Jax glances sidelong at me before answering. “Why do you care so much about what I do?”
“I don’t. I’m trying to make a point. You two cling to one another because you fear the unknown,” Juliette comments.
I shake my head. “If that were true, why did I become a vampire?”
“Because no one alive likes you.”
“I like her,” Jaxson says, standing taller.
“You don’t count.”
“Why?”
Juliette’s little laugh is pure evil. “Because you are her shield. You like her because it makes you feel important. Loving her gives you a purpose in a world where you are aimless. You are a Blade, but you aren’t Domna. You are her friend, but you aren’t her boyfriend. She chose to be a vampire, yet you pined for her when you thought she was dead because you were too afraid to let her go.”
“I love her,” Jaxson growls.
“That’s not love. That’sfear.”
I let out a breath and close my eyes.
She’s right. Goddammit. Juliette is fucking right.
I’m holding Jaxson back from finding true love and happiness. His feelings for me are preventing him from meeting someone with whom he can spend the rest of his life. Our relationship is built on mutual fear of rejection.
By pining for me, he never has to risk being rejected by someone he truly cares about. The worst part is that I enabled this behavior. Juliette may be a bitch, but I am equally at fault for allowing this dynamic to continue.
A stone settles in my gut.
“You’ve always been cruel, Juliette. Cruel and jealous.” My voice trembles with barely contained rage. “All you crave is attention, and you turn into a brat the second someone takes it from you.”
Juliette laughs, harsh and mocking. “I am not jealous.”
“What did I ever do to you?” I ask. The words burn my throat on the way out. I’ve pondered this for almost a decade.
Juliette groans. “You always played the victim. It was annoying as hell, and it still is. No one wants to be around someone who tries as hard as you, Desiree. It’s embarrassing.”
“You turned everyone against me!” I screech.
“Because you wouldn’t leave me alone!”
“You went after my brother and now my mom. I thinkyoucan’t leavemealone.”
Juliette’s eyes widen. The color drains from her face.
I’ve finally cracked her stony exterior. She picks up a book and throws it at me. I duck as it crashes through the glass window above my head. Glass fragments rain, landing in my protection charm, rendering it useless.
A primal snarl tears from my lips and I lunge toward Juliette, my vision tinted red. Jaxson steps in my way, grabbing my shoulders and holding me back from snapping Juliette’s head off.
“Don’t,” he says as I thrash against his hold. “Don’t give her the satisfaction of stooping to her level.”
I snap my fangs at Juliette, who pales. “She’s tormented me for years, and it’s time for me to teach her a fucking lesson.”
“I know, but not here, not now,” Jaxson grunts, struggling to hold me back. My vampire strength proves a formidable match for him.
Mom barrels into the room along with several other healers.
Jaxson adds, “There are too many witnesses.”
