Page 85 of Martyr

West took a step to the side, finally able to catch sight of Nix’s face.

His puffy, tear-streaked face. When his head lolled, it became obvious he was unconscious.

West reacted without thinking, shoving Yejun off hard enough it sent his best friend practically flying. He didn’t watch as he landed somewhere on the couch, too busy collecting Nix into his arms, cradling his limp form in his lap. He slapped his cheeks lightly in a poor attempt to wake him, but got no response.

“Come on, Nixie,” he shook him a bit, but still nothing. “Damn it! Wake up!” This was serious. How long had the threeof them been doing this? It’d been over four hours since Nix had sent that text. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“What’s wrong with us?!” Yejun shot onto his feet, his still fully engorged cock swinging obscenely between his thighs. Thighs that were coated in glistening fluids. “What’s wrong with you? Did you not hear me? He’s related to that bitch!”

“And I’m related to Demitrious,” he snapped back, “so what? You secretly been waiting to slit my throat when I’m not looking?”

Yejun pulled back slightly. “That isn’t the same at all. How could you even say that to me? She almost killed you!Hiscousin almost—”

“He is not his cousin,” West interrupted. Gathering the unconscious man up, he lifted him, taking a full step back when Lake stood and made as though to help. “Back the fuck off or I really may result to violence. We joke all the time about which of us would win in a fight, but last I checked, I’m the one who has a few dozen awards in that department.”

Lake stared at him blankly, but there was no hiding how pale he was.

“You should be disgusted with yourself,” he growled, then corrected, “both of you should be!”

“He lied to us,” Yejun insisted. “He—”

“Is ours,” West reminded. “Is this how you treat the person you’re in a relationship with? No wonder you can never keep someone more than a single fuck.”

“He doesn’t mean shit to me! Not now!”

“Fine, then he’s mine,” he turned to Lake. “You bit him, so it’s already too late to turn back the clock there. You better pray he forgives you once he’s woken up, otherwise it’s going to be a life that feels like hell for all of us.”

“He chose this,” Lake said. “He’s the one who undressed for Yejun.”

“Yeah, because he was terrified June would take one of his eyes otherwise!” It was so obvious West thought they had the IQs of goldfish for not realizing it. “Please tell me there was more to it than that. That you didn’t put him through all of this just because he shares the same bloodline as Iris?”

Lake glanced away, but Yejun was still fuming.

“Isn’t that enough?” he replied. “After what she did to us, he had some nerve coming here.”

“He didn’t know,” Lake told West.

“Right, let’s not forget that Lake here found out weeks ago as well and kept it to himself!” Yejun looked like he was about to punch someone but stood his ground.

“Oh, so I suppose you planned on breeding him like cattle as punishment next?” West couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth, but he couldn’t seem to get control of his emotions.

No. He didn’twantto.

They’d done some pretty heinous things, the lot of them, but there’d always been an invisible line they wouldn’t cross. The moment Lake had claimed Nix as his mate, he’d made Nix one of them, and they didn’t treat each other this way.

“That’s why you bit him, isn’t it? That’s why he’s been trying to forgive you and move on. Because he knew that on some twisted level, you had good intentions.” He shook his head incredulously at Lake. “And now? This? How are you going to explain this to him, huh? What excuses are you going to make for sitting there while Yejun tried fucking him to death right in front of you?”

“At least he would have died screaming.” Yejun shrugged. “It’s what he deserves.”

Lake’s eyes widened, the icy mask he was known for slipping as he turned to their friend. “What?”

West swore. “You’re so clueless. You want to be responsible for the entire planet but can’t even manage to protect your man?”

“You’re way out of line,” Yejun came to Lake’s defense. “Why are you even mad atus? His—”

“His cousin is dead,” West snapped, effectively shutting June up for the first time since he’d arrived.

“She…What?”

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