Tasting Drakness

Chapter 17

Darius POV

Lycus was in a terrible mood when I came up to the room. Pushing the door open, Lycus was yelling at Kalen, which was rare; he tried to never raise his voice around Kalen. We all knew how fragile he was. We had all had to pull him back from the brink at some point, yet walking in, I had no doubt that Aleera was the reason.

“What’s going on?” I asked, opening the door and shrugging off my Jacket. I tossed it over the back of the chair by the fire. Turning around, they were both glaring at each other, yet neither answered.

“This has something to do with Aleera?”.

“Who else, she needs to go,” Lycus snaps at me, finally turning away from Kalen.

“What is this about? What did she do?” If she has disturbed the peace, she will be back in the cells.

“She did nothing; Lycus is the problem,” Kalen says before storming toward the door to leave.

“Where are you going?” I asked him.

“Out,”

him, and he stopped with his hand

You don’t get

is to do with your safety, I do. You leave this room before I know what is going on. I will have her placed back in the cells, now sit your ass down,” I growl at him. Kalen’s knuckles turn white on the door

our custom-made bed. Finding a bed that fits four men was impossible, so we made one. Lycus watches him and moves to the couch by the fireplace. Despite his anger, Kalen’s behavior was as expected, and I could feel a hum of satisfaction come through the bond

bed and sulk or stare off blankly when he is depressed, clinging to our pillows like they were a safety net. I watched, amused as he reassembled

the room. I turnt o him, and he nods, letting me know he dropped Aleera’s dinner off to her. He glances at Kalen, and I shrug, and he rolls his eyes before climbing on the bed and sitting next to him. Kalen rolled instantly, placing his head in Tobias’s lap. Tobias leans back against the headboard and brushes his fingers through Kalen’s hair and, I could

more ways than one, and we hated upsetting him. His mind was fragile. One minute he was fine and overly excited and bouncing around. The next, he refused to get out of bed, would harm himself, or try and kill himself. I lost track over the last six years of the number of times he wanted to end it, the number of times he actually did, and we had to

down that week.

around his neck until he

found him hanging from the second floor. He cut him down and performed CPR until Tobias got back. We all felt his bond sever,

then she called on us. Kalen had never been happier until we had to remind him she could leave again, not

him before tucking his

always made him worse, and I couldn’t believe I was stupid enough to

“Come here,” I tell

her?” I asked

you angry at Lycus because

yelled at her,” Kalen

wrong thing,”