Page 100 of Knot So Fast
"This isn't the fucking point!" The words explode out of me, loud enough that somewhere down the hall, a door opens and quickly closes again. I force myself to lower my voice, but the intensity remains. "We need consistency for Auren. You can't be jumping in and out of this like a chess piece taking a fucking gamble on the board."
I step closer, close enough that I can smell the cologne he wears—different from mine, sharper, more aggressive.
Everything about him is like that:my reflection pushed to extremes, all sharp edges where I've learned control.
"You have to decide if you're in this pack or not," I continue, laying out the ultimatum I've been building to since he stepped off that elevator. "Because we're going to go back into the racing world as one unit, and I need to know if you're in or not."
The pack.
It's always come back to the pack for me—that sense of belonging, of brotherhood that transcends blood.
Kieran, Caspian, Dex, and now potentially Auren again.
We work because we balance each other, support each other, make each other better. It's what Lucius never understood, why he left to form his own group with racers who saw him as a tool rather than a brother.
He huffs and turns away from me, his shoulders tense with barely controlled emotion.
"I don't need to commit to shit. I have a pack, remember?"
The words are meant to hurt, and they do. But they also ignite a fury in me that I've been holding back for years.
"Oh, the pack of bastards who play dirty and are only using you because you're a fucking Wolfe?!"
It's a low blow, but it's also the truth.
I've watched from a distance as his so-called pack has manipulated him, used his name and his need to prove himself for their own gain. They let him take the falls, bear the consequences, while they reaped the benefits of being associated with our family name.
"Get off my back," Lucius snarls, but there's a defensiveness in his tone that tells me I've hit a nerve.
"I'm not getting off your back when you're playing with a gang of Alphas clearly using you and making you feel all valid and shit." The words come out in a rush, years of frustration finally finding voice. "They're not your brothers, Lucius. They're parasites feeding off your need for validation."
Dex's voice cuts through our confrontation, calm but pointed.
"Did you really not learn from the first time?"
The question hangs in the air, heavy with the weight of history we all remember but rarely discuss.
The first time Lucius trusted the wrong people. The first time his need for independence led to betrayal. The first time he came crawling back, broken and bitter, only to leave again when his pride healed enough to let him forget the lesson.
"I'm out," Lucius announces, his voice flat and final as he stalks toward the elevator.
But Caspian isn't letting this pass. His voice, usually so measured and careful, carries a warning that makes even me pay attention.
"Don't keep messing with Auren if you're going to get your hands stained by those unfaithful crooks."
Lucius whirls around, his eyes flashing with anger.
"Oh, so now I gotta listen to you too?"
The elevator dings, doors sliding open like an escape route.
But I'm not letting him leave without one last attempt to get through that thick skull of his.
I switch to Russian, the language of our childhood, of whispered secrets and shared dreams before everything went to shit.
"?? ?? ?????? ? ??? ????," I say, each word deliberate and heavy.We're not playing these games."?? ??????, ??? ?????????? ?? ?????."You know what's at stake here.
He steps into the elevator, but turns back to face us all.
