Ronan snapped.
He darted toward Steele, the sound of them colliding causing me to back up from the sudden fight in surprise. Bastian’s arm wrapped around my waist to secure me against him. I tried to pull away, but he kept me there. In a flash of action, I watched as Ronan and Steele landed hard, bloody hits, crashing into one of the counters with a loud thud. A vibrant streak of blood on Ronan’s cheek sent panic spiraling through me. A tray of coffee mugs shattered to the floor as Gabe moved forward, trying tostep between the angry men. He was sent flying back, and out of the way, and he crashed to the ground.
“Stay out of this, Gabriel,” Steele growled.
“Stop it now,” I demanded as tears began to flow down my cheeks, but Steele turned and hit Ronan square in the jaw. In the next moment, Ronan managed to take him by surprise, catching him right in the mouth.
I winced at the sight of the surely painful blows. This wasliterallythe worst possible outcome of what I pictured might happen when the guys all found out about yesterday. I recognized that I was to blame for my actions in this, but Steele was an absolute jackass for riling everyone up this way.
“Stop!” My voice cracked as I finally lost it, unable to hold back the sobs.
Niz offered a bellow of agreement from next to me on the counter, causing both men to freeze. The wyvern turned and jumped onto my shoulder, nuzzling my cheek as the two men separated, looking livid. Immediately, Ronan turned toward the sink, twisting the handle and washing the blood from his face. Bastianfinallylet me go, and I stalked right up to Steele. His breathing was rough, and blood dripped from his nose.
I stepped in front of him, letting my disgust for this situation bleed through in my expression.It wasn’t about the other men knowing what happened between us.No, I realized now that this was about how he utilized the moment to cause conflict because he wasjealous.
“Fuck. You.” My words were hard and cold. “I have never regretted doing something so much in my life, Steele.”
Before he could respond, the sound of the front door opening pulled my attention away from him. My stomach clenched at the sight of Ronan’s retreating form. The knowledge that he was so mad he had to leave left me with weak knees and a sick stomach.Niz licked my cheek before following after him, soaring quickly through the air and out of the door.
Tears welled in my eyes before I looked back at Steele, his expression shuttered as he stared down at me. I turned my back on him—if Steele truly was intertwined with my role as the Star Keeper, we were all fucked. We’d never be able to work together as our affinities were supposed to.
I tried to talk toward the back patio, needing some fresh air, but Steele's rough hand closed around my wrist. I turned sharply, my words low and dangerous as I ripped my hand away from him. “Do not touch me again.Ever.”
I stormed toward the back of the house and out onto the back of the patio. I didn’t make it through the door before I heard Gabe speak. His voice was with a disappointment I had never heard from him before. “What are you doing, Steele? Did you think that would win you points?”
Silence filled the space behind me, until the sound of pounding footsteps made me realize that Steele was storming in my direction. He pushed past me onto the patio and into the backyard without a word. His large, black wings unfurled and he launched into the stormy gray sky, thankfully taking him far the fuck away from me. Leaning forward with my hands spread on the wet railing of the patio, I put my head down.How the hell had everything gone so wrong, so fast?
After a few moments, a large hand smoothed up my back. “Kieran, are you okay?”
Shaking my head, I refused to meet Gabe’s gaze or turn into him as I spoke. “Okay? No. I am not okay, and I clearly fucked everything up.”
I had to own that, because I enjoyed what Steele did to me yesterday. Now I was living with the fucking consequences of allowing a man like him to do anything to me—allowing him any access at all to me, even if just physically.
“Ronan is confused and hurt,” Gabe murmured before adding, “and Steele…Well, I don’t really know what’s wrong with him. I’ve never seen him out of control before you came to the Rebellion. Clearly he has feelings for you.”
“He hates me,” I said in a quiet voice.
I felt like yesterday I had an understanding of what he had been feeling this entire time. But to then pull this shit? I…I just didn’t know.
I turned toward Gabe, looking up at him as I swallowed. The question wanted to stick in my throat, but I forced it out anyway. “What about you? Are you angry with me? You have every right to be.”
Gabe’s eyes were warm and filled with understanding, which was way more than I would have expected. “I’m surprised, mostly because you and Steele haven’t gotten along from the start.” He shrugged. “But I’m not mad at you. You can’t control how you feel about anyone more than I can control my feelings for you. I’m a bit pissed at Steele for not talking to me about whatever has clearly been spinning in his head since your arrival, but that’s not your issue.”
“I don’t deserve your kindness,” I whispered as he pulled me against his chest, causing me to melt into his muscular body. His hand smoothed through my hair and kept me there, the solid pounding of his heartbeat making me feel far more centered than I did moments ago. I didn’t understand what was going on or how to fucking fix it, but his touch was so damn comforting.
I didn’t deserve him.
After a few silent minutes, he spoke softly, “I’m going to go search for Ronan and Niz. I want to know they’re safe, especially since the camp is relatively new to them.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, knowing he was probably doing that for my benefit. He nodded and pressed a soft kiss to my lips before disappearing into the house.
I let out a long exhale and looked skyward, squeezing my eyes shut as the rain continued to drizzle lightly. All I wanted was to go back in time, to go to last night when Steele wasn’t around and tell everyone else about what happened, on my own terms.
I screeched in surprise as I was suddenly swept up in a bridal hold, my eyes snapping open as I looked up in shock. “Bastian! What are you doing?”
His eyes flashed bright blue before he offered me a soft smile. “As much as I love how you look all wet…” he drew out, causing me to scowl. I had to force myself to hide the laugh that wanted to leave my lips. How could he be so lackadaisical about everything? “I want you inside if it starts to storm.”
“I want to be alone,” I murmured, resting my head against his chest and not believing my own words as I melted into his warmth. Our conversation felt likedéjà vu.
