Wolf knew that.
“How dare you?” I growled. “How fucking dare you, Ares!”
“I forgot I planned it, man!” He tackled my arms. “I completely forgot about it. I meant to call it off, I…” He blinked as if lost for words. His mouth parted. “Sloane and her brother were getting in our way. Bru had been bugging me about getting into the Court, and I thought a haze might scare him off. Scare him out of town maybe once he knew what it was. I never thought he’d fucking do it.”
He eyed me then. I was still wet from going in the lake after him. Bru had obviously tried it.
Wolf twitched. “Is he okay?”
“Fucking barely,” I ground out, shaking him. “He almost died and would have had I not gone in after him. He didn’t make it to the other side.”
I let go, mostly out of shock. I could have died tonight too.
That might have been best.
The war inside me still raged on, and I turned my back to my friend. He came upon me, nearly silent.
“D, I’m sorry. I…” he started. “I honestly thought I was doing the right thing. I never—”
Whirling around, I grabbed him again, and this time, he didn’t fight me. I got him by the shirt, backing him to the bookcase. I snarled. “If this is some sick revenge against me…”
He studied me, still not fighting. “What revenge?”
I had to admit my friend was good, but he played me for a fool if he didn’t think I’d caught on to the real shit this was about.
“This is about me, right?” I said. “You coming at me because of what I did? I’m assuming Thatcher and Wells told you about where I went a few days ago. What I did?”
I’d been ignoring their calls, their texts. They’d even come by over the last few days, but each time I’d had them sent away. They probably had told Wolf’s ass about everyth
ing because they were worried about me.
I was worried about me.
I was worried that I currently had my friend against a bookcase, at war with one of the closest people in my life. I was worried how my life was turning out, and as each second passed, I lost more and more of a grip on it.
Wolf eyed me. “Where you went?”
My hold tightened on him. “Don’t play fucking dumb.”
“I’m not.” He placed his hands on my arms, cautious as if he were coming at an animal. “D, I set that haze up weeks ago.”
Weeks ago…
“Like I said, I meant to call it off. I set it up before I realized…” He started to say something, but then chose not to. He studied the floor a moment before facing me. “Where did you go, Dorian?”
Nausea surfaced within me, my paranoia actually bringing me here.
He didn’t know.
Wolf had no idea, and now, I just outed myself. I let go of him, but he got me by the arm.
“What did you do?” He spoke my own words back to me. He wet his lips. “Bro?”
The better question was: what hadn’t I done? How had I gotten to this place?
I had no words for him, pushing him away, but he had me good.
He gazed around the room this time before bringing his attention back. “Whatever it is, we’ll make it right, okay? But I can’t help if I don’t know.”