“Like?” Sim asks.
“Kairo didn’t raise his voice or anything, but he was pretty dirty with Bradley and told him on more than one occasion he wasn’t happy with the way my team spoke to me or made decisions without speaking with me. It’s the first time anyone has made mention of it, most other Alphas I’ve been out with agree my team are in control. Some even spend most of our date talking with Bradley or Ayden, but not Kairo.”
“Good,” Tristan growls. “It’s about time someone stood up to them.”
“Well, Ayden got pissed off. He kept saying Kairo was putting me at risk.”
Raney scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Yeah, but was he?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Example, please?” she insists.
“We drove down the Bay in a customised YJ Wrangler with the roof down.”
“Oh, I love that. Plus, it was a beautiful night, he should have,” Simona adds dreamily.
“Yeah, except I’ve never travelled in a car without bullet proof glass and reinforced roll bars on.”
“Okay,” Raney muses. “Ayden would have lost his shit at that.”
“He did. But is it warranted?” I ask her. “As soon as Pack Lowly lost the auction my security team jumped into full protection mode. There were no alerts, no alarms, nothing untoward was happening to get them so fired up. The deal is they tell me if there is.”
“Not the first time they haven’t kept you up to date though, is it?” Tristan throws in.
I keep my eyes glued on the night sky, that represents my small slice of freedom. “I felt super safe with Kairo. And no one asked if I didn’t.”
“It hasn’t been about you for a long time though, Ho,” Raney says quietly.
“True,” I answer, softly. “And then Ayden kept interrupting at any chance he got, and instead of getting all defensive, Kairo got more intense and focussed on me. Does that make sense?”
“It’s how it should be! That’s how an Alpha is meant to take care of you, Ho,” Tristan says. Even she’s being unusually quiet now. I look over to her and the tender smile on her face hits me square in the chest.
The way these girls continually confirm they love me gets me every time. Never have I doubted it either. I reach over and nab her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“That all sounds like a great date, Kairo I mean.”
“It was. The Bay was deserted…”
“Well, I hope that means you didn’t eat all the nuggies; they’re Koz’s favourite.” Raney laughs.
“We didn’t get to eat any of it.”
“What? Why?” She presses.
“You do remember I told you how crappy my night was?” I snap. Before I shut my eyes and hone back on the twinkling stars we’re looking at. There’s a little pause, where we all kind of chill out before I talk again. “Sorry.”
“No need, Ho,” Tristan comforts.
And then I need to pour it all out. “The media showed up. Ayden insinuated that Kairo called them, he made another point of admonishing me and telling me I was being stupid and looking even worse. He made a point of laughing at me wearing Kairo’s clothes.”
“Did Kairo call the media?” Raney asks.
“I want to say no. But maybe I really am stupid and missed all the signs.”
“Shut the hell up!” Raney snaps, rolling her eyes at me. “God, you’re being a touch dramatic, aren’t you? And let me guess, Ayden then said an emergency board meeting is being called and you have to leave immediately.”
“Yep.” I go to say more but my mobile rings, and Kairo’s name flashes on the screen. I’m not sure when we swapped numbers, actually I know we didn’t. I answer. “Hi…”
