Chapter 69 Chapter 69
Rey shrugged.
“Just tell me,” Brendan snarled. A small puff of his shadow magic spiralled off his shoulder.
Reynard watched the tiny smoky cloud and calmly fanned it away as it flew closer. “Relax,” he sighed. He ran his fingers through his light brown hair. “I felt your concern for Suki through the bond. I could feel how desperate you were to ask her if she was okay, and to have a moment alone with her where you could just be yourself, because, even though we’re both bonded to her, you’re only willing to let your walls down to her and only her. And you were desperate to drop your walls in that moment.”
Brendan’s eyes flickered wider. “How… How the hell were you able to feel all that?” he asked in a weak whisper.
A shrug. “Maybe with our connection to Suki being weaker at the moment, we’re able to notice our own connection that we apparently have.”
The two held a short pause, then Brendan broke it. “But we aren’t bonded…?”
Rey laughed, then cleared his throat, trying to keep quiet for Suki, who was sleeping upstairs. “Obviously not, we all know werewolves of the same gender can’t bond.” He shook his head, feeling as if he was going off track. “Besides, I’ve only chosen to accept you for Suki’s sake.”
Brendan rolled his shoulders back and swallowed a lump in his throat. “Look, about your parents…”
“Don’t,” Reynard hissed. “I can’t hear you speaking of them. Not now, probably not ever.” He paced away towards the fridge, putting ingredients away.
“This might be my only chance before I psych myself out of talking about it again,” he said speedily, grabbing his shoulder. “I need you to know it wasn’t my fault, I was just a kid–” Brendan inhaled sharply as Rey slammed him against the wall.
Reynard gripped his shirt tighter as he spoke through gritted teeth, “So was I.” His eyes darkened, his body begging to let his wolf out so he could release his true emotions. “I was just a kid watching my parents get murdered right in front of me, and I had no power to stop any of it. How am I meant to ever forgive you for that?”
“I didn’t know their intentions.”
“But you broke them into the pack with your power. Did you not realise how wrong that was? Didn’t you sense that something was off?”
Brendan shook his head slowly. “I had none of my other werewolf powers.”
“And you think that’s a good enough excuse? You don’t need werewolf powers to follow your gut instincts.”
He closed his eyes. “I know.”
“My parents died because of you. You got off easy, not getting caught for it. That alone would’ve been enough to banish you, Rogue.”
For a moment, a red smoky cloud in Brendan’s mind took over. He grabbed Reynard’s wrist and twisted it, swapping them both around and slamming him against the wall. “I couldn’t sense anything, only minor inklings for things that didn’t add up, but nothing enough to know something bad like that would happen. If I could go back, I wouldn’t have done what I did. I would’ve tried to stop it if I knew their plan.” He exhaled, “I just did what I was told…”
Reynard forced a rage-filled smile as he scoffed. “Look at you, consumed by your own power. You still have no control. Manipulated or not, it was your power that caused all this shit. You deserve everything you got.”
Brendan slammed his fist into the wall, right beside Reynard’s head.
The loud bang should’ve startled him, but he didn’t even flinch; he only looked at Brendan blankly, completely unamused. “See, you even behave like a monster.”
A loud growl escaped Brendan’s mouth. “Don’t call me that.”
“Or what?” Reynard shoved Brendan off of him. “Are you going to release your power on me? Go ahead, lose control. Finish off what you started all those years ago.”
“That wasn’t me,” he roared, throwing a punch at him.
Rey dodged easily and shoved him again. “You’re pathetic and too emotional. You act like the scariest, toughest guy around when really you’re a coward.”
Brendan scoffed and squared up to Reynard. “And you act all high and mighty, going off about how you can feel my thoughts and feelings through the bonds we have with Suki, but you forget I can feel the same with you.”
Taken aback, he clenched his jaw. “So?”
“So I know you don’t see me as the monster you say I am. Isn’t that right?”
Rey looked away. “That’s exactly how I see you.”
“Maybe, but that’s not all, is it? Seems like you’re using your hate to hide something else,” Brendan taunted. “Am I wrong?”
He ignored the question.
“Answer me,” Brendan raised his voice.
“No,” he snapped through gritted teeth. Taking in a deep breath to settle his annoyance, he continued as he exhaled. “So what if I don’t fully hate you? If I did, do you think I would let you anywhere near Suki? Even with the bond, I would’ve kept her away from you.”
Their eyes were latched onto each other. Polar opposites. Light and dark. Innocence and corruption.
After a short pause, Brendan’s tone softened, “Then… how exactly do you see me?”
“Someone my mate clearly cares about, and who cares about her.”
“That’s all?”
“What else would there be?” Reynard hissed. “You may not have killed my parents, but you were a piece of the puzzle that led to it.”
Brendan shook his head slowly and stepped forward, closing the short gap that already was between them. “No,” he said. “There’s more. You’re not telling me everything.”
Reynard’s brows furrowed. “What the hell makes you think that?”
“Because I can feel you hiding something, it’s like you’re purposely hiding it through our connection. Like you’re holding up a wall.” Scanning his face, Brendan continued. “What are you hiding?”
“I have nothing to hide. I despise you. I can’t see you as anything other than the pawn that ruined my life.”
Brendan chuckled.
It irritated Rey even more. “What the hell is so funny?”
“You’re in denial.”
“About what?”
“Me,” he said nonchalantly. “You do like me.” He smirked. “Maybe even more than you think.”
Reynard chortled. “You’re crazy.”
When Reynard tried to step away, Brendan pulled him back and clasped his hands around his throat. Brendan inched his face closer to Rey’s and whispered, “I can hear your heart racing. Does my being this close excite you? Are you fighting against your urges?”
“That’s just adrenaline,” he retorted. “The only urges I’m fighting against are the ones that yearn to get rid of you.”
Releasing his grip, Brendan stepped back and hummed as he pulled a knife out from the knife block on the counter. He offered the handle to him. “Go ahead. Do it. Put us both out of our misery.”
Rey snatched the knife and returned it to its rightful place. “You’re being stupid,” he huffed. Then, he paused, straightening his back as he replayed what Brendan said. “What do you mean by our misery? Sounds like it’s not me hiding something – it’s you. Wouldn’t be the first time.”
Brendan ground his teeth together. “I’m not hiding anything.”
“I don’t believe you.”
He stepped closer. “I’m not–”
“Spare me,” Reynard interrupted. He edged closer too. “You keep saying I’m in denial, that I’m hiding something from you. Well, I know you’re doing the same, too. So spare me your theatrics, I don’t want to hear it. I’ve had enough listening to you.”
“Is that so?” he asked, annoyed.
The volume of his voice rose, “Yes.”
“Oh, fuck you.”
“Fuck me? Fuck you.”
Brendan slammed Reynard against the wall once again, a darkened rage glowing in his eyes.
Reynard glared at him with equal rage, watching him carefully.
Then, Brendan grabbed the back of Reynard’s neck and slammed his lips against Rey’s.