“What the fuck’s your problem?” The boy asks, and I wonder briefly if he’ll think I’ve lost my ever-loving mind. Perhaps my reaction will send him running. I can only hope. His hand reaches for me, grips my neck, and brings me closer to his face as he practically lifts me with one arm. He holds me hostage with a look of pure, filthy desire. “I wonder if you’ll bite my dick off when I shove it down your throat.” His words are filled with venom.
I look into his eyes, a bright blue resembling that of a tropical ocean as it shimmers with dappled sunlight. But there’s nothing good about this boy. He must be eighteen at the most. I wonder how he came into this life.
“Leave me the fuck alone,” I bite out before I spit in his face, only to earn myself a slap so hard the thick taste of metal coats my tongue. Grinning manically, I spit the crimson liquid to the ground before glancing up at the boy. Because that’s what he is, a boy. “You can hurt me as much as you like, I’m not going down without a fight.”
“Nam.” A heavy voice bounces against the walls, warning clear in the tone as the young boy pales. When he spins around, a fist slams into his jaw, and I hear the crack which causes me to wince even though I haven’t been struck.
“Boss man,” Nam whimpers, clutching his jaw. “I-I… I didn’t—”
“Aye, you fucking didn’t do shit. Get your ass back upstairs and clean the fucking kitchen, you sack of shit.” Darius’s deep growl even has me cowering. I watch as Nam races up the stairs. As soon as the door shut, Darius crouches down as he pulls out a piece of cloth from his pocket and dabs at my mouth. “I’m sorry.”
“Why? Didn’t you want me to pay?” I shouldn’t poke the bear, he’s just saved me from some little bastard, but I can’t stop myself.
“No. You weren’t meant to get hurt. I’m not one for spilling blood unnecessarily.” He looks at me, locking his gaze with mine, and I can tell he’s not lying.
“What about Lycan’s?” It’s a challenge I’m not sure I’ll win, but I have to try.
3
Darius
She’s right.
Fuck, she’s so fucking right.
“Yeah,” I respond in a whisper of regret and guilt. “That was… That was my anger that took a hold of me, it got the better of me and I allowed it.” As much as I hate admitting I was wrong, I have to because it’s true. I wanted my brother to pay for staying in that house, for being the favorite son, but all this time, all I did was rob myself of a family I could’ve had with him. And now, he’s in fucking ICU because of me.
The rage which fueled my actions as it burned through me has simmered into almost nothing. It’s still warm in my veins, but as I consider her words, and my response, my chest tightens. Lycan is still my brother. It doesn’t help that his wife keeps needling away at my anger, getting in my head with her words.
“I need to know if he’s okay,” Scarlett pleads, her eyes shining with pain and worry.
I realize I’ve done this to her. Not just her, but Lycan too. I’ve taken so much, and yet, I’m the one who’s lost everything.
I want to be angry at how much she loves him. I also want to tell her he’s not capable of love, but I saw the way he looked at her. After seeing how he shoved her out of the way, standing in the line of fire to save her, I’d be lying if I denied my brother’s love for this woman.
“I will tell you as soon as there’s an update.” I turn away, not wanting to see her cry because her tears don’t fill me with happiness anymore. The emotions twisting inside me feel like a fucking tornado ripping through a town, leaving nothing in its wake. I’ll be nothing.
The thought consumes me, and as I run my fingers through my hair, I tug fiercely at the strands. The sting grounding me to the moment. I need the pain to remind myself of what’s real. For a long time, I would get lost in memories, in things people have said, stories I’ve heard, and I found that pain was the only way to remain grounded.
Agony reveals truth.
No matter how bitter it tastes.
“Darius,” Scarlett calls to me, her voice like silk along my skin. “There’s no reason for you to hate me, or Lycan. We would be here for you no matter what.”
My blood simmers, and I have to swallow down the rage that’s slowly fueling itself through me. The need to cause pain overwhelms me, and before I have time to think, I spin on my heel. My hand latches onto the thick red waves that feel like satin in my fist. A gasp of surprise falls from Scarlett’s lips, and I find myself wanting to steal the sound with my mouth.
How the fuck am I so attracted to her? Lured in like a fish in a net.
She’s a siren.
“Don’t talk to me like I’m nothing more than a wayward child you’re attempting to placate.” My voice is gruff, the thickness in my throat choking the words from me. “You’re here, taken from my brother as revenge. I couldn’t steal the house, his money, or the fucking club from him. But you, he feels something for you, and this will hurt him more than any worldly possession. Emotion is weakness,” I inform her, something I’d learned a long time ago. “Never mistake the war raging within me, for goodness. There is nothing good inside me. Not anymore.”
Her gaze burns with frustration. “You’re a lost fucking cause,” Scarlett bites out. “I wasn’t trying to placate
