck. Felix looked away as Rayne watched the man end his brother’s life. That…that hadn’t been what Rayne expected when Eleazar had come into the room.
Eleazar pulled back, tears in his eyes. With tenderness and love, he cradled Zakrem’s body in his arms. He pressed his face into Zakrem’s hair and clutched him close as if he never wanted to let go. Rayne was rooted to the spot, a hard lump forming in his throat at the depth of Eleazar’s sorrow.
He placed a kiss on Zakrem’s forehead.
When Eleazar looked up at Felix, the overwhelming grief that filled his face made Rayne’s chest ache. “Leave us,” Eleazar whispered.
Rayne saw tears streaming down Felix’s face, and it was clear his mate wanted to hug Eleazar. Instead, he grabbed his bag from the bed. “I’m so sorry it came to this, Eleazar.”
When Eleazar didn’t reply, Rayne grabbed Felix’s hand and pulled him from the room. They stepped over the dead bodies in the hallway and made a hasty retreat to the garage, where Felix retrieved his car.
“I’ll follow you home.”
Home. Rayne liked the fact that Felix thought of his house as his own. He cupped Felix’s cheek. “I’m sorry Eleazar had to kill his brother.”
“Zakrem brought this on himself.” Felix still had tears in his eyes. “Although he was a monster, Eleazar truly loved him. It was Eleazar’s pain that made me cry, not Zakrem’s death.”
Rayne pressed a kiss to Felix’s lips. “I love you.”
Felix’s eyes widened. “I…I love you too,” he replied.
Rayne hugged him close and kissed the top of his head. “Let’s go home.”
* * * *
“You touch that last piece of pie and I’ll kick you in the nuts,” Felix threatened, squaring off with Kieran. “You’ve already had three pieces. I haven’t had any yet.”
Kieran grinned. “You gotta be quick around here.”
“I wouldn’t mess with the human if I were you,” Cyrus warned from the kitchen table where he was sitting, eating a slice of the apple pie. “If he kicks you in the nuts, there’s nothing you can do about it because Rayne would have your head if you laid a finger on him.”
“I don’t need Rayne’s protection.” Felix narrowed his eyes, loving the sparring between them. It had been a month since Felix had gathered his things and left Eleazar’s house. So far Eleazar hadn't answered any of Felix’s calls, and he didn’t think the vampire would. Not after he discovered that Felix had mated Rayne.
Not after he’d killed his own brother to keep Felix safe. It probably felt like the worst betrayal in Eleazar’s eyes, and Felix wasn’t going to press things if Eleazar didn’t want to talk to him.
Hopefully time would heal his wound and Eleazar would call him.
But Felix had gotten to know Rayne’s pack pretty well, and his fondness for them was growing every day. “I can take Kieran.”
Cyrus erupted in laughter. “I’m sure you can, tough guy.”
“Fine,” Kieran said. “The first person to get to the last piece gets to have it.”
Felix ran toward the counter. When it looked as if Kieran would beat him, he tackled the guy. Kieran fell to the floor laughing because he’d allowed Felix to do that. No way could Felix have taken the guy down by his own strength.
“Uncle!” Kieran gently shoved Felix off of him.
