Chapter 22

I’m pacingthe length of my bedroom, waiting for Lux to finish with the ritual, and come up. Pure, undiluted anger snakes through my veins like poison, and I feel it so deeply that I struggle to breathe. I could kill every one of my brothers downstairs for what they did, especially Lucas.

The fucking betrayal.

They knew I didn’t want Lux initiated, so they just went behind my back instead, citing some dumb-ass law from a hundred-plus years ago.

Fuck them.

There’s a knock on my door. Lux doesn’t usually knock, but maybe under the circumstances, she feels like that’s safer. In two strides, I’m across the room, ripping the door open. On the other side, standing in the doorway, are Jackson, Christian, and Lucas.

My gaze immediately locks on Lucas. “You fucking asshole,” I spit, lunging at him. I manage to get ahold of his collar before the other two pry me off him. Lucas takes a step back into the hallway, and shakes it off, straightening his shirt.

“We came to talk,” Christian says, his grip on my right arm solid.

I shake Jackson and Christian off me, then return to pacing, turning to point an angry finger at my supposed brothers. “You’re all fucking cunts for what you just pulled downstairs. You knew I didn’t want her initiated. You fucking knew that.”

Jackson holds his hands up, palms out. “Whoa, dude. Lucas told you why we had to do it. She found your book of bylaws. We had no choice.”

“No choice,” I repeat, still pacing. “That’s bullshit, and you know it.”

“Bullshit?” Lucas repeats, incredulous. “Those are the rules, Roman, and you fucking know it.”

I pause, turning on him. “Fuck that. We could have kept this between us, the Sons. No one would have known.”

“And if she’d talked to non-members about what she saw?” Jackson asks.

I scowl at him. His hypothetical scenario is ridiculous. “She wouldn’t have talked.”

“The only way to guarantee that,” Lucas says, “Is to initiate her. You know that, Roman. Protect the society at all costs. That was our oath.”

These assholes are getting on my last nerve, and my fucking veins feel like they’re on fire. Turning to the wall, I slam my fist into the plaster over, and over, and over, until my knuckles bleed.

It’s Christian who finally pulls me away. I shrug him off and start pacing again, like a lion in a cage. Energy crackles inside me, and all I want is to shove my fist into someone’s face.

“We have something else to tell you.” Jackson leans against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. He never really gives anything away, but I can tell, whatever he’s about to tell me isn’t good.

I stop my pacing and pin Jackson with a hard stare. “What is it?”

Jackson glances over at Christian for support.

“Just fucking tell me,” I bite out impatiently.

Christian pushes out a harsh breath like they might as well get this over with. “We asked Lux to crash somewhere else for the next few days.”

I narrow my eyes at Christian. The rage I felt just a few minutes ago is nothing to the fury that bubbles up inside my chest now. I flex my hands at my sides, stretching my fingers out, then balling them into fists, over and over. “I’m sorry,” I manage to say evenly, tilting my head to the side. “You did what?”

Jackson and Lucas step forward to shield Christian, who takes a step back. He lifts his hands in surrender. “You’re not yourself, Roman. You need a couple of days to chill and get your emotions under control.”

I step forward, my gaze fixed on Christian’s pretty boy face, and I envision shoving my fist right through that cocky smile. “And who the fuck are you to tell me what I need?”

Lucas shoves the palm of his hand into my shoulder, trying to stop me from advancing on his twin. “Don’t forget who we are, Roman,” he says. “We’re your fucking brothers. We’re on your side. We’re not the enemy.”

I don’t even acknowledge Lucas’ statement, because it doesn’t feel like they’re my brothers right now. They went behind my back and did something I’d explicitly told them not to do. And why? For some hundred-year-old rule that doesn’t mean shit?

“Where is she?” I bite out, my gaze still drilled into Christian.

“Roman…” Lucas starts, but I cut him off before he can try to mollify me with more fucking lies.

“Where. Is. She?” I ask again through gritted teeth.

I’d track her on the app, but the guys know about it, and I’m sure they’ve turned off her location-sharing. I could guess where she is, though. There are only a handful of places she could be, and internally, I decide the second I’m done here, I’ll physically go to each of her possible locations until I find her.

“Roman,” Lucas says again, more firmly, like he won’t tolerate being cut off again. “Bro, you know we love you. And I know you don’t see it now, but we’re on your fucking side.” He pauses a second before continuing like he’s hesitant to say this next thing. “But we feel like all of this shit with Lux has gotten out of hand.”

That last statement strikes me like a blow to the face, and I take a step back, blinking at Lucas. “What’s that supposed to mean?” My gaze shifts to the other two, and they’re all looking at me the same way like I’ve lost my damn mind.

“It’s obvious that your relationship with Lux is….different,” Christian says, and I can tell he’s being careful with his words. He studies my expression like he’s waiting to see how his words land before continuing.

I take another step back, my gaze darting between the three of them. “You know it’s different. I told you that myself,” I say defensively.

I lunge at Christian again and this time, he’s not expecting it, so my fist connects with the sharp edge of his jaw. I‘m going in for another swing when both Lucas and Jackson jump in and pull me off him, dragging me several feet away.

Lucas turns on me, shoving me hard, his fist twisting my collar. “You think we fucking want this, Roman? Huh?” His face is half an inch from mine, spit punctuating each syllable. “You’re fucking losing your mind, just like your goddamn brother.” He shoves me again roughly, and I pull my arm back, raising my fist. If it weren’t for Jackson and Christian flanking him, I’d fucking lay him down. “Do you want to end up like him?” he continues.

I shove my finger in his face. “This isn’t about my brother. This is about you betraying my trust.”

“No, Roman,” Lucas says, taking a step back. “This is about that goddamn girl and the chokehold she has on you.”

I shake my head, ready to argue, but Jackson says, “It’s true, Roman. You’re not thinking straight. If you were, then you’d know the initiation wasn’t about betraying you. It was about protecting the society.”

Christian sneers at me. “And if you hadn’t left your fucking book where—”

Lucas cuts him with a sharp look. “It doesn’t matter how it happened. It’s over. It’s done.” He retreats again, pointing his finger at me. The other two back off, too. “You need to get your shit together, Roman, or we’re calling this whole thing off. I’m not having another brother arrested for a piece of fucking ass.”

“She’s more than a piece of ass,” I bite out.

So much more. But it doesn’t surprise me that Lucas has no damn clue about that. Before Lux, I was just like them. I’d fuck any pretty little thing that walked my way, then discard her just as quickly. Brutal, maybe, but it was the world I lived in.

Until Lux.

Everything changed the moment I laid eyes on her. I didn’t want to admit it then, but it’s impossible for me to deny it now. The second our gazes met on the beach, the ground shifted beneath my feet. It hasn’t stopped moving since.

“Two days, Roman,” Lucas says, more calmly now. “It’s almost over. You just need to keep your shit together. Soon we can put these last few weeks behind us.”

I grunt without saying anything because these last few weeks have changed me so profoundly, I don’t think there’s any going back to the way things were…

Not in a million-fucking years.