Page 362 of Blood and Ruin: The Complete Series

“It’s not your fault.”

I laugh, but I’m anything but amused. Of course it’s my fault. If I had seen the signs earlier, I could’ve stopped it from happening. If I hadn’t been so absorbed in my own problems, then maybe none of this would have gone so far.

It’s not your fault…Yeah, right. Of course he’d say that. After all, the idiot believes it’s his fault.

“But it’s yours, right? It’s yours for being born a shadow wolf.” Luka looks down at his hands growing silent.

I shake my head at him, or the world. I didn’t know. Maybe fucking both at this point.

Why couldn’t he just see what’s right in front of him?

“I’m a shadow wolf too, brother.” Luka’s eyes widen as if he just realizes that little fact.

“Am Ieviltoo?” I ask, my tone low.

Luka shakes his head. “Of course not.”

“Then why do you thinkyouare?”

He clenches his jaw, looking away. But I’m not letting him off that easily.

“WhyLuka?” I demand.

He whips around to me, wincing at the quick move but there’s finally color in his cheeks as he directs his anger at me. The sight alone makes the tightness in my chest ease slightly.

“I don’t know, okay!” He growls, shaking his head but giving me hope.

“Maybe because it’smyfault.” He punches his chest, each slam making me wince as his internal pain and rage finally surface.

“It’s allmyfault because I let him get to me. I let him get inside my head and even now I can hear his voice telling me how much better everything will be when hefixesme.”

“There’s nothing to fuckingfix,” I spit out.

I watch as Luka quickly loses that temper, his body sagging as he sits down, curling his knees up to himself.

I move toward him, taking a seat next to him. He looks at me with tears in his eyes before they dip, as if he can’t hold my gaze. Like he’s ashamed of something.

But he has no reason to feel shame. Not for what that monster did to him.

I open my mouth to tell him as much when his soft voice stops me.

“He made it sound like I was giving something extra by mistake and that if he just removed it, our lives would be so much better. That mother and father would finally love us.”

Luka sighs. “Like that would ever happen.”

I swallow hard at the emotion in his voice. “We don’t need their love. We just need each other.”

We just need each other…

The world shifts, tilting on its axis. I blink and I’m back in the park it started in, all grown up, but still feeling the pain my younger self felt as if it only happened moments ago.

I drop to my knees, catching myself as I dip my head forward.

What a fucking emotional rollercoaster that was.

I let the image of Cillian bleeding from his neck play over and over in my mind until I get myself together. Too bad the fucker lived.

It isn’t until later that we find out he survived the attack. Not even a scar left behind thanks to his shifter abilities.

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