Both of the boys cower away, realising they just hammered a nail into their Alpha’s flesh.
15
CALEB
Iwanted to be the bigger person and do what any good Alpha would.
The moment I saw them from the kitchen window with that stupid hammer and a dream of a treehouse, I couldn’t look away. My head told me not to intervene because sometimes we have to learn the hard way, but the second Evan decided to give a demonstration and his hand placement was all wrong, my heart forced me into action.
Now I have a rusty nail lodged in the back of my palm, and I’m questioning my life choices.
“Alpha, I’m so sorry,” the boy says with a shaky voice. “It was an accident.”
I grit my teeth and hold the nail steady before tugging it from the wood to release my hand. Blood drips down my fingers as I set it free. I’ve experienced all sorts of injuries over the years, but fuck, nothing compares to something going through bone.
“Alpha, we?—”
“Go,” I heave. “Get out of my sight.”
It was an accident, and I know that, but the fury inside me doesn’t, and I don’t want to unleash it on them. Goddess, why do I even try?
Evan steps forward with wide eyes, choosing not to leave with the brothers. “Are you okay?”
“Ah, fucking top of the world,” I grumble.
I stare down at the nail, and my stomach churns. My fingers latch around the head of the nail, and I brace myself to rip it out. There’s enough adrenaline pumping around my body that it shouldn’t even make me flinch, but something tells me it’s not going to be pleasant.
“I need to take it out,” I blurt.
“You need the pack doctors to look at it.”
“I need it out now,” I snap unintentionally. “I’ll heal. It’s fine.”
“Okay, then I’ll do it,” he says simply when he notices I’m hesitating.
My gaze rises to his, and I stare at him with hooded lids. I’m breathing raggedly, and I shouldn’t be stalling. He takes my hand in his, and the instant calmness that rushes through my veins is numbing, and the noise in my head starts to quieten.
I’m seconds from protesting, but I can’t find it in me to when he looks at me with those blue eyes, and his touch is like a fucking drug. No matter how hard I try to fight against it, it’s impossible.
“I’m going to count down from three, okay?” Evan says boldly.
I bite down on my jaw and nod as he grips the top of the nail. “Just do it.”
“Three, two?—”
He rips it out before getting to one.
A low grunt escapes my throat as it tears back through bone and skin, blood pouring out of the wound like a waterfall.
“Fuck,” I hiss through my teeth. “You went on two.”
“Didn’t think you’d moan this much,” he mutters with a curled brow as he throws the bloody nail to the floor. “Considering how many tattoos and piercings you have.”
My heart spikes at the sassy tone in his voice. “Those are for my benefit,” I grumble.
We make it into the kitchen, and he doesn’t remove his hands from mine as he guides me. The second we reach the sink, he turns on the water and shoves my hand beneath the tap.
I don’t even flinch at the contact with the water because he’s still holding onto me as my blood drips down the drain. We stay like this for a while, and instead of feeling my skin bubbling with anger, it’s fizzing with a different emotion.
