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They left the apartment, heading out into a wet and raining nighttime street. Clean-up crews worked to clear the streets of debris. Saint passed them by and roamed a little, before getting a fix on Octavius’s general direction, then stepping into shadows with Jay tucked close.
They emerged in a leafy suburb, untouched by the recent chaos in Manhattan. Saint honed in on Octavius’s location, walking from the suburbs, down a quiet tree-lined road, until arriving at a vast building site. Security floodlights cast halos all around the grounds. A huge bent and broken sign read:Atlas Enterprises.Except the L was missing. The compound had seen better days.
This was the Brotherhood’s old headquarters. Now he was back, he remembered fleeing from the area moments before an explosion had destroyed it. From the scaffold towers and parked trucks, it appeared the compound was being rebuilt.
Saint had spent decades trapped in a glass box here, hidden from the world, punished for daring to speak the truth.
“You okay?” Jay asked. He hung back, sensitive to the unsettling quiet of the place.
“Yeah. Stick close to me, all right? Don’t trust the people here.”
Jay nodded, then followed Saint through a section of tangled and broken fence.
They’d taken Octavius. He’d known they would. The Brotherhood was on its knees, barely a Brotherhood at all. They needed Octavius. Damn them, they couldn’t have him. He belonged with Jay, with Saint. They’d betrayed him, tried to kill him.
Octavius owed them nothing.
The wide, sweeping roads had been repaired, and a few several story buildings were close to being completed but weren’t yet finished. Plastic wrapping flapped in the breeze and the bright floodlights buzzed. Rain fell in streaks through the halos of light, making all the edges and surfaces shine. He hated the smell of it, hated the modern sharpness, hated everything about this place.
Storm’s recognizable bulk blocked the glass doors of the main building.
He stood with his arms crossed in a puddle of light thrown from the building behind him, watching Saint approach.
It just had to be Storm, didn’t it.
Saint worked his jaw, keeping his fangs retracted, for now, and approached the towering bear of a man. “Get out of the way.”
“You’re not going in there.”
Saint nodded at Jay behind him, told him to stay back and waited for him to back up, before turning toward Storm again. He stopped in front of the new Brotherhood leader and had to look up to meet his glare. The bastard had always been taller. “Keep me from him, and you and I will finish that fight you started long ago.”
“It was finished then,” Storm said, his voice thick but hollow, devoid of emotion. “I don’t trust you, and until I do, you stay out here.”
“You don’t trust me?” Saint snorted a laugh. “You know, I thought we were close once. But the second Mikalis turned on me—” Saint clicked his fingers. “—so did you.”
Storm blinked slowly.
“This is so typical of you. Use me to get what you want, then slam the door in my face. Do they know you’ll do the same to them, just like Mikalis has?”
Storm’s silent snarl revealed gleaming fangs. “I gave you the benefit of the doubt, I let you into our ranks, despite the fact you’re blatantly a nyk—”
Unbelievable. “And what the fuck are you, Storm? Do they think you’re the immovable stalwart leader who has always done right by them? They don’t know you. They don’t know where you come from or what you’re truly capable of,Storm. I have one feeder, and you call me a nyk.Youleveled continents. You are more monster than I ever was but I’m the one who’s punished, and my only crime was loving you and Mikalis, like a fool.” He stepped closer, squaring up to Storm, getting in his face. “I should thank you, you showed me the Brotherhood’s true colors, but if you take Octavius from me, I will burn this place to the ground for a second time and I will hunt every last one of you fuckers.” His fangs extended, lending his threat teeth. “He is desperate for your approval, for your love. He doesn’t yet know how toxic that love is.”
Gods, if they took Octavius from him, he’d lose his damn mind. He needed his little wolf. Without Octavius, there was little left in this world worth fighting for. If they seduced Octavius away with their bullshit lies, he’d show them how nyk he could be.
“Step back,” Saint growled.
“I’m protecting Octavius from you—”
That was it, that was the final trigger. Saint reached for Storm, lightning-fast, and grabbed the big guy by the neck, but Storm was no push over. He’d been expecting it.
Storm brought his arms up, knocked away Saint’s hold, and threw a punch that, had it hit Saint, he’d have been face down on the asphalt. But Saint backstepped, avoiding the swing, then lunged and tackled Storm in the gut. He plowed forward, smashing through the glass doors, and slammed the big guy into a new illuminated Atlas sign. Sparks rained, the sign shattered, and Storm swung another fist, this time knocking Saint flat to the floor.
His skull buzzed, ears ringing. Someone else was here. One of the others. Saint shoved his jaw back into place and levered himself off the floor. The black-haired beauty, Kazimir, hung back, probably ready to barrel in and pin Saint down once Storm had worked out his issues.
He wasn’t going back in their box. Ever.
Storm glowered. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
