Darkness Deceives - Katie May Page 0,47

have,” he cries. “I’m alone.”

“Just go!”

“Hadley, please…”

“Go!” I scream, my nails digging into the palms of my hands.

His voice sounds choked when he speaks next. As if I’d given him a gift, only to immediately take it back and step on it. “I’ll always love you, Hadley. I’ll prove it to you. I’ll prove myself to you.” He pauses, his breath hitching. “But I’ll respect your wishes. You won’t see or hear from me again.”

I don’t need to look behind me to know that he’s gone.

And so is a tiny sliver of my heart I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get back.

Caius.

I drop to my knees as pain rages through me like a tornado, destroying my insides.

I did the right thing…so why does it feel like my heart has been trampled on by a stampede?

How is it possible that I’m in love with a monster?

Those questions continue to reverberate through me as I sob.

Chapter 21

Preston

“You guys, we really need to talk about something.” The words tumble from my mouth as I run my fingers through my unruly hair. “There’s too much uncertainty around Hadley, the Darkness, and that Caius guy. I don’t think we’ve been sharing everything we know. And if we want to get to the bottom of this, you three are going to have to swallow down your damn pride and actually share something other than side eyes and snarky comments.”

I don’t know where my sass is coming from—I must be channeling my inner Hadley.

“I’m fucking done, you guys. I’m done worrying about her. I’m done questioning my feelings for her and yours too. I’m just fucking done.”

“Baby bro is right,” Karston grumbles from below the sheets of the bed in his dorm. Braxton was able to move him back here while Auston and I were investigating Heaven. “I know it’s not intentional most of the time. I’m guilty of it too. I think we’re just so used to doing things alone that we don’t consider what might be important to share anymore.”

Braxton nods. “We have to change our way of thinking if we’re going to get our girl back.”

“Our girl…” Auston whispers, more to himself than us.

“That’s right, big brother,” I respond. “Whether we like it or not, we’ve all fallen for the same girl, and with any luck, she’s fallen for us right back. Now is the time to decide…do we move forward as a unit, a quad, or do we figure this out on our own?”

“I said I was in before, and I meant it,” Brax comments. “Let’s do this.”

“I’m with you guys until the end,” Karston rasps.

“Auston?” We all swing our heads to the grumpy Angel who seems to be weighing his options, arms crossed over his chest, chewing on his lip.

“Ugh, fine,” Auston grumbles. “But I’m not sleeping with any of you!”

“That’s a fucking deal,” Brax chuckles, a smirk playing at his lips.

“Good.” Grabbing the chair lodged under Karston’s desk, I pull it over to Karston’s bed, stifling a grunt when I bash it into my shin. “Now, let’s get down to business.”

Auston lunges for my chair before I can sit down, taking it from me. “Too slow, baby bro.”

Karston laughs. “I forgot all about that! We used to say it all the time when we were kids!”

Brax joins in. “Poor Pres. Always one step behind the rest of us.”

“Yeah, but at least I was Mom’s favorite, you assholes,” I chuckle. “She’d sneak me extra treats when you lot were being mean.”

“Us mean?” Auston feigns innocence, pressing his hand to his chest, making us all laugh harder.

My heart swells. I’ve missed my brothers, even if they are a bunch of asses.

As our laughter dies down and the friendly banter enhances the mood in the room, I grab another chair and quickly sit before Brax snatches it. He plops down on the end of Karston’s bed, his huge black wings looming over his head, and folds his hands. “So, how do we want to do this? Should we pretend we’re at Boy Scouts and only speak when you have the talking stick?” he jokes.

“You can take a talking stick and shove it right up your ass,” Auston taunts, laughing.

Brax holds up his hands. “Don’t you mean Karston? He’s the one that put shit up his booty hole.”

Now we're all laughing. Auston literally has tears running down his face. “Shit this feels good, doesn’t it, guys?” I ask cautiously.

We all share a glance, nodding and smiling.

I take a deep breath and let it