Page 73 of High Stakes and Soulmates
He hits hard with a cry and tries to scramble to his feet while Louis stands over him and laughs.
“Ezio. It’s been a while,” he says.
My whole body tightens as I try to keep that sinking feeling of despair at bay.
“You didn’t really think I was dead, did you?” he asks. “Then again, you weren’t always the smartest. I never reallyunderstood what Arturo saw in you. Like… what exactly did he see in you that was worth giving up his life?”
“You—” Cyrus’s brother begins before Louis kicks him in the head hard enough to cave part of his face in. He drops to the ground, unmoving. I clench my jaw, aware that up against this man who is hundreds of years older than me, I’m nothing, but I will do whatever it takes to protect Cyrus.
“Fuck, he’s annoying,” he says as the man in question starts crawling away. Louis watches him for a moment before fixating on me. “You knew back then that Arturo was mine. And still, you wanted him for yourself.”
“What do you want?” I ask. “Is this a game to you? You’re sneaking around and just… destroying lives for the fun of it?”
“What can I say? I get bored. You know what’s less boring? Your dear Cyrus is over there being mauled by a werewolf. I thought about saving him, but then I thought about the look that will be on your face when you hold his broken and bloody body like you did for my sweet Arturo.”
I’m shaking with rage as I realize I need to figure out where Cyrus is. I shove him back, wanting to get away from him so I can find Cyrus, but just like hundreds of years ago, I’m no match for the man. My job was being an assassin. I knew how to sneak into the night and destroy a life, but a one-on-one fight was never my specialty.
He slams me against a tree, hand around my throat so crushingly tight I can’t get a word out no matter what I do.
“You’re going to tussle with me when the man of your dreams is getting mauled? Fuck, that’s cold,” he says as he throws me onto the ground. I need to get to Cyrus, but won’t I just be leading Louis to him? I scramble up, uncertain how to get away from him.
“I’m fucking sick of you, Ezio, you know that? Ever since I met you, I’ve been sick of you. I let you play your fucking game,”he snarls before rushing at me. I dart to the side, drawing back as quickly as I can. This seems to piss him off, and he’s so pissed about it, he doesn’t even see Cyrus’s brother crawling farther away.
“I thought it could be fun to watch Cyrus fall in love with you, and then kill you in front of him, but I like the idea of you crying over another dead lover. Arturo was mine, do you understand that? MINE. Not yours. MINE. I raised that kid. I cared for him. I adored him, and then you came along, and suddenly, he only had eyes for you. And I will not ever let you forget that. I will haunt you for the rest of your fucking life. I will find every person you ever fall in love with, and I will rip them apart until there is nothing left of them.”
“You claim to have adored him but you hurt him. You beat him. You fuckingkilledhim.”
“Because ofyou.”
“You can’t tell me you only started when I came along. I know you hurt him before I ever even showed my face. And I’m going to make you pay for what you did,” I growl, but I know I can’t. I know I’m not strong enough. All I can do is hold him off until Casimir comes.
Just as he lunges for me, there’s a flash of movement when Atticus cuts him off.
Louis pulls back as he gives Atticus a look, like he’s examining him. I know Atticus is significantly older than me. Maybe even as old as Louis or older.
Atticus pushes me back. “I’m sorry, you’re interrupting my evening and it’s quite irritating hearing you go on and on. Like if you’re going to torture the man then torture him. Why all the blabbing on and on? Go on, Ezio. Find Cyrus. I’ll deal with this asshole.”
I scramble back, unsure how old Atticus is or if he really can deal with him alone, but I can’t waste any more time getting to Cyrus. He’s defenseless against the werewolf.
Rage is eating me alive that I’m leaving behind the very man who has torn my life apart. I’m letting him get away, but it’s worth it to make sure Cyrus is safe.
I follow his scent to what looks like a park and hear noise coming from the bathroom. Panic consumes me as I hurry in and see a werewolf dragging Cyrus’s limp body out of a stall. I lunge forward, tearing the were off him and throwing it hard against the wall. I want to crush it, to kill it, but I have to make sure Cyrus is okay.
I grab Cyrus, pulling him off the ground and into my arms where he hangs limp as I realize that everything I’d felt before—all the panic, all the desperation—was nothing compared to what I’m feeling while I hold the man soaked in blood.
I’m going to kill that thing. I’m going to destroy that monster that thought it could hurt my precious Cyrus. Just because I can hear his heartbeat doesn’t mean he’s going to be okay. Dashing forward, I grab the werewolf by the neck, prepared to snap its neck and destroy it for daring to touch him.
“Stop,” Yorick says as he grabs me. “We don’t know if it was an accident. I’ll deal with the werewolf. You get him to a hospital.”
I rush from the bathroom as Casimir reaches me. “There’s a man out there; Atticus is dealing with him. It’s Louis. Kill him. Please, kill him. And then you need to find Cyrus’s brother who he tried to kill.”
Casimir simply gives me a nod before disappearing into the darkness.
“Cyrus, are you with me? Cyrus, please hang in there, please, I can’t lose you too. Please,” I beg. I hold him tightly, careful not to hurt him but needing to feel him. Needing to make sure thathe’s okay. There’s so much blood. It’s coating my hands and I don’t even know which injuries to press my hand against.
“What the hell happened?” a vampire woman asks when I near the club.
“There’s a werewolf out there. Get it under control,” I snarl.
