Erik’s.
Gray always went to Erik when things weren’t right.
The rain was getting worse, and I drove carefully through the streets. We were in November, so I wasn’t surprised at the rain, but just how heavy it was.
As I drove, the ground shook. It started as a tremor, but it got worse.
Earthquake?
I pulled up at the side of the road, killing the engine.
Then it hit me. This wasn’t a natural cause. This was Gray.
I got out of the car, trusting my feet rather than the vehicle to take me safely towards the house.
Whatever Gray was doing, he needed to stop. I pulled my phone from my pocket and tried to call him, but there was no answer. I tried Erik and Sloan, but nothing happened.
I started to run.
Whenever I’d been around Quentin, I felt acceptance. I’d been working hard to show her I cared for her. I was used to other people calling me a monster, but to hear her say it gutted me worse than I could have imagined. I didn’t even have the will to stop her when she left. Instead, I took myself to Erik’s. The pain in my chest was so severe, and I needed it to stop.
When I arrived in their bedroom, I nudged Erik awake. There was a flash of red until he realised it was me.
“Gray?”
Erik’s aura illuminated the room, and Sloan woke up.
“What’s going on?” Erik asked.
I clutched at my chest as the pain hit me again. Erik jumped out of bed, wide awake.
“Gray! What happened?”
We were wrapped in red, and then we were outside in the garden. The cool night air helped slightly with the feelings, making it easier to breathe.
“You must have got it wrong,” I told him.
“What's wrong?”
“She can’t be my soulbound.”
Erik looked at me in confusion. “Gray, why are you saying that?”
“He turns up, and she leaves with him. I told her. I told her I love her, but she didn’t choose me, Erik.” I felt the anger swell in me again. “I’d give her anything she wants, but she won’t give me the same. She’d pick a mortal over me!”
Erik raised his hand. “You need to calm down.”
“HOW?”
There it was. My aura spanned out across the garden. Erik sparked his own up as a protective measure, but I had no reason to hurt my brother. He couldn’t help what his responsibility was. He wasn’t responsible for her actions.
“She loves you, Grayson. I know she does!” Erik yelled.
I let out a harsh laugh as the heavens opened and great droplets of rain fell from the sky. If she thought I was a monster, then so be it. Why bother to have control?
Sloan came out of the house, her aura around her as she joined her husband.
I’d never envied Erik so much in my life as I did in this moment. To have someone who would choose you every single time without fail. Someone to stand by you and love you no matter how many faults you had.
