Page 50 of Devotion

“No... Callum, no. That’s not... I never wanted this. If I’d have known you were out there, I would have stopped at nothing to find you.”

“Liar!” Callum shouted, spittle flying from his mouth as he dug the tip of the blade a little deeper into Sunday’s side. “You’re a fecking liar.”

Beside me, the others were coming undone. If I didn’t get a handle on this quickly, someone was going to get hurt. Most likely Sunday.

“What did I lie about?”

“She told me. You knew I was there. You knew and didn’t come for me. She turned me first and then went to find you, but you told her to keep me away from you.” His tone was nearly panicked as he continued. “You had her chain me up and keep me in that cave, feeding me scraps and making me survive on barely anything for a century so you could be her golden child.”

“No,” I said emphatically, holding his gaze as I moved closer to him so he could hopefully read the sincerity there. “I didn’t, Callum. I swear to you. I thought you dead until the second I laid my eyes on you. There is no universe where I would have allowed you to be locked away in some dank cell. I swear to you, brother, had I known you were alive, I wouldn’t have rested until I found you.”

“She told me you’d say that. That you’d lie through your teeth.”

I needed to change the course of this conversation. It was getting us nowhere and only serving to agitate him further. “Callum, why now? What purpose does taking Sunday serve if it’s me you want to harm?”

“Because she’s the entirety of your world, isn’t she? See,I thought it through. I had a lot of time in those cells to plan. Aisling was a chatty one. She kept me updated. I knew all about your Miss Fallon and sweet little Eden. And I realized that there’s nothing I could do toyouthat would hurt you as much as taking her from you. So I bided my time, waited until you did exactly as I thought you would and accepted your assignment as headmaster. Of course the dutiful Caleb Gallagher wouldn’t abandon his post. It was easy as pie to steal your clothes and rush home to your loving wife. The plan was to take out her mates one by one, and the unrest with the wolf pack made that so convenient.”

“What the fuck?” Kingston murmured.

“Oh yes, Mr. Farrell. The wolves were me. Aisling was quite powerful, and she taught me a great many things. One of which was how to control an animal of my choosing. How fortuitous of me to choose wolves.”

“Your attacks failed, clearly,” Alek spat.

“But you still sent her off with me like a lamb to the slaughter. It doesn’t matter if you all die. That won’t hurt my brother nearly as much as watching the life leave his mate’s eyes as she bleeds out in my arms.”

“Enough of this,” Thorne gritted out, his form a dark blur as he closed the distance separating us and knocked the knife from Callum’s hand. It was shock, or perhaps hubris, more than anything that allowed the move to work. My twin had been so focused on me, he hadn’t been paying attention to the others.

The second the weapon was no longer a threat to Sunday, Alek charged forward with a roar. Callum’s head was between the Viking’s meaty paws even as Kingston—now in his wolf form—clamped his jaws around my brother’s forearm. They were going to tear him apart.

Thorne held Sunday away from the danger, removing her bindings and gag. “Don’t look, dove.”

“Wait!” I called out, desperation making my voice crack. “Wait, please.”

“You can’t be fucking serious,” Alek snapped. “You heard what he said. What he intended to do.”

“Yes, but intention is not necessarily a crime. He didn’t actually go through with it. And no one got hurt. Please, Alek. He’s my twin. I already lost him once.”

Kingston was all feral growls and rage as he shook his head, teeth tearing deeper into Callum’s arm.

“He’s right,” Sunday said. “Caleb is right. Callum was brainwashed by Aisling. Held captive and tricked into loyalty to her. He deserves to answer for his crimes, but he doesn’t deserve death.”

Alek and the others were slower to come around. “But he hurt you, Sunny.”

“Nothing that won’t mend. I’m right here, safe and whole.”

“What would you have us do with him,a stor?” I hated how broken my voice was, but the way she understood me, the way she loved me, nearly brought me to my knees.

“Call Moira. She can bind him until we can get the vampire council to deal with him. If he’s a casualty of Aisling’s depravity, perhaps there’s something they can do to help him. Or”—she shrugged—“if he’s beyond help, then they’ll know the safest place for him.”

I didn’t have it in my heart to tell her the council wasn’t exactly known for their mercy, but given our other options, it did seem the most fair.

Kingston released Callum’s arm and Alek secured my brother as I strode up to him, looking the man square in his eyes. “It may be a foreign concept for you, Callum, but Ineed you to know this. Despite everything you’ve done in your misguided quest for vengeance, I forgive you. Perhaps one day you will be able to see the truth for what it is and understand just how twisted up Aisling had you. Then it won’t be me you need to forgive, but yourself.”

There was a flash, just a flicker in the back of my brother’s eyes, before he scowled. “I willneverforgive you.”

I offered him a sad smile. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my long life, brother, it’s to never say never.”

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