“Same thing,” he huffs.
I think about asking if I could sit next to him, but that would be giving him the chance to tell me no, and I won’t take no for an answer. I sit down on the couch with him, leaving a full cushion and a half between us as I take another sip from my glass.
He pretends not to watch me, but I know he does, out of the corner of his eye.
“Things don’t have to be awkward or uneasy between us,” I say. “In fact, it would probably be better if we could learn to get along while I’m here.” I’d heard enough about über alphas to know that, if one is in a mood, the only person that can truly calm him down is his mate, and I am clearly no one’s mate.
And that means Mason is riled up basically all the time. Has to be good for his health, huh?
“Better for who?” he asks with a sharp frown, so sharp it could cut. “For you, or for me?”
“For all of us, including Asher.”
He scoffs. “And what the fuck do you know about my brother, hmm? You put him in danger by asking this of him, you know that, don’t you? Of course you do, you just don’t give a shit about anyone other than yourself.”
“Seems like you’re projecting your feelings onto me,” I say, biting my tongue to keep my cool. I’m trying to have a nice, civilized conversation with this alpha, but boy oh boy, is hemaking it difficult. “And just so you know, I’m not the one who stopped talking to the other person. Your brother is the one who cut me out of his life—right after my parents died and I had a prolonged stay at the hospital, in case you forgot.”
“Boo fucking hoo.”
Okay, after that, there is no possible way I can bite my tongue.
“Wow. You know, I knew you were kind of a jerk, but I had no idea you were this bad. I don’t care if you’re a super-special über alpha or what. There’s no excuse for you being such a fucking dick.” Normally I’m a fan of sly insults that sting under your skin, but when it comes to someone like this, a full-frontal assault tends to be better, as it’s more on their level.
Mason turns his head toward me and outwardly glares. His hands clench at his side and on his lap. It looks as though he’s barely containing himself. I should be scared, I supposed. I should be frightened at what he could unleash upon me. His anger, his strength, his dominance; I’d be helpless against all of them.
And yet, though I should be, I’m not scared. Maybe my sense of fight or flight got messed up in the accident, too. All I know is to fight. Running isn’t on my radar, even in the face of his growly, infuriated über.
“You should watch yourself, omega,” he growls out the words. “I could make one fucking call and get your ass out of here.”
“You do that, I don’t think your brother would ever forgive you.”
“Fuck Asher.”
“That’s not a nice thing to say about your brother.”
“Fuck you.”
I send a smile his way. “And that’s definitely something a fucking dick would say.” I make a big show of finishing my glassof water, but instead of getting up after it’s chugged, I cross my legs at my knees and recline back on the couch. “You don’t scare me, alpha.”
He grinds his teeth as he continues to openly glare at me. “I should. I could tear you apart without trying.”
I shrug. “A lot of things have tried tearing me apart, and yet I’m still here, somehow.” My fingers tap the rim of my glass. On the TV, some old show about building motorcycles is on—reruns, or maybe on one of those streaming services. “If you think you’re the thing that can finally take me down, go ahead. Take your best shot.”
A part of me died in that car crash. I’ve seen so much, lived through so much, that all of this is, to narrow it down to a single word, trivial. This is easy. This is nothing. I don’t expect someone like him to understand.
Mason has the privileged life I should’ve had. He’s never had to worry about anything. Hell, he can take a vacation from his life whenever he wants and stay in his family’s cabin in the mountains for as long as he wants without telling a single soul. He knows nothing of true suffering and misery.
No one does.
Finally, he relents, “You’re either brave, or really fucking stupid. I don’t know which just yet.”
“I’ll take either one, honestly.” I sigh, and then I meet his openly aggravated stare. “When’s the last time you ate, big guy?”
The frown he sends me after that is one that contains anger mixed with confusion. “I don’t know. Why?”
“Because I get bitchy when I’m hungry, so I’m just wondering if that’s what’s going on with you.” The look he sends me after that could kill, but I don’t let it stop me. I add, “I believe the word is hangry. Are you hangry? Maybe you need some chocolate. Chocolate always makes me feel better.”
“Fuck off.”
