“Oh yeah?” The news gives him a little bounce in his step. “Then here’s a couple more.” This time he uses both hands to flip his brother off before finally turning and walking away.
I watch him go, and Hudson pretends to play some very sad music on an air violin in the background. “And the villain fades away into obscurity, never to be seen or heard from again…”
“He’s not the villain of this story.” I frown. “You are. And Jaxon’s not going anywhere.”
“Yeah.” Hudson heaves an exaggerated sigh and steps away from the door. “That’s what you keep telling me.”
“Aren’t you tired?” I ask him as I let myself into my room. “Go take a nap or something.”
“Not tired at all. I napped all day just so we could spend the evening together.” He gives me a shit-eating grin. “I feel great.”
And just like that, all the puzzle pieces fit together and I figure out the horrible truth of what just happened to my boyfriend. “You’re draining Jaxon’s energy, aren’t you? How are you doing it?” I demand, but then it comes to me. “Oh my God. You’re using my mating bond to drain my mate? Are you serious?”
He holds both hands up. “It’s not like that.”
My stomach rolls. How could I not have guessed it before now? I can’t believe I missed it. I was actually starting to trust Hudson. I feel light-headed and queasy.
“I don’t have a choice. This whole me being alive but not actually alive yet means I have to take energy from somewhere, and for whatever reason the universe hooked me up to your mating bond. Probably so that I could take energy from both of you instead of just you, so I wouldn’t overwhelm your system.”
“Wait a minute.” His explanation is yet another shock to my system. “So you’re feeding off me, too?”
I’ll give him credit. He doesn’t lie. Instead, he looks me straight in the eye and says, “Yes.”
“This whole time?” I ask, incredulous. “You’ve been feeding off Jaxon and me since we got here?”
“Pretty much, yeah. But I’m taking way more from him than I am from you.”
“You say that like it’s a good thing…and not an absolutely terrifying one.” I shake my head to try to clear it. “Why would you do that? Why would you risk hurting him like that?”
“Because he has more to spare. And I’m not hurting him.” He sighs. “I’m just borrowing some of his life force so I can stay alive.”
“Which means what? That you’re pulling his life force out of him…like Darth Vader?” I demand. “Oh my God. You’re deliberately hurting him and it’s all my fault.”
“It’s no one’s fault,” he answers. “Jaxon has more power than you do, so I automatically get more power from him.”
“What about what just happened?” I demand, eyes narrowed. “When he stumbled? I know you did something to him. What did you do?”
He sighs. “I took an extra burst of energy. It wasn’t even a big one.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “It felt like a big one. I thought he was going to fall in the hallway.”
He doesn’t answer for the longest time, and when he does, he sounds totally cavalier. “Normally I’m careful not to take too much from either of you. Maybe this time I wasn’t so careful.”
“I knew it!” Anger rockets through me. “Why would you do that to him?”
“He’s fine,” Hudson tells me, voice and eyes completely flat.
“How do you know?”
“Because he has more power. He can take it.”
“Because you say so?” I demand, furious and scared at the same time. What if something happens to Jaxon and it’s because of this? Because of me? It’s a terrifying thought.
“Would you rather I fed off all of your energy?” Hudson asks, brows raised. “Or would you rather I didn’t feed at all and just died?”
I don’t answer him, but that just means he draws his own conclusions, his eyes going bleak for one brief second before his normal sardonic look returns. “I guess that’s exactly what you’d prefer. Too bad we’re tied together, then, huh? All your problems would be solved if you could just let me die.”
65
No Exit: A Biography
It’s the first time Hudson’s death has ever been put so starkly before, and I don’t know what to say to him—or even what to feel. I mean, Jaxon’s arguments for killing him were real and valid and important, and I understand why he did it. I also understand that it