“What message are you tryin’ to send? That you’re gonna fuck ‘em at the same time?” Mason asks, and I have to repress a chuckle.
Tate rolls his eyes, and the male Omega holds the woman tighter, pulling them away from the car.
We all look at the mark, and I wonder how bad the retribution is going to be. We just dropped an atomic bomb on the Wraiths. We need to be smart about our next steps, or they could be our last.
We leave the van hissing against the tree. Tate lights a cigarette and only takes two inhales before he tosses it into the hood of the vehicle. It isn’t explosive, but it doesn’t take long for a fire to start. We don’t wait around long, walking back to our vehicle and getting to work with exactly what Tate said the plan was.
Cash and I put the ramp down and get both of our bikes out of the van as Tate directs the Omegas to get in. The plan is clear, this shit never happened, and we have no clue why Tate is MIA. Even if the Prez holds Tate responsible, he can’t know that Cash and I are involved, especially not with the plan I have in place.
Cash and I are standing there as Tate drives off, and I look over at the quiet, large Alpha male.
“You know we probably just started a war?”
He nods his head and pulls out his phone; he looks distraught that there are no messages there.
“If this goes south, we’re taking Lily and getting the fuck out of here,” he states, and I nod my head.
“I don’t think we’ll have any problems on that front,” I comment, not wanting to tell him what Lily had said to me. It’s not my place; plus, I have plans of my own. I already know the moment I tell Cash it’s time to go, he’ll agree with no hesitation.Tate is still up in the air with his intentions, with the club, and with Lily. “What about Tate?”
“He can make his own choices. If Lily wants him, he can come. But I’m not risking her for his sake.”
We’re on the same page on that front. While I like pushing Tate’s buttons, I don’t really care if he’s a part of this or not. I can tell Lily has feelings for him, but we could work past that. If he’s hell-bent on bringing the club to justice, that’s fine—I want that too, especially after what we saw tonight. But to Cash and me, Lily is more important. Her safety and happiness come first, being some hell-raising vigilante comes second.
“Let’s go home,” Cash suggests, putting his helmet on as we ride back to the compound. The ride home is long, and I know I’ll only get an hour or two of sleep before I need to pick up Lily, but it was worth it. I can leave this club with a clear conscience, even if it rips out a small piece of my soul. My job is to keep Lily safe and to make sure she never has to worry like the two Omegas we pulled out of the van tonight.
I don’t sleep.Instead, I pack. I pack up everything in this fucking room that means something to me.
I was so fucking naïve. Dumb enough to think Kurt had my best interest at heart instead of listening to my brother’s warning nights ago.
He told me early on that I was off limits to the club. I should have known I’d never be able to change his mind. No one ever gets to have everything in life, so why did my massive ego think I could possibly have it all? I feel hopeless, hurt, and broken.
This bedroom holds so many memories for me, safe ones. When my mom first brought us here, it was the first time I had my own bedroom and a door with a lock. My mother told Kurt that pink was my favorite color, and he had this place decoratedlike a pretty princess room before I ever moved in. Even though I didn’t feel the same affection towards Dread, he still built me my bench under the window and the bookshelves that now house all my soap supplies. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was whole, like I had a family.
This room once symbolized hope for me, but now, as I look around, all I see are lies. I always thought I knew the real Kurt and the darker parts of him were necessary for him to run the club… but now? Now, I can’t help but feel as if the Kurt I see at home is the facade, the lie, or maybe possibly the man he wants to be, but never truly will be.
His words towards Tate and me bounce around my head, and it hurts. Tate hardly fought back. I know that if he really wanted to, he could’ve taken Kurt down, so why didn’t he?
Kurt tossed me into my room and locked the door. Said that the security system was on and not to leave this fuckin’ room until they got back. They’ve had this trip planned for a few weeks now, and I couldn’t be more thankful that they’re gone. Part of me wonders if my mom has any clue about the way Kurt spoke to me.Does she know about his dark side? Does Leon?Is that why he was so adamant about me getting out of here?
My chest aches thinking about Leon, but I know if anyone would break the rules to still have contact with us, it would be him. Axel and Cash leaving the club would have far more consequences than me. You don’t just simply leave the Dead Palms.
What if I’m ruining their fucking lives by having us run away?
I shake the thoughts out of my head. They’ve both expressed their devotion to me over the club… that hasn’t changed… hopefully.
Axel has a plan, and so do I. I’ll hear him out, but come tomorrow, I’m leaving this place with Cash and Axel in tow. I’mready to bond with Cash, even though I didn’t reach my goal for my nest egg and it’s fast. I’d rather spend the rest of my life getting to know Cash as my bonded than to risk being stuck with anyone else.
I laugh at myself as I pack my clothes. I always had this mindset that finding my pack would be this seamlessly romantic thing, that I would know and I would be one-hundred percent sure.
But what I know is I trust Axel, Cash… and Tate.
Tate’s words from the spring flashback to me, and I wonder if my defiance is enough to prove to him that I’m willing to explore what we have between us. Even though it’s evident, this tension and connection we can’t seem to shake has to be the feeling that everyone talks about, right?
Fuck, my head is a mess and my phone screen is cracked to high hell from Tate throwing it against the wall.
I’m not sure what makes me want to call her, but I just need someone who can give me an outside point of view. I don’t second guess myself, I just run my fingers over the cracked glass and find her name, at least my phone still works and isn’t completely broken from Tate’s tantrum.
“Hello?” her sweet voice says over the phone.
