Page 24 of Pucked Around and Found Out

It feels hollow. Empty. Wrong.

“Are we gonna braid hair and talk about boys too?” I snap back viciously.

His eyes narrow. “Stop being a dick.”

“Fuck you, Caspian.”

He pushes off the doorjamb and takes a single step into the room, then freezes when a growl rumbles from my chest.

He knows better. No one is allowed in Em's room. Ever.

“Nah, fuck you, Xaden.”

I'm on my feet instantly, tossing the bear onto her bed as I stalk across the room. I don't stop until we're chest to fucking chest, close enough that I can see the fury and concern warring in his expression.

“You want me to fucking teach you a lesson?” My tone is controlled, but the malice in it is unmistakable.

“Stop fucking pushing me away!” He steps back, creating just enough space to breathe. “I'm here, X. I'm all you got.”

The words slam into me like a freight train.

“You're all I've got, Xaden. We started this together—” He reaches up and grips the back of my neck, pulling me in until our foreheads touch. “We'll finish this together, and I'll be by your side after it's all done and you're the Don of Stormsend and Somerset.”

The truth of his words resonates deep in my bones. I know Cas has my back.

I challenge him constantly. Push him to break, to turn against me. But he never does.

He's always here. By my side. Watching my back every second of every fucking day.

I pull out of his hold and drop down onto the edge of Em's bed, hanging my head in shame.

I have no right to throw my weight around after the colossal fuck-up I made tonight. I'm not angry at Caspian—I'm fucking furious at myself for freezing, for not following through.

For being weak.

“I had her…” My voice comes out rough, broken. “She was right fucking there. I just had to⁠—”

“Stop.”

I look up sharply.

“I fucked up⁠—”

“No.” He cuts me off again and I grit my teeth to keep from lashing out. “You let her go, and it was the right thing to do.”

“How the fuck is that right?” I explode off the bed. “She'll be running her mouth to the fucking cops right now! Telling them everything!”

Cas scoffs—actually scoffs—and I glare at him with enough venom to kill.

“If you think that girl would turn on you, you're a fucking idiot.”

“Say that shit again. I dare you.”

“Toren isn't ratting on you.” His voice is certain, unwavering. “She'll turn on her own family before she fucks you over.”

“Did you miss the part where the bitch has been plotting with the Denver Kings to take me down for months?” I'm shouting now, all my control shredding. “Did you miss her scheming with fucking Kyle? Your ex-best friend was a fucking snitch, Caspian. He was ratting on us and Kellar both. If I was Masen, I would have slaughtered the cunt and made him suffer for thinking he could betray me. If any of my men tried that shit, I would spend weeks making them pay.”

The silence that follows is deafening.