Page 166 of Devoted

It was strangely easy to do. As much as I fucking hated Gloria, I wouldn’t risk Sam, not even to save the whole world.

With a plan to deal with Gloria’s threat in place, the first meeting passed quickly and uneventfully.

I suspected I wasn’t going to be able to say the same for the second one.

As everyone got to their feet to leave, Micah and I exchanged a look before he cleared his throat. “Theo, Nate. Stay behind please.”

The two exchanged a sullen look before sliding back into their seats.

Micah waited until the room was clear before lacing his fingers together on the conference table. “Okay. Something is going on with you two, and we need to know what it is.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Theo muttered darkly.

“What he said.”

I raised a brow at Micah, and he nodded for me to take over. “If that’s the case, then how do you explain the uptick in fights between you?”

Neither of them spoke, not even with one of the silent looks they often shared. Ones only they understood.

I let the silence drag on for near a minute before caving. “Really? Neither of you have anything to say?”

“Nope,” Nate said curtly, rapping his knuckles on the table. “There’s nothing to tell.”

I exhaled slowly as the monster growled.This is for Sam,I reminded myself.They need to sort their shit out for his sake.

“We don’t buy it,” Micah said simply. “Especially with that last…incident. Ez, Noah, and Benji all reported that there was a viciousness between you that they hadn’t seen before.”

“S’not true.” Theo sniffed. “We’re always like that.”

“No,” Micah said firmly. “You’re not. This was something different. You’ve always settled your disputes this way, but it’s escalated to a point where we can’t let it slide any longer.”

Nate sank lower in his chair, crossing his arms. “So what if we’re a bit violent? It’s only towards each other. Doesn’t damage anyone else.”

“Except it does.” Two pairs of lilac eyes flew up to mine. “It’s damaged Sam.”

They stiffened simultaneously, but it was Nate who spoke. “We didn’t hurt him, did we? He was okay, right?”

“Physically, yes. Emotionally though? Nate, he watched youmurderme. Noah’s body was only a few feet from him. He knew nothing about our way of life, and you introduced him to it in the cruellest way possible.” The monster wanted me to whack their heads against the wall until they saw sense. “Can’t you understand how that might’ve been traumatic for him?”

There was nomight’veabout it, and from how the twins’ skin paled, they knew it too. Theo was the first to speak. “But he knows now that it’s fine, right? It’s just what we do. You’re okay, Nate didn’t actually hurt you.”

I tensed as the monster roared. My phone buzzed on the table, a message from Sam on the screen.

Sam

you okay? Need to take a lap?

Just the question had me calming. I could do this. I could be strong for Sam.

Zeke

I’m fine. Thank you, baby.

I put the phone down and gave the twins a withering stare. “Sam might understand, but that hasn’t stopped him being pissed at you.”

Theo’s jaw dropped. “He is?”

“Yes,” I ground out. “At the end of the day, he saw you hurt me. The fact I healed fast doesn’t change that, not for him.”

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