Page 33 of A Shadow of Betrayal

I toss my swords on the table and slap my hand onto Lennox’s shoulder, leaning over him to steal the roll on his plate. “Hey, asshole,” I grumble, stuffing his roll into my mouth and grinning when his grumpy face looks up at me before it breaks into a smile. I nod to Razar as Nox stands from his chair and grins down at me. Nox may be a few years younger than me, but the dude towers over me by a good five inches.

“Creed,” he chuckles, as he leans forward to pull me into a side hug. I sigh and roll my eyes. He's putting on a show, making it look like he's giving me a hug in greeting when really, he wants information. “What did you find?” he whispers. I smile and pat him on the back in return, keeping up appearances.

“Just Demons. I didn't find any traps, nothing that would suggest the Senorium are doing something they shouldn't be. And no clues to suggest who is setting these traps. No casualties,” I say quickly, giving him everything he needs to know before he pulls back, a fake smile still plastered on his face.

“I’m glad you're home safe,” he says loud enough for the surrounding people to hear before he takes his seat again. I smile at a few of the new Rangers and let my eyes scan down our table, taking in the number of Hunters relying on us to keep them alive over the next few weeks.

A bright flash of blonde hair at the end of the table makes my heart jump, and I turn my attention to where the Drakos boy is sitting and frown, wondering why he’s sitting here and not with his bloodline. The boy needs to be careful; his father is a dick, and I can only imagine the trouble he will get himself into if he doesn't conform to the high standards I’m sure he’s being held to. But my attention is pulled from the kid when a girl who is sitting next to him stands up, and my eyes clash with the familiar bright apple green of the very girl who has been playing on my mind over the last three days.

My heart skips in my chest, making me startle back a little as I see her mouth my name in surprise. My palms grow sweaty, and I can feel a broad grin break over my face as I take her in. She looks different from when I first saw her. For some reason, she is wearing a baggy set of Regalis blue sweats, and her hair looks like a squirrel took shelter in it from the snowstorm outside. On top of that, she looks like she’s somehow lost a few pounds in the three days since I last saw her, and there are some pretty dark circles under her eyes that make me frown, worry creasing my brow.

But holy fucking shit! It's really her!

Maybe Lennox finally listened to me and brought her up to the Castle for her safety? Excitement erupts inside my chest as I see her standing only a few feet from me. I never got the chance to actually thank her for saving my life, and it's one of the reasons I’ve been thinking about her so much. Well, that and she's been in every damn dream I’ve had.

“Meyer?” I mouth back, taking a step in her direction before Lennox’s big hand snaps out and wraps around my wrist, tugging me so hard in his direction that I stumble and fall onto the small round plastic seat next to him. “Hey, what the hell was that for?”

“Sit down,” Lennox clips out, and I shoot him a glare, hating how his command makes me turn instantly in my chair and sit next to him.

“You’re such a prick, Nox,” I grind out, placing my hands on the table in front of me, my hands fisting so tight that my knuckles turn white. “Why did you bring her here if you didn't want me to talk to her? I want to talk to her and thank her for—”

“You’ll do no such thing. In fact, you are to keep your distance from Ranger Smith and only interact with her when a situation arises where it’s needed. You are not to search her out or form any type of relationship with her. There will be repercussions if you disobey. For you and her both. Am I understood?” Lennox commands, his words clipped and tone hushed.

In my peripheral, I see Meyer watching me, and it takes everything I have not to react when the Drakos boy reaches out and wraps his fingers around her small wrist, tugging her back into her seat next to him. I swallow hard and try not to think about it. I’m sworn to listen to Lennox. He is the one in charge, and as his second-in-command, I should lead by example. But I can’t bring myself to care right now.

Razar glances up from under his hood before he glares down the table at Meyer, probably trying to come up with a way to kill her so she doesn't cause any contention in our family. I glower at him when he looks back at me, his eyes sparking with death, and I palm the blade I have in a small sheath at my side, his eyes following the movement. Good, mother fucker. You watch, because you know what will happen if you so much as breathe wrong in her direction.

“You can’t be serious,” Lennox whispers, leaning into my side to hide my reaction to Razar’s silent threat. “Control yourself, Creed. That girl is nothing to us. Do you understand?”

“Get fucked, Nox,” I snarl, making Lennox growl under his breath as I yank my hand free and stand up from the table. Before I can take a step toward Meyer, cold hands wrap around my neck, and I’m being yanked out of the cafeteria faster than I knew possible.

“Let me go,” I grind out, my feet moving without my consent as I'm led from the cafeteria, while the icy fingers around the back of my neck tighten and draw a groan of pain from my lips. The next moment, I’m out in the hallway, pressed against the rough stone walls between the large torches that illuminate the dark area with a deadly sharp blade pressed against the column of my throat.

“You going to kill me, Raz? You finally allowing that bloodthirsty part of you free?” I taunt, pressing forward enough to feel the sting of the blade cutting shallowly into my skin. Razar stands only an inch taller than my six-foot-three-inches, and I grin manically at him when I see the flicker of anger my words have caused. He still has his hood on, keeping his face in the shadows where he likes to hide. “You ever going to let it out? To let the hood fall and finally be the monster we all know you are?”

“Creed!” Lennox snaps, his commanding voice filling the empty hall as he stalks out of the cafeteria and makes me groan when a rush of magic strikes me in the chest; a burst of agony courses through me, making my emotions turn against me. I would have crumpled to the ground if it weren't for Razar’s tight hold on me.

“Fuck, Nox. Stop,” I beg, my voice cracking with the intense pain as my emotions spiral out of my hands, fully under his magic’s control and sending me into a panic attack.

“Razar, let the idiot go,” Lennox commands, and Raz steps back immediately, letting me fall to the ground, the muscles of my arms and legs locking up on me as Lennox continues his punishment.

“Always… the obedient little soldier,” I wheeze out, letting a pained smile tug on my lips as I keep taunting Raz from my pathetic position on the floor. “Do you even have a mind of your own anymore? Or did you hand that over to him as well?” Razar bares his teeth at me, and I can see his hands shaking at his sides.

“Enough!” Lennox shouts, walking over to where Razar is probably plotting my murder. “Go, find some Demons and get that bloodlust under control.” I chuckle again, watching Razar battle with his need to kill me while wanting to listen to Lennox. Ultimately, I know I need to be careful with him. Not even being his brother will save me if I press him too far. I have learned that over the years. But I’m also confident in the knowledge I can handle my brother and his little killing tantrums. “Now, Razar,” Lennox snaps when Raz doesn't jump to do his bidding.

“God, when did you get so damn controlling?” I ask, moaning a little as I try to push myself to my hands and knees. I can hear Razar move away from us, his footsteps featherlight on the floor. Lennox sighs and crouches down, looking at me when I look up at him.

“I have always been an over controlling asshole, and you have always loved to push boundaries,” Nox grumbles, releasing his magic’s control of my body and catching me under my arms when they try to give way.

“True,” I gasp with a strained laugh as he hauls me to my feet.

“Do you have to taunt him like that? It's going to take days to get him to calm down now,” Lennox gripes, his hands steadying me on my feet until he’s sure I'm not about to fall down again.

“Nah, he’ll go to the north side and kill some bestia. It will curb the bloodlust,” I mutter, bringing a shaky hand up to wipe at the small amount of blood that trickled down from the cut put there by Razar’s blade.

“I think it's going to take more than killing some beasts to curb the murderous rage he’s radiating,” Lennox says doubtfully, rubbing at his chest like the rage is his own.

My shoulders raise and fall as I shrug, not caring in the least about my unhinged brother's rage. He’s never happy, and he always wants to kill someone. Typically the beasts, but I know my death has crossed his mind more than once.

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