“Pretty sure he’s not here to study,” Evie mutters under her breath.
Slater looks at me, and I give him a look. “He keeps trying to get right to the studying...in Riley’s room.”
He curses low under his breath. “Reid’s going to murder him.”
I freeze and meet Evie’s eyes, and neither of us say anything. Slater looks down at me and smirks. “You think I didn’t know, Shorty?”
“You know about the two of them?” I whisper.
He nods. “I’ve known about it forever. He’s not exactly subtle.”
“I know!” Evie says in a hushed whisper. “That’s what I told him.”
Slater’s eyes narrow on Evie. “Does Zane know now?”
Evie’s eyes go wide. “No.”
“Good. We need to keep it that way until Reid is ready to tell her.”
I look up at him. “I don’t think he plans on telling her.”
He nods. “Yeah.”
“I think he’s planning to let her figure it out when she turns eighteen.”
He looks over at his friend. “Hope he doesn’t kill anybody in the meantime.”
I cringe. “You’re teasing, right?”
He meets my gaze. “She’s really popular, has lots of friends, and has no clue Reid is her mate.”
“But she’ll wait for her mate; she’s a good girl,” Evie defends.
“She is,” Slater says in response. “It’s not her that I don’t trust.” Before I can respond to that, he turns to me. “You ready to try to get that bracelet off?” Nerves suddenly assail me. Slater steps close, blocking out everything and everyone else until all I can see is him. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Ever.” His words are fierce, and I trust him. He reminds me of my brother, and I suddenly have the desire to see him.
“You remind me of my brother. I really want you to meet him.”
He gives me a pained look. “Your brother?” I laugh at his expression; I can’t help it. He continues to stare at me. “Your brother?” he repeats again. “If I remind you of your brother, I’ve been going about this all wrong.” He steps closer. “Because there is nothing brotherly between you and me, about what I feel for you.” The laughter dies out, and I stare up at him.
“All right. Well, I’m going to go find Zane before I self-combust over here,” Evie says, startling me and reminding me she’s still here. “Okay, bye.” She hightails it over to the table.
I turn back to Slater. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
Chapter 35
Tessa
I follow Slater out to the garage. Zane’s dad and Joe, the enforcer, are already there. Zane’s dad pockets his phone. “Tessa, come have a seat right here.” I walk over to the stool and sit. “Slater will be right here the entire time, okay?” I nod and remind myself I have nothing to fear. All we’re doing is taking off a stupid bracelet. The door to the house opens, and Slater’s dad joins us, followed by Zane. “I’m going to start by trying to break it open. Tessa,” he waits until my eyes are on his. “You tell me immediately if I start hurting you.” Slater makes a sound, but Alpha Blackwood ignores it. He faces Joe and Slater’s dad. “You both know what to do.” I watch as they both step on either side of Slater and each take an arm, and panic rushes through me.
“Wait, what are you going to do to him?”
“It’s just a precaution,” Alpha Blackwood says calmly.
“Precaution for what?” I ask.
“To make sure Slater doesn’t hurt anybody during this process.”
I turn to look at the man in question. His eyes are locked on mine, and they’re glowing. “Your eyes,” I breathe.
