“I’m not the one who started that fight,” I shoot back. “Maybe you should consider letting the whole Gina thing go. She was a puck-hopping slut, Korb. It was years ago. Let it the fuck go, man.”
Korbin’s head snaps toward me, his eyes narrowing as his voice cuts through the air. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, I do,” I say, leaning back. “You’re still bleeding over someone who moved on before the ice even melted.”
“Don’t,” Milton cuts in, holding up a hand before it gets ugly. “Don’t start swinging again because your dicks are in a knot over the same family.”
That pulls a begrudging laugh out of all three of us. For a second, the tension eases.
I sink back into my seat, dragging a hand over my face. The smell of mint and green tea still clings to my skin, faint but enough to screw with my head.
Korbin shakes his head, watching me. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You actually like her.”
“I barely know her.”
“But youwantto.”
I don’t answer. I don’t need to.
Milton whistles low. “Yeah, you’re fucked.”
He’s not wrong.
Because now that I know she’s not claimed… staying away just got a hell of a lot harder.
11
Bayleigh
I pickup a mozzarella stick and take a bite, wishing for a moment it was Benton’s head. He’s been firmly seated in big-brother protective mode since Lincoln walked away from the table.
The entire time during dinner, all he did was bitch about how James sucked at keeping the fucking enemy from sniffing around his sister. I thought that he’d gotten it all out of his system by the time we pulled into the drive at home. But nope. He hadn’t.
I love my brother, but I wish he’d hurry up and move out. Find his pack and have his own life. That way he’d stop meddling in mine. With him in the picture, I doubt I’ll ever find anyone who wants to bond with me and make me their omega.
As soon as we’re inside the door of the house, he takes hold of my shoulder and turns me toward him. He’s bigger than me by a lot—broad shoulders filling the doorway, light-brown hair mussed, eyes flashing as his grip tightens.
What are you thinking, Bay? You are unbonded, and yet you sit with an alpha. Not just any alpha, but one that’s the brother of the enemy. A fucking Scorpion.
I didn’t know who he was. He was nice, Benton. And he didn’t care that I was deaf. He liked me for me.I tell him angrily as I press my lips firmly together, glaring at him.
Trust me, Bay, it’s an act. Lincoln, the other two, they are nothing but trouble. That whole Scorpion team is nothing but danger for an omega like you.
You mean a deaf, pitiful omega.
My eyes tear, and I take a moment, squeezing them shut to keep the tears from falling, before turning my glare on my brother.
Benton reaches out, pulling me into his embrace, kissing the top of my head as he squeezes me tightly. I can feel the pounding of his heart. He lets go of me and steps back, his fingers moving quickly.
That’s not what I meant. Sweet is what I was trying to say. Bayleigh, you are too sweet for your own good. You’re always looking for the good in people, even when there isn’t any there. I don’t want to see you hurt again.
I’m a big girl, Benton. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself and judging people. You, on the other hand, aren’t always so good at doing that. Are you?
He just looks at me, dropping his eyes to the floor for a second. It’s a low blow, but sometimes it’s what it takes to make someone understand.
Should we talk about Amy? How about Christina? I can name more if you want. Even some of your best friends from school. Each and every one of them ridiculed me, mocked me. And when I was younger and did speak, they imitated my voice while they laughed. These were all your friends, yet you didn’t do well at judging how good or bad they were.
He looks at me with sorrow in his eyes.
