She follows me, her arms holding me tight as her mouth rests against my ear. “It only happened once, Mav. I promise. I never go anywhere without Big Tom and Tonka.”
And I do feel reassurance that it only happened once. I’m still not happy knowing she got hurt by someone but it’s different than what I imagined. But King’s mood drops. It plummets dramatically and the lull I was feeling in her arms, the warmth of the cabin we’re all in drops.
“Not true. Is it, Steel?” King snaps. The cold fury engulfing him is impossible to misinterpret.
Tristan doesn’t let me go and if anything, she talks louder into my ear. “Don’t listen to King. I only got attacked once. We’re not including Raney’s, King, that’s not fair.”
“He didn’t have a choice,” I tell her, not that it excuses Steel being involved but it is the truth.
“And I bet he feels awful about it now,” she answers both me and King.
“I don’t fucking care,” King barks, his hand slamming down on the table making the plates crash and Tristan jump.
She turns her head and stares him down. She doesn’t move a muscle or say a word. The way these two can argue without saying a word out loud is pretty obvious, but that’s probably because I can do the same with Steel.
“I’m gonna head out,” Steel mumbles, as he swings out of his chair headed straight for the door.
It guts me to see him like this, and before I can lift Tristan off my lap to chase after him, King is out of his seat moving like a bolt of lightning. “You walk out that door, Steel, I will drag your ass back here. And then I really will be pissed off.”
“Why? Huh? It’s pretty clear…” Steel fires back, his hackles up in an instant.
King’s finger jabs in Steel’s face. “You got no right getting all defensive. She nearly got fucking hit by a bullet!”
Tyson stands up to take a step to mediate, his eyes locked on his brother. “Tell him.”
“It doesn’t fucking matter!” Steel snarls, slapping King’s hand away.
Tristan pulls my face back to hers, her eyes asking me to wait and not get involved. I get it, King and Steel have huge issues and you can feel the sparks flying when they’re next to each other, but I hate conflict and avoid it at all costs.
“They need to work this out.” She smiles encouragingly at me, but I also get it at the simmering tension around us. Together we twist around to watch, just in case. While her words and her scent are soothing, her body is tense under my hands, like she’s ready to spring into the thick of it too and helping her feel better gives me something to do which is what I need.
Tyson barks suddenly, drawing himself in not as a protagonist but not as a simp either. If anything, it’s eerily similar the way Tyson pushes Steel to how King did only a second ago. Tyson takes a breath before the words pour out of him. “Of course it fucking matters, Steel! Rex beat the living shit out of you because you refused to get involved.”
King takes a step out of Steel’s space and twists to watch Tyson talk, and you can see the cogs turning but he wants the facts and the only person who has that is Steel. “Spill.” King jabs a finger at Steel again.
Tyson takes a step forward, and you can hear the opening of his mouth as he goes to talk for Steel but King silences him with a wave that dismisses anyone thinking of speaking on Steel’s behalf. “Steel’s story, he needs to tell it. Or it will ruin whatever chance they have.”
“Of what? What am I gonna wreck, huh?” Steel throws his hand up at King, completely skipping over how Steel was once again dragged into Rex’s world.
But that drama is instantly put to one side as I feel her physically recoil in my arms as soon as his words spit out. And then I’m the one trying to soothe her with my touch and scent. I’m used to Steel saying one thing and meaning another, but she’s not. It takes no time at all for the fallout of Steel’s words to hit home for the others; a faded, washed-out version of her usual sugary sweet bubble-gum scent fills the space.
She drops her eyes, knowing it’s pointless to deny the sting of his words, but when she raises her blue eyes to mine, she raises her chin too. Like it’s second nature, she’s already buried the hurt from Steel’s insinuation away. And that guts me because clearly, she’s an expert at hiding away the pain of being let down.
Tristan’s lips press together when she looks back over at King and Steel. The two of them are locked in a battle of wits but I can still read the regret in Steel’s body language. And then it’s as if her scent slams into him, he finally turns to face her, and the regret I read before is amplified in his eyes. But Steel is such a stubborn asshole sometimes, and when he refuses to apologise for being a dick the more obvious thing is his inability to apologise. No one misses that.
King moves, and I lift Tristan off my lap, getting ready to break up these two trading blows but instead of fighting he starts slow clapping Steel. “And you, you stubborn prick, just proved my point, ’cause you feel her deep, don’t ya?” But then King moves wicked fast and picks Steel up by the throat and slams him against the wall. “You remember I also told you if you hurt her that I wouldn’t hold back, but here we are and your heart’s still fuckin’ ticking.”
Tristan gets off my lap, her hands trail over my lower back as she walks past. Instead of going to either of their defence, she starts clearing the table, and all of a sudden, she looks exhausted.
Tyson is over helping her before she’s even lifted the first plate. It looks like he’s made the conscious decision of leaving King and Steel to sort out their grievances which in turn also confirms his connection with her. I feel like an intruder when Tyson leans over and cups her face. It’s a very private moment, his concern is as clear as the two numb nuts sorting out their beef.
And I’m torn right down the middle; naturally I want to rush to Steel’s defence while the other part wants to slap him stupid for denying he’s compatible with her on so many levels.
I’ve spent the better part of my life backing him up. I’ve got scars on my body and bruises on my soul to prove it. Everything has been because I wanted to protect him from Rex’s malicious games and the bullshit at the club, but I can’t back him when it comes to Tristan. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say, I can but I won’t.
I hope he just doesn’t fuck it up before he admits to himself that everything he wants is currently in these four walls; An Omega to love him back to life, an Alpha who will protect our pack, a family asides Tyson to always push him to be better.
But I also want him to admit that I’m a part of what he wants too because I can love, protect, and encourage him as a person I love, or as a pack mate.
