Page 31 of Imbalance
"Yeah, I'm fine," I ground out, then offered a sardonic smile, "Everything is fucking fine. Isn't that what you want to hear, Adrien? Since you are so devildamned insistent that we continue on like nothing is the matter—"
"Nico, shut up," Colt groaned, looking exhausted. I wouldn't lie, his dismissal of my words hurt. It shouldn't, but out of everyone there, I felt like Colt understood me the best.Apparently not.
"I am not continuing on like nothing is wrong," Adrien's voice was even, "My parents and sister are in life threatening danger. I just know I can't help them if I storm in there and get myself killed. I also know that you acting like this is doing absolutely nothing to help. If anything, it's making it worse."
"He's right," Drayven spoke quietly, "You need to get your shit together."
"Fuck you," I spit out and stood up. Damien called out after me, but I walked towards the bartender and his two friends, all of them offering me dirty looks. Well, not just me—I was almost damned positive they hated Colt more, but they sure as shit didn't like me.
"What do you want?"
Before I could respond or get myself into further trouble, the door to the pub opened, and feminine laughter filled the space. I eyed the group of three women sitting down at a nearby table, instantly finding them lacking because they weren't Ama. Deciding a distraction would be better than another drink, I dismissed the men and walked towards the group of women, keeping my gaze on them.
I tried to force my magic out, and it worked to an extent, drawing all their attention as I leaned over the table and offered them a smile, but I could feel the resistance there. My magic was pissed that I was interacting with someone other than our mate.Wonderful. Now my own magic was rejecting me.
"Hello, beautiful ladies." I grinned as all of them turned, wide-eyed, and leaned forward. I honestly couldn't tell you anything specific about these women—they all blended together in a hybrid magic mess labeled “distraction”. One that was doomed from the start, for the record.
"Hi," the one closest to me nearly giggled, the other two trying to scooch closer. My magic finally broke under my will and seeped out, surrounding the group. Before I could say anything, though, a hard hand pulled my shoulder back, and I spun around to find a pissed looking Adrien in my space.
"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, fury written all over his face.
"Distracting myself," I shrugged. "What? If Ama can have multiple fucking partners, why can't I? Why can't we all do the same?"
I knew that was a low blow and unfair deep down, but I couldn’t help but question it right now.
"Because it's not like that, and you know it," Adrien growled. "This is not some open relationship, Nico. She's our mate, and we are hers. What you are about to do is cheating."
My jaw clicked because he was right, and I hated that. My magic snapped back, and any possible urge for distraction was instead replaced with rage. I could hear the women behind me talking, and I started to feel sick to my stomach and guilty for even entertaining the notion of talking to other women, let alone anything else.
I turned to look at them, and in my state of dazed grief, all I could see was Ama and her disappointment. Her hurt. To fight off the guilt, I did the only thing that I knew would feel good.
I punched Adrien.
Now, I have done a lot of stupid shit in my life, but punching a Wraith prince may have topped them all. The minute my fist collided with his jaw, I was being slammed against the floor by my throat, silencing any conversations occurring between anyone in the establishment.
"We are not doing this, Nico," Adrien's voice was level and low, almost threatening. My Incubus magic instantly roared up defensively, surrounding him as his hand lifted off me and he let out a low growl, seemingly offended I would pull that shit on him. To be fair, it was a low blow.
I used momentum to push myself up, and instead of walking away, I surged forward, knocking his feet out from under him and hitting him in the face. What occurred next had nothing to do with magic and everything to do with aggression and anger on my end.
Adrien and I had never fought like this, and I had to admit, he not only outweighed me but was probably stronger by far. Still, he was playing defense, and I managed to get some hits in before he started hitting back. It was worth it when he started hitting back because each blow stunned me enough to forget everything else and leave me feeling almost euphoric from the pain.
I hadn't even realized the fight had stopped as I lay on my back in the empty pub, bleeding from my nose and staring at the ceiling. The room was spinning, and I could hear conversation around me, but I was far too exhausted and dizzy to look at who was speaking. My emotions were all over the place, so I wasn't even surprised when tears started to leak from my eyes, blurring the vision of Adrien appearing over me and offering a concerned yet disappointed look.
"Are you done?"
Was I?
"Yeah," I mumbled, my mouth almost feeling numb from the hit I'd taken directly to it. As he helped me up, I realized just how much pain I was in and I avoided the others' gazes, leaning on the Wraith as he helped me upstairs. It wasn't until we reached the top of the stairwell and I smelled Ama's desire that I remembered why I'd gotten so pissed. Surging forward, down the hall and out of Adrien's grip, I leaned against the wall near her room.
"Amare!" I yelled out, sounding almost hysterical, "Come out here,my lovely mate!"
"She's sleeping you idiot—"
Colt's words were interrupted by the door opening and Ama appearing in the doorway. A groan left my throat at how gorgeous she looked. Her face was flushed but sleepy, her hair a bit messy and a sheet wrapped around her perfect frame, making me think about how easy it would be to just pull it off her. Fuck. I would love nothing more than to explore her soft skin—
"What the hell happened to you?" she demanded softly, stepping out into the hall further, seemingly more focused on me than the fact that she was practically naked. I knew the others noticed, which brought me to exactly why I was upset.
"What happened to me?" I chuckled before putting an arm up on the door frame above her head and offering a dark smile, "What happened to me isyou. You fucking happened, Ama. But you didn't just happen to me, no you happened to all of us...including the man of the hour, Finias, who is probably exhausted after you fucked him."
