My irritation returned. I waved a hand at him. “Sebastian, I don’t want to get into this. We’ve got plans to make.”
“I’m not here to argue about Abi,” he said, and the woman in question looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but right there.
“Then how can we help you?” I asked.
Sebastian pointed a thumb at the front door. “I’ll be the one. I’ll get Abi out of here and to the airport safely.”
Maddy’s jaw dropped, and I was certain I had the same surprised look on my face.
Abi glared at him—her jaw set in determination. “I don’t need you taking care of me. You’re the last person I’d pick to escort me anywhere.”
Sebastian ignored her. “If Abi isn’t comfortable here anymore, we should help her get someplace safe. I can do that. Better than her moping around here, pouting like she’s being held hostage.”
“I am not pouting!”
I had to admit that therewasa bit of that going on. I knew better than to point out something that would make the situation worse, though.
“Look,” Sebastian said, finally turning to face Abi. “I want you to be happy. I can’t live with you here making me feel bad about something I’ve already apologized for a million times.” His face had a pained expression I’d never seen in all the years I’d known him.
He took a breath, then spoke again. “I want you to find yourself again because this—” He gestured toward Abi. “Is not the person I first met. This is not the woman that I… it’s not the woman I fell for.”
Sebastian turned and walked out of the room. His cheeks were red as he called over his shoulder. “Let me know when we need to leave.”
The three of us stood in stunned silence as his footsteps receded down the hallway. Tears streamed down Abi’s face—whether they were from anger or sadness, I couldn’t tell. I’d had enough. It had gone on for far too long, and we had bigger things to deal with. I adored Abi, and she was Maddy’s best friend, but I needed to put my stamp on things.
I walked around the kitchen island, folding my arms across my chest as I stopped in front of her. “Listen,” I said. “I’m done, Abi. Do you understand? Things have happened to you. Awful, horrible things, but it’s time to end this. Stop yanking my guys around by their dicks. If you can’t, then you’ll never be welcomed back here again. Understood?”
Abi nodded, clamping her lower lip between her teeth. Her tears were streaming faster now. Without another word, she ran from the room. I heaved a deep and weary sigh and turned to look at Maddy.
“Too much?”
She hesitated for the barest of seconds before shaking her head. “No. It wasn’t. You’ve been telling her the same thing for weeks. She needs time away. I think that will help.”
“I freaking hope so. I can’t have two of my best friends being weird around each other like this. Not now. We need to be laser-focused on what’s coming.”
I pulled Maddy close and kissed her forehead. She pressed herself into me. “I really hope some time alone will help her. I want my friend back.”
“I know,” I said as I looked at my watch. “Shit. I need to go to my office. I’ve got a call with a few other alphas in a minute. Will you be okay?”
Maddy nodded and reluctantly stepped out of my embrace. “I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about those two.”
“It’ll all work out. I promise,” I said. After brushing another soft kiss over her forehead, I headed up to my office.
Tiago and I were running the call, with over a dozen other shifters scheduled to join in. It took almost ten minutes for everyone to get on the line.
“Okay, guys,” I started. “Thanks for being here. I don’t really have an agenda for this call. We’re here to discuss ideas about how best to deal with the royals at this point. So, if anyone wants to start…”
Tiago broke in. “Yeah, Nico. I think Howard from the Destin bear clan has something to say. He texted me an hour ago.”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I’d been dealing with so many people lately, I couldn’t even remember what this Howard guy looked like.
“Okay, Howard. What do you have?”
“Hello,” a deep voice answered. “Have we spoken about taking Viola down? I mean, isn’t that the best course of action? Smoke her out and put her down. It’s what you do with a rabid dog—why not this crazy bitch?”
“I think that’s a little aggressive,” Tiago said. He sounded a bit shocked at the suggestion. Old Howard must not have given his full idea when they spoke.
Tiago was quickly shouted down by several other alphas who were in agreement with Howard. The call devolved into chaos, with men talking over each other.
