Page 268 of Halfblood Deceived

Zeydan scoffed. “Oh, fuck off. In case you haven’t noticed, your soulmate here can handle herself just fine. In fact, she thinks so highly of her capabilities that she’s willing to risk her friends’ lives—”

Aylana was in his face in a second, jabbing at his chest with her forefinger. “It was Aella’s choice. Her choice! I am not going to take her choices away, just like every fucking male has done before in her life! And you better fucking remember that, too!”

Zeydan leaned closer to her, and their noses almost brushed. He knew he was risking getting punched, but didn’t give a shit. “Helping her to make better choices isn’t the same as taking them away!”

Sebastian growled like a great feline and approached them in a blink, but Aylana placed a hand on his chest to stop him from jumping on Zeydan.

“Mate, calm down,” Evan insisted.

“Shut the fuck up, Evan,” Zeydan growled, baring his fangs at his friend from over Aylana’s shoulder. “You were supposed to take care of her. I asked you to keep her safe, and you helped her risk her life. I should fucking throttle you.”

Evan swallowed hard. “If it makes you feel any better, go ahead.”

Yes, it fucking will! Zeydan almost hissed.

No, it fucking won’t, you idiot; said an annoyingly reasonable voice in his head.

Andreas scoffed. “So much fucking drama. She’s alive, isn’t she?”

Zeydan stopped breathing for a second.

He sidestepped Aylana and hit Andreas square on the jaw a blink later. He gripped Andreas by the collar and smashed him against the wall. “I’d like to see what drama you would have made if someone risked Elizabeth’s life, you bastard!”

Andreas snarled at him. “Don’t mention her name—”

Zeydan hit him again. “If you don’t start treating Aella’s life and safety with the respect it deserves right fucking now, I will—”

Andreas shoved him with all his strength. Zeydan didn’t move an inch.

“You’ll what, Your Grace?” Andreas demanded.

“I will break your fucking jaw,” he threatened.

Andreas flashed him a bloody, fanged smile. “Let’s see it then.”

Zeydan growled, drawing his fist back—

Two people grabbed both of his arms and pulled him away from Andreas.

“Enough,” Sebastian said near his ear.

Lex gripped his forearm with bruising strength. “You will regret it. You know you will.”

Zeydan growled. He could get rid of both of them. Rage strengthened him, and he hadn’t felt this enraged in a long time.

Kamilla all but materialized in front of him, half blocking his sight of Andreas. “Don’t do it,” she insisted. “Lex is right. You will regret it. I understand how you feel. Believe me, I do. But hurting those you love won’t solve anything. They are right. It was Aella’s choice, and it was reckless. But you would have done the same. We all would have done the same.”

Zeydan breathed hard, gritting his teeth so hard he cut himself with his fangs. He locked his muscles and grunted, pushing his fangs up and forcing his rage to simmer down just enough not to hurt his family.

“Let go,” he said.

Sebastian and Lex let him go.

He rolled his shoulders, tilting his head to look at Andreas. “Don’t you ever fucking dare say something like that again.”

Andreas licked his bloody lips. “As you command, Your Grace.”

Kamilla turned to stare him down. “That’s quite enough from you, too.”

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