The cold air hitting my tear-streaked face as we walked out of the house made me shiver uncontrollably. Pulling my coat tighter around my body, I had to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. All I wanted to do was curl myself into ball and cry until I had nothing left. Gage put his hand on my arm, and I stopped and turned around to face him. I didn’t want to look at Gage, but I couldn’t stop myself. He was Luke’s best friend in the world and he must hate me now too, but when our eyes met, there wasn’t hatred in his eyes. Instead of yelling at me like I expected him to, he pulled me to his chest and let me cry into his sweatshirt.
When a small hand touched my shoulder, I looked up to find Teagan giving me a sympathetic smile. She pulled me from Gage, trying her best to console me. I didn’t know why she bothered after what I did to her family, but she did. I heard a loud crash from inside, and my head jerked up. Alli flinched as she stared through the window. I peered inside just in time to witness Luke completely destroy his living room.
Seeing the destruction caused my knees to buckle. I did that to him. This was all my fault. He’d finally let someone in, and I fucked him over. He would never heal from by betrayal, and I’d never forgive myself for hurting him. Underneath all that intimidating muscle, Luke had a huge heart with so much love to share. Knowing that he would probably never trust someone enough to love again completely ruined me. There on the porch, I sat on my knees, covered my face with my hands, and sobbed.
“Omigod!!” Alli shrieked as she grabbed my arm and dragged me back into the house.
In the middle of the demolished living room, Cade and Aiden were going at each other for real. A series of punches and grunts was the only sound heard as skin met skin repeatedly. This was no alcohol-fueled fight. Both were at their full power and neither was holding back this time. They were both were bleeding heavily as they wrestled each other to the ground. Without warning, Aiden freed himself from Cade’s grasp, backed up, and transformed in the blink of an eye. Seeing the change, Cade transformed in midair as he launched himself toward his brother. The two giant wolves battled in the already annihilated room, hell-bent on destroying one another.
“Where the fuck is Luke?” Gage yelled as he backed us all up against the wall to keep us from getting in the way of the two battling wolves.
Gage shouted at them, pleading with them to stop, but it seemed to only fuel their desire to tear into each other. Then Gage seemed to realize the fight was impossible to stop and gave up to let the two brothers battle it out.
I flattened myself against the wall and watched in disbelief as they clawed and bit at each other’s body. Alli and Teagan were clinging to each other, fearing for the safety of their mates. They cried out repeatedly, begging them to stop. Needing to comfort my friend like she did for me such a short time ago, I reached out and rubbed my hand up and down Teagan’s back.
Aiden swiped his paw out and his claws made contact with Cade’s chest. With his claws driven deep inside, he dragged them forcefully down the length of Cade’s chest, and instantly, Cade let out a yelp as blood began to ooze from his fresh wound. Alli hid her face in Teagan’s arm. With Cade clearly injured, Aiden appeared to have the advantage, but then Cade caught Aiden’s shoulder between his massive jaws. He sank his teeth down into the flesh and jerked his head back. It was Teagan’s turn to scream and hide her eyes from the bloody scene.
As if it was just any other day, Luke casually walked out of the downstairs bathroom and leaned against the wall as he watched the fight. With no sign of emotion on his face, he appeared completely indifferent. He simply crossed his arms over his chest and watched on, never looking my way.
As soon as Teagan noticed Luke, she grabbed Alli’s arm to get her attention and together they rushed over to beg him to put an end to the fight before it was too late.
Without taking his eyes off the fight, Luke shrugged. “Sorry, but I’m sick of the bullshit. Let them fight it out. This has to end one way or the other. Now’s as good a time as any.” There was no hint of feeling in his voice. It was flat and monotonous as if he couldn’t have cared less, but I knew the truth. He did care, and it was killing him to watch this whether he chose to let it show or not. And I couldn’t blame anyone other than myself.
Teagan and Alli continued to frantically beg Luke to stop the fight. His eyes softened as he took both girls into his arms and whispered something to them. Whatever he’d said appeared to be gentle and reassuring and somehow managed to get both Alli and Teagan to calm down a little.
At least until a loud yelp reverberated from Aiden’s chest. All of a sudden, he was pinned under Cade, and Cade’s mouth was holding him down by his throat. I sucked in a deep breath, fearful that Cade had gotten so carried away that he would bite down, but Cade held his position just long enough for Aiden to divert his heated gaze. Just like that, the fight was over. Cade slowly released his hold on Aiden and watched as Aiden rolled over, then slowly backed away.
Cade Walker had staked his claim as the future alpha of this pack, and Aiden had no choice but to step aside.
As both brothers shifted position, for a moment no one in the room moved. Then their mates rushed to their sides. Seeing the love between them shattered what was left of my heart and caused my tears fall all over again. I took one more look at the love of my life and turned and ran out the door.