Page 12 of Shadow Bound

I’ve only ever had Alex, but he hasn’t been a friend in a long time.

“Yeah, they’re some of those good guys I was telling you about.” He takes a step back from me and I have less than a second to decide what I should do. “They just want to make sure that baby gets a good life. Something we were robbed of.” Jax gives me a pointed look.

If his childhood was even a quarter as brutal as mine was, I know it was hell on earth for him too.

“You know I can’t let them leave with that child.”

“And you know I can’t let you kill them.” His expression turns cold. “I’m getting Ranger, Winslow, and that baby out of here. I’ll go through you if I need to and I’ll happily go through your brother too.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “How did you know he was here?”

“You two are never far apart. Last I heard, he wasn’t doing too hot,” Jax says. “One day he’s going to kill you, you know that, rightIzzy?”

My temper flares, how does he know about Alex’s bloodlust? I also hate when anyone other than Alex calls me Izzy. I’m not one for nicknames.

“It’s not his fault,” I find myself saying, defending my brother.

“It’s none of our faults.” He barks a cruel laugh. “But it doesn’t change the fact we can’t always fight the monsters they’ve made us. Alexandre is going to drain every ounce of blood from your veins one day.”

I can’t defend my brother again, because I know Jax is right. Vampires don’t typically feed off other vampires, but when the hunger is as strong as Alex’s, there would be nothing stopping him from attacking me.

The sound of a gun going off has each of us jumping into action. I spin around, about to rush back downstairs, and Jax backs away from me “I’m going to go be the good guy,” he says before his body dissolves into a cloud of smoke and only the scent of something burning remains.

I rush downstairs in a mist of shadows and come to a screeching halt when I find the shifter, or as Jax called him, Ranger, bleeding on the ground from a chest wound. The girl—Winslow—is being held in place by my brother, her cries and pure panic are tangible. Big, angry tears stream down her face as she fights my brother.

Jax appears behind Vance, and in one quick fluid movement, he snaps Vance’s neck. I find myself jealous that Jax was able to do something I could only dream about. I would spend those restless nights thinking of ways I could kill Vance and Sterling. The sounds of their screams would lull me to sleep.

Winslow screams so loud her voice becomes hoarse. My brain tries to put the pieces together, not understanding at first why her reaction is so intense and dramatic. And then it clicks.

This is love.

She loves the man dying on the cold ground.

I’ve only ever heard of love, but what I’m seeing now isn’t the sweet kind I’ve always imagined. No, this looks painful.

Why do people seek something out so hard when it hurts like this?

I’ve never witnessed this kind of emotion before—the all-consuming, gut-wrenching kind of love I’m seeing now. I didn’t believe it was real until now.

Alexandre taunts her but before Winslow can respond, Jax appears behind my brother. I have plenty of time to react, to stop him, but my body has suddenly become stone. The internal war in my head wages. Alexandre’s face is full of glee as he looks at the scene in front of him. He finds joy in the death and the pain we’ve caused. I wonder if he even cares that someone is dying just feet away from him or that the woman he holds in his arms, her heart is breaking into pieces.

Since we opened our eyes for the first time, they’ve been molding us into these…things. Heartless, evil souls who feed on the destruction they leave in their wake. Alexandre used to resist it—he fought so hard to hold on to the good in him. I tried holding on to it for both of us, but as I watch my brother laugh at the pain on Winslow’s face, I know he’s gone.

There is no saving my brother.

Instead of rushing forward like I should, I find myself rooted in place as I watch Jax’s hands grip either side of Alex’s head.

Alexandre’s body goes rigid as indescribable pain courses through his bones and a hoarse scream escapes his lips. My chest tightens and if I had the ability, I’m sure tears would be falling as I watch the hellfire consume my brother’s body. I listen to his heartbeat. It races at first from the pain but as the hellfire burns away his life, it slows.

It’s silent before his body hits the cold concrete ground.

In a moment that should be the worst moment of my life, I find myself feeling like I can breathe for the first time in years. Calmness settles over me like a blanket, wrapping around me like a warm embrace. With Alexandre gone, the last piece tying me to Sterling breaks and with it, so does my loyalty and faithfulness.

We are both free. Alexandre is free in death and I can only hope he finds some kind of peace. And now, I’m free to kill them all. A plan starts formulating in my head as I look at my brother. The evil gleam of his eyes is no more and his face, that has seemed so angular and mean, softens. For the first time in almost a decade, it’s like I’m seeing my brother—myrealbrother—not the monster they’ve created.

Rest easy, Alexandre. May you no longer feel the pain or coldness of this world.

With a plan in mind, I steady myself and strengthen my resolve. I can’t execute my revenge yet. I’ll have to be patient and wait for the right moment to slip away, but I can see the light at the end of the very dark tunnel. Just knowing there is an end in sight makes me stronger.

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