Tate didn’t say anything. Just sat there. His pulse was faster than usual. His skin stunk of anxiety and sweats. Something had happened. But what?
He had no outward signs of an injury. No scent of his or anyone else’s blood on him. So it must not have been a physical altercation. The only other thing that could make him look and act like this was Jack.
I finished drying off, giving him a chance to collect his thoughts and talk to me on his own terms. But, when I’d finished, he still hadn’t broached the subject.
I grabbed the pants I’d laid out on the counter and pulled them on before kneeling in front of him.
“Mi lobo, what is it?” I spoke softly, not touching him in case it made his despair worse.
Tate shoved his braids back from his face, lifting his head so his gaze could meet mine. A mixture of sadness and worry etched across his face. He’d chewed on his lip ring so much that it was tearing at the skin around it.
Lifting my finger to my mouth, I pierced the tip with my fang, then swiped the blood around the lip ring, My blood healed the damage he had caused.
“I don’t know what to do, Kyren.” Tate’s voice was low and broken, like that of a child’s. “It all happened so fast. I didn’t understand what was happening until it was too late. Then I had to go tohim.Which was so... humiliating.”
“Please,mi amore.” I placed my hand on the side of his face, giving him an encouraging smile. “Tell me what happened.”
Tate was quiet for a long moment, his emotions rampaging through our bond. “Don’t get mad.”
My brows furrowed, and my lips turned down. Whenever Tate started a conversation like that, it meant that something happened to him that he didn’t think was a big deal, but I wouldn’t be happy about it. It usually meant he knew I would get violent, and that only made me anxious to know what caused him to act this way.
“I mean it, Kyren.” Tate locked eyes with me, grabbing my shoulders. “You can’t freak out. It was an accident. She didn’t meant to do it. She’s probably as freaked out as I am, and I’m the one who got frozen.”
For a moment earlier, I thought I felt fear, but it was mixed with anxiety and, since he hadn’t call me, I chalked it up to more mixed feelings about his siblings. This must have been what happened.
I shook my head, trying to process what he was saying.
“Frozen? Did some witch attack you?” Anger started to well inside of me that someone would think that, because I wasn’t there, they could touch what was mine.
When it came to the wolves, I left Tate handle it. He knew how they worked and what would and wouldn’t keep the peace. But I wouldn’t let anyone hurt him, even if he thought it was an accident. In my experience, rarely was anything not done on purpose.
“No, no.” Tate shook his head. “No witches. Look, I don’t think I should tell you. You’re just going to freak out and then go attack her. And she doesn’t need that right now. I mean, if I found out I inherited my dad’s powers, I’d be freaking out too. Plus there were all the dead crows.”
He sighed, anguish in his voice. “I just wish she’d have stayed and talked to me.”
The pieces were finally clicking together.
Jack. This was all about Jack. She did something to Tate. Hurt him.
Suddenly, all that rage I’d been suppressing for her family came roaring back. Of course this was her fault. Her family’s fault. It always came back to the Durands. Doing whatever they wanted without worrying about the consequences.
I didn’t care who the hell she was, no one hurt what was mine. No one. Not even her.
“Kyren.” Tate grabbed at my arms, trying to keep me down. “I know that look in your eyes. Leave it. It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know. You should have seen her face. She was terrified. Just don’t do anything rash.”
I could barely hear him over the rage pulsating through me. My shadows swirled around me, my jaw clenching. I’d been looking for an answer to what I should do about her all this time.
In the end, it came down to this—did my feelings for her negate all the negatives?
Now I had my answer. She’d hurt someone that was mine, someone that loved her. That made what I had to do quite clear.
“Let me go,” I commanded through clenched teeth.
“No,” Tate snapped, his fingers digging into my arms. “I won’t let you hurt her.”
“Stop making excuses for her,” I shot back. “She hurt you. I can’t let that stand.”
Tate grabbed my hands and placed them on his chest, rubbing them along his body. “No, look. See? I’m fine. She didn’t hurt me. I’m good.”
