Talon takes offence. And that does surprise me. His presence and his blazing emotions fill up the car. “How can you fucking say that? Lolli was our everything!”
“Bullshit. She was a fill in, Talon, and nothing more. I kept telling you I didn’t have a connection with her. You kept telling me to wait. Nothing fucking happened, and all she became was a warm hole to fuck until something better came along.”
It’s like everything –the noise, the air– gets sucked out of the car, before Talon snarls, “I cannot believe you just said that. Honestly, man, that’s… yeah, I don’t think you should talk like that.”
“Why the fuck not? Unless you still want her.” Reid laughs. And it’s not nice. It stops as abruptly as it started. “You know she’s to blame for everything.” Reid’s voice moves, letting me know he’s looking away from me again.
I lock up every muscle in my body, aching to punch him in the back of his head. I would do it to him if I wasn’t chained to him like a dog.
“How is Raney to blame for everything? Actually, see this is why I was asking if you were okay. Your mood’s slipping and so is your control on your emotions. Pull it together,” Talon says.
“I can’t fucking stomach being around her.”
“What?” Talon barks.
“Just leave it be.”
Talon scoffs. “You’ve changed, Reid. Besides the obvious, but I’m starting to think that after this I don’t want anything to do with you. Or your family. Judging by your merry-go-round of emotions and demands, I can’t trust you or your motivations. And if I can’t trust you, our ongoing relationship seems a bit pointless.”
As much as Talon’s saying Reid changed, I want to pipe up and tell him he’s changing. I can’t feel anything from Reid, but Talon’s scent is getting as intense as the pressing of his alpha, and the natural responses he’s pulling from me.
Reid scoffs dismissively before he sobers up and talks with an iciness. “I think you would do well to remember exactly how you got your place, Talon. Playing with the big boys means you don’t get to mouth off when something happens that doesn’t suit you. It’s not how this arrangement goes.”
“Or I just don’t give a fuck anymore, Reid,” Talon goads. And it’s exactly what he’s doing, taunting Reid more and more. “You know the sad thing, it wasn’t you who screwed me over, it was your fucking parents. All you did, and all you keep doing, is sit on your fat ass and reap the rewards. Like you did when we were kids. King even said you would, how ironic is that.”
“King?” Reid laughs cruelly. “Ah, how the mighty just dropped like the sack of shit he is and it’s a fitting end to such a prick of a man.”
Talon takes another sharp turn, and I notice the noise of the highway drops away almost immediately, but Reid doesn’t, he’s still on his soap box.
“I thought he would have come for Sharlene years ago, you know. How could he sit back knowing what he did and doing nothing about it for all this time? He would constantly go on and on about what a man of honour he was, but he’s as piss weak as his daughter is.” Reid finishes with a sour laugh.
“Unlike your honour. Is that what you’re suggesting?” Talon keeps probing.
“Talon, it was something that always amazed me, that you continually worry about things you don’t need to concern yourself with. Someone does you wrong, you fix it. Sharlene knew Raney was trash, and she knew Colt would never get over his infatuation with her.”
“You were equally infatuated. We all were,” Talon fires back.
“And you are apparently hard of hearing. Sure, initially I thought she could be all that, but her designation and her upbringing were always going to be an issue. It’s not like the world doesn’t know alphas need omegas. Raney at that point was a beta so all she would have been is a piece of ass on the side.”
Talon tsks, and I can actually visualise the roll of his eyes and the pinch of his eyebrows at Reid’s attempt at coming up with any kind of reason.
“I call bullshit. A second ago you were going on about King being piss weak, but let’s cut the shit, Reid, you’re the only person in this car that is piss weak.”
Reid’s lies dry up in an instant as he chokes on his bitter anger.
“Excuse me?” he spits.
Talon though pushes on in much the same way he’s driving, fast and furious. “You were never going to be the head of our pack.”
“Bullshit. The idea of us packing definitely didn’t come from your mouth. You were so obsessed with her, all you could think about was what was in front of your eyes. I was the only one who found and filled the forms out.”
“Then what you said makes no sense. You didn’t want her?”
“She would have been of some use. I wanted a pack, needed one if I was going to follow successfully in my father’s footsteps. The rest would fall into place.”
Talon ignores him though. “Hayes’s alpha emerging first was a pretty good indicator he would have been our alpha. Over you.”
“Yeah. No fucking way was I ever going to accept that. A pack alpha does not take cock. Imagine walking into any situation and having to pretend you respected your alpha when he presented for another alpha.”
