His gaze lifts to mine, fierce despite the exhaustion dragging at his features. “Rowen. What did I do?”
I look to Red. His hand is closed around the open wound. When he pulls it away, the cut is healed. Red’s concern is evident. We both know what happened.
Rage bubbles inside me.I’m going to kill that vampire.
I pull Tobias to me and kiss his head, but he pulls away, becoming more and more alert.
“What did I do?”
“Tobias—”
“Tell me!”
The command in his voice makes my wolf sit up. There’s power in his voice, something I’ve never heard from him before. It’s deep and raw.
We step out of the shower and peel out of our soggy clothes. The entire time, Tobias keeps pleading with me, growing more and more anxious. More determined.
“Why aren’t you telling me?”
I offer him a towel, then wrap my arms around him again. The feel of his chilled, bare skin—unmarred and no longer bleeding—relieves me.
But I know he won’t let this go.
“Come here.”
I lead him back to the studio. When he sees the destruction, he stops breathing.
“Oh, gods,”he whispers. His hand trembles as he reaches toward the nearest thick cut in the wall, where a nail had been ripped away. “These were—I did this?”
I swallow hard, unsure of how much he can handle. “Ripdid this, Toby. Not you.”
He covers his mouth, hot tears sliding down his cheeks. “No. Gods, no. I would never…” He cuts himself off, as if remembering something. He winces and turns away, eyes closing. “He didn’t like seeing them,” he whispers. “The photos. He said they weren’t…”
Seeing them? As in, Rip can see inside Tobias’s head now?
I reach for him. “They weren’t what?”
“Rip said they weren’t my family.”
I can see the shift happen as he speaks, his shock burning into fury. He spins, taking in all the damage and touching a few of the ripped photos.
His hands ball into fists at his sides.
“You think you can do this to me? To these people?” His voice ricochets through the room. “You think you can threaten my family? You don’t know what you’re doing, Rip. We will end you. You hear me? WE WILL END YOU! ALL OF YOU!”
The words tear out of him like fire. Red and I exchange quiet nods of surprise.That’s my guy.
Footsteps echo down the hall, and a moment later, Grant, my mom, and Taren rush in, but none of them speak. They just stand there, taking in the wreckage.
I should say something. Should tell them this wasn’t Tobias. But my mom reaches out to me, like she already knows.
Tobias is shaking when he turns back to us. His cheeks flush red, but to my surprise, he doesn’t curl in on himself like he would’ve a few weeks ago. He stands strong.
“He won’t get away with this,” Tobias says. “He won’t… he can’t fuck with my family.”
I step closer and take his face in my hands. “That’s it,” I murmur. “That’s my fated one talking. Lean into that feeling, babe. That’s the part of you that isn’t human. That’s how you fight him.”
His gaze locks on mine, then he kisses me.
