The door suddenly swings open, and Jex steps out. I can hear the commotion now—a low, nervous rumble. Something is definitely amiss.
“What is it?” I ask, not able to help the nervous thrum in my chest. I move to step inside, but Jex holds up a hand.
“Wouldn’t do that if I were you. It’s nothing to do with you anyway. It’s a private town meeting. You understand, right?” he says softly, and my heart sinks. I know what he means. They like me just fine when they’re able to use my hole, but I’ve never been a part of this pack, this family. Not really. They only ever put up with me because of Attie, and I was a convenient omega.
“Can you at least tell us what the issue is?” Glenn asks.
“Just ongoing problems with one of our pack members. Kind of expected, though, considering who it is.”
“Who?” Glenn asks
Jex arches an eyebrow at me and then blows out a breath. “Red. Zed isn’t happy about it.”
Glenn stiffens, his hand clenching mine almost painfully.
“Seems Red’s been fooling around with one of your kind, too,” Jex says, and I cock my head.
My stomach drops. “A fae?”
He nods his head. “Seems so. A very nefarious one. It’s made Zed go nuclear. He’s also pissed at Forest, since your brother’s been bending over for Red and knew about the fae but didn’t say anything to the pack.”
“And how did you find out about this?” Glenn asks, making me jump slightly at the tone of his voice.
“About what? Your brother bending over for Red or Red getting involved with a fae?”
“Both.”
“Red just told us. He’s here. Finally came to us, saying he needs some help. Seems he made a deal with the devil, and now we have to sort his shit out. Red may have left the pack to live in your territory, but he’s still one of us. We never abandon our kind.”
My mind flits to recent memories of Red, to the person who slid up next to him when I was trying to get to Pit Stop. Wasthat the fae they’re talking about? Was that the recognition I felt, someone of my kind?
Jex slaps Glenn on the shoulder, pulling my mind away from those thoughts, and nods toward Red’s place. “Anyway, gotta go look up something. Be right back. Just don’t go in there, Arbor. In fact, it might be a good idea if y’all head out. I don’t want your feelings hurt.”
Glenn watches him go. I can’t look away from the closed door to the town hall, my mind reeling, my chest constricting. I’m not wanted. Not here. I should leave.
And I know that, at the moment, the pack will be angry and feral, their shifter natures wanting to come out and destroy. Because Red got involved in something dangerous once again. He let the pack down. He’s never thought about the consequences of his actions. He’s always jumped in with both feet and floundered.
Just like he did when he left the pack.
He was tired of the rules and ditched the only family he knew.
And now look what happened. He’s attached himself to some fae and is in trouble.
A fae, one of my kind. Someone like me. Part of me.
And he’s come crawling back for help.
“You’re not like whoever this fae is,” Glenn says softly and pulls me into him. “You’re not.”
“I feel like it. I know they only put up with me because of Attie. No one really likes me around here.”
“I don’t get that impression.”
“They hide it well. They’ve gotten used to me, but this is going to really throw them over the edge. I should probably head home. I don’t want to be in the middle of all this when it goes sideways. I don’t want them to take it out on me.”
“We don’t have to go.”
“You don’t have to, but I do.”
