GRAY

Charlie drops to her knees and begins to sob the moment we are back home, her cries loud and filled with pain as she curls up in fetal position on the floor.

I can't even begin to imagine the agony she's feeling at the moment, the pain no doubt crippling as she refuses to give her body what it needs. I'll make sure to ease her once I've taken care of Alex.

"Shay wasn't part of the fucking plan." Alex shouts, the topic shocking me.

I flinch, struggling to understand why the fuck he is mad about Shay. Last I checked, he was practically begging me to feed off of her, his desperation to keep me out of his dreams driving him to measures that are uncommon among bonded pairs.

He'll never admit how much he hates seeing me with others, our bond tightening in pain every time I step out. It doesn't understand that we aren't together and finds my need to feed on anybody but him as a betrayal.

I step away from Charlie as Alex advances toward me, wanting to keep her out of his thoughts. My body is much too weak after shifting us all here, my reserves practically empty, but I know I need to keep him distracted until Silas arrives.

"I fuck with her every year. I didn't know she was going to be there and it would have been obvious if I didn't." I retort, wincing at my explanation.

The sight of Charlie's tears will haunt me for a long while, the betrayal shining in her eyes as she watched us cutting me to the core.

I genuinely didn't think that Shay would be there. We have a ritual each year that we follow. She'll send me dirty pictures of herself every day for weeks, each one more scandalous than the last until I'm practically begging for a taste of her. She didn't do it this year, not that I would have responded if she did, but it made me let my guard down.

I would have told Charlie about her if I had any inkling that she would show. I never wanted to hurt my female. I have no desire to touch or be with Shay, but I knew that I had to once I spotted her. It would have been too suspicious if I didn't, but I desperately hoped that either Alex or Silas would have explained to Charlie that it was an act.

The pain in her eyes as she watched me at the bar tells me that they did not.

When all has calmed with Alex, I'll assure her that she's the only female for me. I'll let her know that I have no desire to touch any other and that I only allowed Shay to sit in my lap. She kissed my neck, but I hated every second of it and tore her mouth away the first opportunity I had.

"You fucking asshole." Alex continues, his body rushing forward and fist making painful contact with my cheek.

I stumble backward, swallowing a mouthful of blood and leveling my stare with him once more. As he advances again I wince, fearful of his hits. The action seems to halt him for a brief second, the wrath pouring out of him lessening before it retakes control and I'm being held by my throat against the wall.

His lips curl as he leans in toward me, disgust flashing over his face as he brings his lips to my ear.

"Hurt my female again and I'll kill you." He whispers.

I freeze, every muscle in my body going rigid as I take in his words. His female? Panic overtakes me as his grip loosens, and I knee him in the balls to keep his focus away from Charlie.

I knew that he had feelings for her, a childish crush stemming from her dislike for him, but didn't realize that he had begun to genuinely think of her as his.

A loud groan rips out of Alex's throat as my knee makes contact with him, his grip tightening once more before his head is coming down and smashing against my nose. I cry out as the bone cracks underneath his skull, an immediate headache forming as he follows that up with another hard punch to my temple.

"Fuck you." I spit, desperately trying to keep his attention on me.

In any other situation I'd be overjoyed with his desperation to soothe her, but the fact that he's blinded by his wrath and the way I have seen him touch women in his dreams fills me with dread.

He's going to hurt her. The oversized, inexperienced fucking brute is going to break my female and I'll be damned if I sit by idly and watch it happen.

My vision blurs as he lands another hit to my face, my body unable to heal from his wounds before he inflicts more. I know that our bond will keep him from killing me, but that doesn't mean that he won't beat the shit out of me in punishment for hurting Charlie.

All he sees me as right now is the person that hurt his female. Bonded or not, his wrath is choosing her over me.

In a fit of desperation, I muster up every last bit of essence I have inside of me and push it out, my hand simultaneously dropping down to grab Alex's cock through his jeans. Charlie's cries amplify as my lust hits her, but I don't have the capacity to worry about that as I try to rein in Alex's wrath in the only way I know how.

It's incredibly rare that he lets me touch him outside of his dreams, only succumbing to my lust in dire, involuntary situations. His cock is already hard as I wrap my hand around it, the knowledge that he was ready even before I tried to lure him concerning me.

Was he planning on taking Charlie after he had beaten me? Is he that fucking blinded by his wrath that he was willing to rape our female?

Fear for Charlie has me fighting past my pain and dropping to my knees, my hands shaky as I grab at and try to remove Alex's pants.

He shoves me away with a scoff, his rage stronger than my lust. I try again to distract him, my bloody body trembling as I practically crawl after him. He turns away from me without so much as a second glance, his attention turning to Charlie who lays crumpled on the floor in the corner.

I cry out as he approaches her, screaming at him every insult I can muster in the hopes that he will come back for me. He doesn't, and I struggle to get to my feet as he bends down and scoops her up off the floor.

She screeches in his hold, her limbs flailing as she claws at his face. I'm unable to hold back my tears as I watch him carry her to his bed, my voice going hoarse as I stumble back and smack against the wall.

My knees wobble underneath me as I struggle to get my footing.

Charlie screams as Alex lays her down, his voice oddly soothing as he tries to ask her what's wrong. If I weren't seconds away from passing out, I'd probably roll my eyes at his sad attempts at comfort.

She gives him no answer as he pries for information, her mind too busy being consumed with the painful comedown that accompanies my dad's abrupt withdrawal of essence.

Alex continues to try and determine her source of pain as I approach. He hovers over her in a way that has me nervous, his body caging her against the mattress as he stares down at her. My panic begins to build as I watch him reach out and stroke her face, fear that he's going to try and take her pushing me to keep moving.

He's either unaware or uncaring of my presence as I sloppily crawl on the bed and shove at his side. He grunts at the effort, but doesn't move as I reach out and push against his abdomen again.

"Get the fuck off her." I groan, blinking rapidly to try and keep my bearings.

Alex ignores me completely, his hand moving to her chin and pushing her head to the side. She lays on her back underneath him, but tries to roll over and curl into a ball as he manhandles her.

His body lowers so she's forced to remain on her back, the action making her cry out more. I'd be surprised if she was even aware of what's happening right now. I've never experienced a comedown myself, but from the descriptions people have given me, it's similar to the withdrawal that the weaker breeds are subjected to after doing heavy drugs.

"What's wrong with her?" Alex questions, his head snapping towards me.

I shake my head, refusing to give him an answer. His concern seems to be more with her health at this moment than on his desire to find pleasure with her, and I refuse to tell him that she's feeling this way because she hasn't cum.

She doesn't like him, and she wouldn't want any part of Alex's body on her.

Once more, I lean forward and shove at his waist, my head lowering down as I drop my hand and physically try to ram my body against his. I want him off Charlie.

Alex laughs at my attempt, his lip curling before he shoves me off the bed. I land in a painful heap on the floor, my skull bouncing off the hard ground and intensifying the headache that's already cemented itself inside of my head.

I can barely hear the sound of the bedroom door smacking against the wall over the ringing in my ears, but the sight of Silas's legs rushing past me towards the bed brings immediate relief.

Pushing myself back up on my feet, I lean heavily against the bed as I watch Silas rip Alex off of Charlie. Alex almost immediately spins and lands a hit to Silas's jaw, but the Fate hardly flinches as he pins Alex down.

I move as quickly as I can as I climb on the bed and over to them. Charlie rolls onto her side and curls up as I shuffle past her, her sweaty forehead and begging eyes making me pause for a moment before I bring my focus back to Alex.

He's the bigger issue right now. Once I'm done with him, I'll take care of her.

Alex continues to fight against Silas, his arms swinging wildly as he tries to get the Fate off of him. Silas is strong, but I know that he realistically can only pin Alex for a short period of time before being forced away.

"You're scaring Charlie." I murmur as I reach for and start to undo his pants.

His black eyes snap towards me before he halts his fighting and turns towards Charlie. She's rolled over facing us, but I know that she's not aware of anything going on around her as she cries out for relief.

The slight distraction allows me to force Alex's hips up and shove his pants and underwear down to his thighs. He convulses as he tries to fight his wrath, the Alex I know trying to break out of the shroud of anger that's taken away all sense and reason.

I can't help but be overwhelmed with guilt as I grab Alex's hand and place it on top of his cock. I know he doesn't like it when I touch him, and I want to at least give him the option of pleasuring himself before I do it for him.

"Are you sure this is the best option?" Silas grunts, his muscles straining as he continues to hold down Alex's shoulders.

"What the fuck else do you suggest?" I snap. "This is the only way I know to calm him down."

Silas winces as Alex convulses again and shoves at his arms. I settle myself on his knees so he can't kick up at us, grabbing Silas for support as the motion makes me dizzy. Silas turns to glare at me, but the look softens when he takes in my wrecked state.

"Alex did this to you?" He questions.

I nod, not wanting to voice it out loud. We've gotten into our fair share of fights, but he's never genuinely tried to hurt me before. The bond doesn't let him. It shouldn't let him.

A small part of me is hurt that it chose Charlie over me, but that's an emotion that I'll worry about later.

She lets out another loud cry as we accidentally rock the mattress in our attempts to keep Alex down. Her noise seems to spur on his fighting again, his energy renewed as he sees our help as an attempt to keep him from his female.

In the hopes to settle her, I reach out and place my hand on her thigh, the touch of an Incubus hopefully calming her slightly as we work to force down Alex's wrath. Her eyes snap open as I make contact, her attention laser-focused on me at the unspoken promise of relief.

I try to offer her an encouraging smile as Alex shouts and grabs my hair, his fist curling into the locks before he yanks my head to the side. I wince in pain and instinctively reach up with both hands to dislodge him. Charlie practically screams at the lack of physical contact, the noise only further spurring Alex on.

"Shit, Gray. Hurry up." Silas groans, placing a knee on the bed so he has more leverage to hold Alex down.

Ignoring the pain from having my hair pulled from my scalp, I reach out and grab Charlie's leg.

"Do you trust me?" I desperately ask.

She's not going to like this, but it's all I can think to do at this moment. Alex's wrath isn't extending to her, and if that means using her as a pawn to calm him down then, despite my unhappiness for it, that's what I'll do.

Charlie blinks up at me before nodding, her tears returning as she tucks her knees up to her chest and cries.

"Then come here." I murmur, urging her to crawl over to me. "Let me help you."

She moves surprisingly fast as she springs onto her hands and knees and approaches. Alex settles slightly as she nears, his grip on my hair loosening as I grab her by the waist and flop her on top of Alex.

A quiet gasp escapes her as she falls over him, her chest heaving as I throw her leg over his hips and move her up so she's a safe distance away from his exposed manhood.

"If you move, you're going to hurt her." I state, rising to my knees so I can peer down at Alex over her head.

He frowns but ceases his struggling, his attention moving to her as he releases my hair altogether and cradles her face. I rush forward to grab his hand and bring it down to his cock.

I try not to be offended that he is so unconcerned and confident in his ability to overpower both Silas and me that he allows us to pin him down with what his wrath has decided is his female, but a small part of me still is. I could hurt him if I wanted to.

"What'd you do to her?" Alex groans, his knee suddenly rising and burying into my balls.

My eyes roll back as the intense urge to vomit overtakes me, my throat moistening and breath hitching.

"Fuck." I groan, heaving. "I can't help her if you're hurting me."

Alex frowns but still once more, his eyes narrowing as he stares up at me.

Wincing, I reach forward and bring my hand between her legs. She drops down the moment I make contact with her core, her chest falling against Alex's as she sticks her ass in the air and rocks back against me.

I hate every second of our interaction as I find her clit and rub it in quick circles, trying to bring her to orgasm as quickly as I can. She'll be relieved once it's over. Exhausted and furious and probably incredibly hurt, but no longer in pain.

Burying my face in the back of her thigh, I discreetly wipe away the wetness on my cheeks as I continue to touch her.

"I'm so sorry." I murmur into her skin, overwhelmed by my feelings of betrayal towards her.

I've failed her more than once tonight, and already know that she's never going to forgive me for my mistakes. I should have told her about the possibility of Shay. I should have been more careful to keep away from her. I shouldn't have trusted Alex.

I'll never make the mistake of trusting him again. After tonight he's dead to me. All he had to do was stick by her side and defend his stance that she is his female. One simple fucking task. I asked him to do one simple thing for me and he failed.

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Read the completed book 1 (50 chaps) & ongoing book 2 on Patreon!

"The oversized, inexperienced fucking brute" is how I will be referring to all men from here on out and I can't be convinced otherwise.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

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