And I’ll let them.
Jake
“Jake?”
I bolt upright in bed, pressing the phone to my ear as my body tenses. “Hey. They’re going again?”
Nia sniffles. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to wake you – but it’s bad. Will you come and get him?”
I’m already half-out of bed, swiping my hand over my eyes to rub the sleep away as I try to pull myself together. “I’m coming, Nee. Is Oscar there?”
Her muffled breathing is my only response. And then I catch the shouting in the background, the rise and fall of angry voices. “Yeah. He said to call you.”
Because he can’t get out from between them.
Shit. “I’m on my way. Five minutes, ‘kay?”
“’kay.” Another sob. “Thank you.”
“All good. I was awake anyway. Stay in your room, and I’ll let myself in.” Yanking my jeans up, I grab a sweatshirt from the folded pile and tug it over my head before I swipe my keys from the bowl in the living room.
If I didn’t already know what was happening, the bellowing from the house would tell me. I can hear it from my truck as I park up outside, leaving the keys in the ignition as I jog up the path and take the steps two at a time. Every window is ablaze with light.
Nia stands at the door, her face ashen. “Thanks for coming.”
Ducking past her, I ruffle her hair and force a smile. “We’ll get this sorted. Why don’t you go on to your room?”
She’s only two years younger than us, but she still looks like a kid to me with her hair braided back. Only the dark circles under her eyes give away the stress. “Why bother? They don’t hide anything from me.”
My head jerks at the sound of smashing, but I force myself to stay where I am, giving Nia my full attention. “Where’s your mom?”
“In bed.” She looks down. “She had a headache.”
My heart fucking breaks for her. She doesn’t resist when I tug her into a hug, burrowing her face against my chest. I can feel her shoulders shaking, and I sigh. “It’s going to be alright.”
Neither of us believe the hollow words.
“Theo can’t stay here anymore.” Nia’s words are muffled. “He’s trying to please everyone, and it’s killing him, Jake.”
Everyone except one person, and we both know it’s the one shouting the loudest. Stepping back, I tip up her chin. “Go on. It won’t help if they see you there.”
Not when the tension in the room hovers on a knife edge. I can almost feel it as I watch Nia head upstairs, her head bowed, before I head to the dining room.
Oscar turns his face to me, his deep frown lightening in relief. But he doesn’t move from where he’s positioned between the two furious-looking alphas.
“You arewastingyour life.” Charles hisses the words. His ruddy-on-a-good-day face is almost purple, broken veinsdecorating the space around his eyes as he pushes forward, ignoring Oscar’s hand on his chest. “I forbid you to delay any more.”
“It’s one year,” Theo snaps back. He runs both hands over his hair, tugging at the ends before he throws his hands up. “Give me a fucking break. I need to be here for Mom and Nia—,”
Charles’s color deepens again. “Are you suggesting that I can’t look after my family—,”
“You’re fucking failing this family!”
Theo doesn’t shout the words. He roars them, shoving past a grimacing Oscar and squaring up to his father. “Mom is upstairs, practically in a fucking coma from the medicationyoustarted her on, and Nia’s a damn ghost. They’re falling apart and you couldn’t give a shit.”
“They’re grieving.” Charles doesn’t back down. He looks down his nose at Theo, even though there’s barely an inch between them. But Theo is bigger – broader, and I see the moment that Charles realizes it. His lips press together, before he shakes his head. “This is something you can do. Give us something to be proud of. Go to college, Theo.”
“No.” Theo’s nostrils flare. “It’s done. I’m here for another year. I talked it over with the pack. We can make it work. It’s my inheritance paying for it – you don’t get to tell me how or when I use it.”
