Page 137 of Family: Posy 4

As it was, I only smirked as I pointed my bloody nose toward the dungeon door. Sid slumped against it, rubbing his head and moaning, but I was more interested in the huge dent in the steel.

That. Another few hits, and either the door will give in or the hinges will.

For the love of the Goddess, Quartz!Pumice growled.

Then Ash woke up in a panic, drawing our attention back to Sid.

Holy shit! What's wrong, buddy?

Sid mad! Sid so mad! Q call Sid the s word!

Calm down, okay? Just calm down. We'll sort this out. Breathe, buddy.

No! Q being bad! Q being a meanie!

Quartz, so help me,Jayden thundered,if you don't stop this, I will tell Lark every detail of how you hurt Sid!

Hurt him?I frowned in confusion.I didn't hurt—

You did! You called him a name that you knew would cut his heart, then used it to goad him into a rage! And don't think I missed why! You knew he could do more damage to that door than you could.

Dammit! Why did my boy have to be so smart all the time?

If you aren't ashamed of yourself yet,Jayden continued scolding me,maybe you will be when you see how disappointed your mate is in you!

Goddess, did this bitch know how to grab me by the balls! He may have promised to never cage me again, but my boy was clever enough to use my weaknesses to keep me on a chain.

Okay, okay!I growled.Just... don't tell Lark.

That depends entirely on what you do in the next sixty seconds!

You just want to kill Ikhlassi yourself tomorrow!I snapped, frustration strangling my anger.

For your information, I already volunteered us to stay with Posy during tea. Don't question my motives without knowing all the facts. Ha! Now that I think about it, telling Posy might be even more effective than telling Lark.

Dammit! If he did, I could kiss my ear rubs goodbye for the foreseeable future!

End this now, Q,Pumice added his two cents.The king gave an order. Who are you to challenge it?

He said not to kill Ikhlassi.The bastard doesn't need his legs to answer questions,I grumbled,or his liver...

Not helping, Jayden muttered.

Growling at the whole situation, I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. In the background, I could hear Sid and Ash arguing, although Ash wasn't doing too well in his sleep-muddled state. Tuning them out, I focused on clearing my mind and relaxing. I wasn't particularly good at either of those things, but I could try.

As I did, words I once said to Posy suddenly came back to haunt me:I am sorry to say that there is a type of male in whom exists a need to brutally control everything and everyone, to destroy anything sweet and kind and gentle. Control without empathy. Destruction without sympathy.

I'd promised her I'd never become such a wolf, yet was I not doing that very thing here tonight?

At the time I made that promise to Posy, I'd only been thinking of my treatment of her and Lark. However, I realized now that it applied to everyone. I wasn't much for self-reflection, but the truth was staring me in the face, and surely the Goddess herself would punish me if I was foolish enough to deny it.

Sid was not a tool to be used to achieve my own goals. He was my little brother. My baby cousin. The last of my blood family - and I'd hurt him in order to control him, to manipulate him into destroying something for me.

What a burden a conscience is,I grumbled to myself.

With an exasperated sigh, I shifted into our human body and went over to the bag of supplies Pumice had brought. Pulling out a pair of gray shorts, I yanked them on and slipped my feet into the black slides.

I called Sid's name, and his eyes instantly swung around to glare at me.

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