Page 9 of Sweetheart: Part One

Never was he an ounce of anything in between.

But right now, for the first time I felt what might be Ebony’s brand of panic through the bond. Like everything else Ebony felt, it was coated in cold steel.

Not good.

He was a fully-fledged rogue alpha, with no desire for control over his aura. We all knew he wielded that viciousness whenever he felt out of control. Just like right now, with a pretty Sweetheart caught in the middle, getting a response from us all.

I tried to shut my desperate instincts out of the bond, and my brothers were doing the same, but we were too late.

Ebony knew.

And what we cared about, he broke—whether or not it broke him too.

The smallest smile cracked the porcelain mask he carried around whenever he was in our home. The one he kept for us.

He released her neck.

Instantly, she tried to slide along the table away from him. He dropped his hand to her waist instead, grip digging in as he refused to let her go.

“Tell them you quit, Sweetheart,” he murmured to her, just loud enough for us to hear.

He wanted her gone?

That shouldn’t anger me. She was a Sweetheart—the same as all the others. She shouldn’t matter. She’d get her payout, keep to her NDA, and vanish forever. So I didn’t know why it was a visceral imperative that I stop Ebony frightening her away.

It just was.

Her fingers fumbled where he held her, white knuckled as she tried to pry herself free—panic in her eyes as she gave up looking to us for help.

That was what did it.

Her desperation as she realised we wouldn’t save her.

That, and the absence of Ebony’s fist around her neck.

With rage hot in my veins, I made a dive for them. Both Rook and Drake were right there with me.

She threw herself toward us, and I clocked the exact moment Drake had her, dragging her from Ebony’s reach. He didn’t put up the fight I was expecting, squaring up with me and Rook. Predictably, as soon as we laid a hand on him, he threw the first punch. His aura split the air, tangible as nothing but raw energy, and he caught Rook on the cheek, sending him sprawling. I was more prepared, my aura exploding outwards instantly in response. Ebony braced as my blow caught him in the stomach. He was quick and skilled, and in the next instant his fist collided with my cheek. Through the pain, I felt both his thrill and mine, our connection wide open.

And there he was.

Boiling point met, Ebony’s cold presence flooded the bond, and for a moment, it was all consuming.

I grinned wildly, tasting the blood that was surely framing each of my teeth as I ducked another of his blows, and then charged him—with brutal force—into the wall behind.

VEX

Drake hauled me from the room. The last thing I saw was Ebony being rammed into the wall by Love. Ebony’s silver eyes met mine right before the door slammed shut. In them was danger and a promise of more.

“Fuck,” Drake muttered, rubbing his face. His gaze darted back to the closed door, and I heard a loud thump followed by a crash.

My heart was still in my throat.

What had just happened?

Their auras had been out—the energy alphas could release that made them stronger and faster than the rest of us. I was shaking, trying desperately to ground myself.

It hadn’t just been Ebony, I swear there had been a flash of delight on Love’s expression right before the door had closed. Their tangled scents were edged with a viciousness I wasn’t used to.

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