Page 52 of Love's Ace

Something that I shouldn’t have been feeling.

Something I’dswornI would never let myself feel again.

Betrayal.

When had I startedtrustingWren enough to feel that? When had I been stupid enough to let my goddamn guard down, so he could somehow slip past my ribs and slide a knife into my heart?

I knew better.

Iknewbetter.

But he’d still done it.

And he wanted me dead.

And what hurt the most was realizing that he would be better off if I was. That he wouldhealfrom my death. That he’d stop being broken by being tied to a fuck-up like me.

I’d only known him for a few days. Some fucked-up red thread that should never have been there wasn’t going to dictate how I acted.

A few nights of him holding me—the first nights in years that I’d gone without nightmares—wasn’t going to dictate my behavior.

And it wasn’t going to be the reason Wren was punished.Iwasn’t going to be the reason his wings were ripped off.

Maybe I’d spent most of my life being worthless and useless, but I could at least manage that much.

I could at least make sure that out of everything I’d ever fucked up,hewasn’t one of those things.

I’d managed to walk far enough that Gethin’s house was no longer in sight, when I heard footsteps behind me over the downpour of the rain. I didn’t have to turn to know that Wren was chasing me, and I didn’t bother looking to see how close he was. I could tell by the way the pressure in my chest eased with each step he took, and I could tell by the way my heart thundered harder the closer he got.

“Theo.” He shouted my name again. It was closer this time—close enough that I could almost feel him pressed against me.

Close enough that the pain and panic zinging through my body was a fucked-up mixture of his and my own.

“Fuckoff, Wren. I’m just doing what you wanted. Trust me, you don’t have to kill me.” My voice was thick, but I kept walking. “I can manage it for you.”

Would it be easier if he knew what I intended to do? Would it be easier if I ripped the thread from my chest first so he didn’t have to feel it? My hands came up, wrapping around the line of crimson… but I couldn’t do it.

I could feel the heat of it—the heat of him—and I couldn’t talk myself into pulling hard enough to tear it out of my chest.

I—

I didn’t know what was happening at first. The world suddenly went sideways, and it took me a second to understand that the echoing sound of pain that spilled from my lips and Wren’s was because he’d knocked me to the ground.

My body reacted on instinct, and Ifeltthe rip of pain when my claws tore into his shoulder, trying to shove him away.

“Getoffme, Wren.” The demand spilled in a growl from my chest, a rumble that vibrated through me and threatened to tear the darkness from between my ribs so it could engulf me.

“No,” he snapped back. His hands shifted, trying to pin mine to the ground. I struggled under the touch, curling my fingers into a fist and slamming my knuckles into his jaw. I didn’t evencarethat it made my ears ring. I didn’t care that my head felt like it would burst from the echo of pain.

He had to let me go.

He had to get off me.

I wasn’t going to bring us both down.

“Let mego, you fucking asshole,” I snapped again, but somewhere between trying to connect my fist to his face and wanting to sound furious, the words cracked on the back of my tongue. They came out fissured, aching. Full of pain. Edged with tears.

“No.” Wren’s voice was a snarl in comparison to mine, and he managed to force my wrist back down again. His knee came up, slipping between my legs so he could pin me to the ground.

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