Never like he’s pulling away for good.
I need to talk to Valek at some point. Need to ask him what the fuck really happened down there in the tunnels.
But first, I need to get home and have a stiff drink.
Just when I reach my car, I catch a glimpse of a shadow moving through the garage up ahead. Normally, I wouldn’t pay any attention to something like that, but my instincts prick up before I can even register why. There’s only one alpha that size who can move so silently through a space that echoes with every sound.
Wraith.
Wraith is here in the fucking parking garage after ghosting me all day while I've been cleaning up his mess, heading for his blacked-out SUV.
“I’ve been covering for you all day, brother,” I call out, my voice bouncing off the concrete walls as I stalk toward him. “You can't even answer a goddamn text?”
He turns to face me, and there's something different about him. A new tension in his massive frame, a dangerous wildness lurking behind his gaze that I haven't seen in years. Not since the early days when he first came to live with us. When he was still feral with rage and grief.
“What the fuck is going on with you?” I continue, closing the distance between us. “First you disappear without a word, then you show up with Valek looking like he went three rounds with a cement mixer?”
Wraith's eyes narrow, a low growl rumbling in his chest.Nothing,he signs with sharp hand movements.
“Bullshit. You think I don't know when you're lying? You're mybrother, Wraith.”
His jaw clenches beneath his mask, the muscles in his neck standing out like cords even against the fabric clinging to every inch of skin below his eyes.
Later.
"No," I say, planting myself directly between him and his SUV. "Not later. Now. Tell me what happened with Valek. And don't give me that 'he was sneaking around' shit. He's hiding something, and so are you."
Wraith's eyes flick past me to his vehicle, then back to my face. He seems distracted, on edge. Like he needs to be somewhere.
Move.
“What are you hiding?” I press, not budging from my position. “I’ve been feeding everyone bullshit all day, wondering when the fuck you're going to be honest with me. It ends now.”
Wraith's eyes narrow, his pupils dilating briefly before shrinking to pinpricks. I know my brother. And I know that icy flint in his eyes comes from his feral nature simmering just beneath the surface. I recognize him slipping into that state even before his posture loosens and settles into that stance that means he’s about to cave someone’s head in.
This time, it’ll be me.
Move,he signs again.Now.
“No.”
The first blow comes faster than I expect, even knowing Wraith as well as I do. His fist connects with my jaw, snapping my head to the side. Pain explodes hot and bright across my face. I stagger back, tasting blood.
But I've never been one to stay down.
I lunge forward, driving my shoulder into his chest. It's like hitting a brick wall, but I've got enough momentum to slam him back into a pillar hard enough to chip the cement.
A normal alpha would be stunned, winded at the very least. Wraith just growls, the sound echoing through the garage like a predator's warning. His massive hands grip my shoulders and he flings me away from him as if I weigh nothing.
My fall is broken by a parked bike. Hogzilla, Whiskey's prized Harley Davidson. Judging from the sickening crunch of fiberglass and metal, Wraith threw me hard enough to destroy it.
Fuck. We're never going to hear the end of this.
But Wraith is already advancing on me with the purposeful stride of an alpha out for blood. I don’t have time to worry about Whiskey’s bike.
I barely have time to haul myself back to my feet before he lunges. I grab Hogzilla’s bent rear tire and swing the bike at him, catching him in the ribs. He staggers, but only for one or two steps before he barrels at me and counters with a brutal swing. I duck just in time and his fist connects with the side mirror of a nearby car instead, shattering it in a spray of glass.
We're going to destroy the entire garage at this rate.
