Page 142 of Covenant

“You, though?” Dalton eyes me and nods. “You he wanted to save. To protect. I’d go so far as to say that everything Matty has done has been with you in mind. Even when he couldn’t contact you, you were still there in his shadows.”

“Fuck.” I dig the heels of my hands into my eyes until sparks appear. How is it possible for my heart to be breaking again? I didn’t think there was anything left of ittobreak.

What do I do? My instincts are telling me to track him down now. To hug him and tell him it’s okay. To shake him and tell him I’m not worth it. That I’ve never been worth everything he’s apparently sacrificed.

That I love him. That I fucking love him, regardless of everything.

“There’s more you need to know.” My head snaps up, fear already unwinding at Dalton’s grave tone. “Matthias spends most of his time working. He’s going to kill himself if he keeps this up.”

I try and swallow back the tears as the ache in my chest builds.

“He’s been taking on more work from The Firm as well. And he’s not taking the easy assignments either. These ones are dangerous.”

My heart thrums loudly. “Showing up with blood covering him was the easy assignment?” I ask angrily.

“Sometimes, yeah. But the ones he’s taking are…worse than that.”

“Shit.”

“He needs you.” Dalton’s gaze sweeps over me again. “And from the way you look right now, you need him just as much.”

The stubborn part of me bites back. The part that hates what I’ve become without him in my life. “I didn’t think I could live without him before and I did. I survived.”

“You were a shell of a person,” Dalton interrupts.

I stare at him. “How do you know?”

“Because we had you watched. Our father did. He relished it, how miserable you two were.” He shakes his head bitterly. “He said it was for your protection, to honor the request Matthias made, but we all knew it was bullshit. He lorded your sadness over Matthias. And when you moved on with Jen? It was another weapon in his arsenal.”

Fuck.Each word is like another shred off my battered heart. How was there any of it left at this point?

“Don’t let him win, Wyatt,” Dalton says fiercely. “You love each other. That’s so fucking rare in our world. Take that and hold on to it. Before one of you is truly gone.”

I glare at him. “Is that a threat?”

“No, it’s the reality of what we do. And Matthias is now operating dangerously and none of us can reason with him to stop.”

My breath catches almost painfully. What the fuck is Matthias doing to himself?

He stands up and straightens his sleeves. “I like you, Wyatt. I hope you’ll come to another game night.”

“I’m no longer family.”

“You are.”

He drops something into my lap. It’s a heavy cardstock. My name is in beautiful calligraphy on the outside. I open it to see it’s another gala, tomorrow night. Just like the one where things really started between us.

“All this time, he’s fought for you,” Dalton says quietly. “Maybe he can’t do it anymore. Maybe he needs you to fight for him. So,fightfor him, goddamnit.”

And with that, Dalton takes his leave, leaving me to stare at the invitation. At the future it potentially holds.

There are two paths in front of me. I know I can walk either of them, that I’m strong enough to.

The end of one is easy to see. I get a new job. Find a new life. Move on. Maybe find happiness.

The other is shrouded in obscurity. I have no idea what it holds.

Except Matthias. He’s all that’s there. And I don’t know where walking toward him will lead me.

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