Total pages in book: 193
Estimated words: 184001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 920(@200wpm)___ 736(@250wpm)___ 613(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 184001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 920(@200wpm)___ 736(@250wpm)___ 613(@300wpm)
He scoffs as if the notion is ridiculous. “We weren’t fighting over you.”
Aurelia gives him one of those slow withering looks that starts from his feet and ends when her gaze meets his. I don’t even try to hide my grin. “Looked like it. Sounded like it too.”
“What did you hear?”
Her now blank gaze remains on Zeke when she answers, “Enough.”
For a moment he actually looks like he wants to apologize, but his stubbornness gets the best of him and he closes his mouth at the last moment and looks away. It’s Aurelia’s turn to scoff, and when she takes a step forward, she winces. It’s the first time I notice she has a skinned knee.
“What happened? Where did you go?”
“Up there.” She points to a large tree with a thick trunk. None of the branches are low-hanging and are pretty far apart, meaning it would have taken incredible skill to get up there. It’s also the tree I shoved Zeke against before our fight.
“Impressive.”
“I know.”
“Come here, songbird. Let me look at that knee.” I direct her over to one of the fallen logs, and she takes a seat while I crouch in front of her and dig through my bag.
“Exactly how many pet names does one person need?” Zeke grumbles.
“Why do you ask?” Aurelia immediately retorts with a narrowed gaze. “Jealous you missed out on all the good ones or upset that you’re not man enough to use yours around your friends?”
“Shrew?”
Aurelia tosses back her head and laughs. “Nice. Very nice. Did you come up with that on your own or did you have help?” She lifts a brow.
Zeke is too stunned to respond when he realizes she means Seth, and I know it’s because Khalil and I have always treated his DID with kid gloves. But not Aurelia. That’s when I realize that something’s shifted between them.
Aurelia is no longer playing nice.
Neither of them are.
It’s…interesting.
Mostly I’m just happy as fuck to watch Zeke look like he’s been hit in the face with a fucking blender. He’s been acting like a real bastard lately, and my patience is wearing thin.
Apparently, I’m not the only one, since Aurelia is baring her claws once again.
I cough to cover up my laugh, but I lose control of it and a snarl directed at me rips from Zeke’s throat.
“Don’t,” he snaps before storming off into the thicker copse of trees.
Aurelia watches him go until he disappears from sight, and then her nose wrinkles like it always does when she’s deeply frustrated. “What’s his problem? He started it.”
“And you finished it,” I remind her gently. I’m proud of Aurelia for holding her own, even though it’s probably driven this tenuous tolerance they have of each other a few bars lower. “Just… Try not to take it too personally. He can’t help but look at you and see Tatum. He thinks he’s protecting Khalil and me. And you…believe it or not.”
Because Zeke isn’t just afraid of whatever Aurelia might be plotting. He’s also afraid of our reaction if it turns out to be true. Khalil and I don’t carry that fear because we know her feelings are as real as ours.
Aurelia sighs, and her shoulders drop as she deflates. “Yeah, I know,” she says remorsefully and then in a blink, her claws are back. “But just so you both know… That Tatum excuse is getting really old, don’t you think?”
Pulling out my first aid kit, I pop it open and sigh with a nod. “Yeah. I do.”
Aurelia is quiet as I clean and bandage her cut, and though I can feel the weight of her thoughts growing, I patiently wait until she’s ready to voice them.
“How can you be sure he’ll come around? And what if he doesn’t? This is where he feels safe, Thorin. I…I can’t help but wonder if I’ve taken that away from him. I’ve done a lot that I regret, but sometimes, I feel like being here and falling in love with Zeke’s friends and his alter is the most monstrous thing I’ve done.”
“She finally admits it,” I grumble.
“What?” Aurelia sniffs and blinks down at me in confusion, and it’s clear she doesn’t even realize all of what she confessed.
“I said Zeke fell in love with you once, wolf. He can do it again.”
Aurelia huffs a breath. “That was Seth. You said they’re not the same.”
“In a way, they are. To some degree Seth, Zeke, and Bane are one and the same. The alters manifested because Zeke needed a way to cope with what was happening to him without causing further damage, right?”
“Uh…yes?”
“He doesn’t just use Seth and Bane to escape further trauma. He also uses them to compartmentalize his emotions. There’s a reason Seth doesn’t ever really get sad or angry. It’s because those aren’t emotions he’s familiar with.”
“Before Seth and I were ambushed in the dell, he thought I was running and he got really upset but his voice… It didn’t sound like him.”