"Because you're the cause of all this," I spat, "This is all your fault."
"No it's not," he sneered, "This is your fault. This burden rests on your shoulders not mine. I wasn't the one who went a little too far into the forest. I wasn't the one who came back to tempt me."
His upper lip curled back, "I wasn't the one who ran away from your beloved Austin when you didn't believe him."
"So you see, the blame falls not on me but on you, my dear," he said, meeting my gaze with his glittery black eyes, "My hands are clean."
"As are mine," I said, my hand tightening on his throat, "Yours look clean but the blood of hundreds stain your hands no matter how much you wash them."
There was a loud yelp from behind me and my head turned to look. Taking advantage of my distraction Caleb shoved me off of him and took off running.
I don't know who yelped or why; I took off after Caleb. He'd barely gone ten strides before I lunged and knocked him to the ground.
"What did you say to them?" I shouted, "What did you tell them?"
"I told them that you didn't care about them," he shouted as he punched me in the gut.
I gasped and struggled to regain control, but he pinned me beneath him, "I told them that you loved that filthy leech Austin and that you wanted to save him so you and your boyfriend could be together forever."
Anger surged through me, giving me a burst of energy. I locked my arms around his neck and rolled us over so I had him pinned on his back in the snow.
"I told them you betrayed them!" Caleb shouted, fury clear on his face, "I told them you lied to them!"
I adjusted my arms so I had my forearm pressed against his windpipe, one of my knees on his thigh and my other one digging into his stomach.
I said nothing to him. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't deny what he said since what he said was true and then I'd just be lying even more.
"I told them that you didn't care about them, that every thing you told them was a lie," he spat, "That you hide things from them because you don't trust them."
"Carmen!" Lena cried, panicked.
I stared at Caleb for a long moment before I felt a cool hand on my shoulder.
"Go take care of your pack," Alex said quietly, "I'll take care of him."
I wavered, torn between my soul mate and my Pack and which needed me most. I looked down at Caleb, who looked at me with pure glee on his face before I stood up, hauling Caleb to his feet with my arm still around his neck tightly.
I handed him off the Alex who restrained him like I had before I rushed to my Pack.
Chapter 25: Clean Hands
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