Page 127 of Wreck Me

I certainly hadn’t wanted him to fall victim to it as well. There was no redemption for me after the things I’d done to pull King from near-bankruptcy and to solidify my position in Rossun and even far beyond. I’d basically sold my soul and while I accepted that, because it had given me what mattered most to me outside of the brotherhood—unchallenged power—I wouldn’t accept that as being his fate. There still existed a very bright light in him and I wouldn’t allow it to be snuffed out. Certainly not because of anything I’d done.

But Caleb immersing himself in his Business Management degree program at Luxington University hadn’t done what I’d hoped it would. Even though weeks had gone by, he hadn’t settled into it. He wasn’t interested. More than that, he was wholly resistant to it. And now he was just going through the motions.

Taking away the temptation that our work as The Jackals was for him hadn’t worked to focus him there either. In truth, it would’ve been fine to return to all of that a couple of weeks after I’d removed the unhinged element that was Damien Thorn, but I’d held off a lot longer than had been necessary to give him more time to settle, hoping he’d actually be able to live a normal life without danger and darkness.

The same had gone for Bastian. But he’d actually taken well to it. He enjoyed his studies and he felt like he was also honoring his father by doing it too. And he hadn’t minded that we’d taken a break from The Jackals either.

But then what had been a sound strategy at the time had gone to hell with the massive curveball that Skylar Bennett had turned out to be for him.

To say she’d gotten under his skin didn’t even begin to cover it.

Tonight had shown me just how much.

He hadn’t been able to check it at all.

Because I’d been preoccupied with King and the recent revelations about Elijah Bane, my new partnership with Dante Mancini, I’d been standing at a distance to it all.

But Damien hadn’t.

He’d taken full advantage of that fact. He’d seen the change in Bastian right up close. Worse where he was concerned, he’d recognized that Bastian actually cared about someone. Outside of Caleb and me. For the first time ever.

And now he had something to hurt him with.

For so long, there’d been nothing for Damien to come at him with, to use against him, because Bastian had just been a robot, unfeeling, and operating in a numbed state. And being a part of The Jackals with us had kept the older Thorn brother from focusing on that toxic sibling rivalry. Pulling him had been absolutely necessary, but detrimental too.

And it had led to tonight happening.

Violently and sexually assaulting the woman Bastian was clearly falling in love with, and whom he was most definitely absolutely obsessed with.

I was obviously monitoring Damien and when I’d put his location at that fight club tonight, knowing my boys were also there with Skylar slated to fight, I’d grown suspicious and sent Luke down there. Caleb and Bastian had been too preoccupied with the girl to recognize Damien’s behavior as being anything other than his usual antagonistic self, but Luke had fortunately registered it for what it really had been, him gearing up for something far worse. I’d headed down there before Damien had even stepped into the ring. And, sure enough, by the time I’d arrived on scene, he’d been wreaking havoc.

He'd gone after what he’d deemed Bastian’s weakness.

Not just his, though.

Skylar Bennett was the weak link overall. Because my boys were now connected to her, enamored with her, and had grown close to her, yet she’d remained on the periphery because I’d been biding my time to analyze her further, to gauge her true intentions that she hid so well, especially with her resistance to remaining true to her former self and the Onyx moniker. And then the revelation and subsequent new situation with Elijah Bane had taken my focus.

After tonight, it had been made absolutely clear that I needed to decimate that weakness.

The only way to do that without hurting Bastian and Caleb who now cared for her, was to bring her in under my protection. To bring her into the fold.

Her presence in their lives had proven to only be detrimental when she wasn’t with them, or when, like tonight, she’d been under threat. Being under the protection of the likes of me would nullify the latter.

She was a positive force for Bastian, having the uncanny ability to soothe him in ways I hadn’t thought ever possible for him.

And, as I was witnessing for myself now, she also brought out the lighthearted side of Caleb, something that had only been possible for me to bring out in him before. His humorous side too was being brought forth as well. He’d been quiet and contemplative on the drive back here. It was because the assault had taken on a sexual aspect and anything like that triggered him, due to what had happened to his sister. But he’d managed to pull out of that mindset by the time we’d arrived back here and after Bastian had taken off in a fit of rage to calm down Caleb had engaged the girl in light conversation, even joking around about one of the sitcoms Bastian had put on for her. He’d shifted the atmosphere significantly and it was putting her at ease.

Well, as much as anybody could possibly feel at ease as a stranger in my home.

Caleb suddenly rose to his feet from where he’d been sitting on the arm of the chair right beside her for the last half an hour while I’d remained silent, allowing her time to come down from what had happened. “I’m gonna check on Bastian.”

“I’ll go with you,” Skylar said.

But before she could get up, Caleb laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Stay with Cas. Bastian doesn’t want you to see him all hopped up on rage.”

“That doesn’t matter to me. He doesn’t need to be in a good mood every moment spent with me. If he’s hurting, he shouldn’t hide it. I can be there for him.”

Caleb smiled and gave me a look of incredulity.

---