“A few of the guys on the Infernum team aren’t cool with the idea of us hanging out,” he tells me and I stiffen. Dammit. Because, of course, Desmond didn’t forget about the silver marks after he left the classroom. I mean, he had no problem forgetting me, but not Deacon. Not when it gave him the opportunity to be an even bigger asshole.
I grind my teeth together and ask, “Was it all three of them?” If it was, then I have three wolves to get back at instead of just the one.
Deacon shakes his head, “I don’t think so.” He pauses. “Not in the beginning at least. I think only our Reaper has a problem with it, but those three are tight—“
“Yeah,” I sigh. “I know.”
We’re both quiet for a moment.
“He your ex or something?” Deacon asks.
I snort. “Definitely not. We’ve never dated and trust me when I say, we never will.”
One dark brow raises over the rim of his glasses. “You sure about that? The way Pierce was acting, it’s the way a jealous ex would be if he caught someone sniffing around his girl.”
My lip curls. “First, I’m not a dog. No one is sniffing anywhere. And second, yes, I’m sure about that. I’ve known him since we were kids. We belong to the same Pack. We’re all sort of in the same friend group and he’s housemates with my older brother. He takes the term ‘overprotective’ to the extreme.” They all do. They’re the bonus brothers I never asked for. Well, except for Desmond. I mean, I still didn’t ask for him. That part is true. But of all the guys, he is the one I most definitely do not see as a brother. Even more so after what happened between us earlier this week.
Asshole.
Deacon nods, and I hate that I still can’t see his eyes, so I decide to do something about it. Reaching up, I pluck the shades off his face, folding them down and setting them beside me.
“So, what did those three knuckleheads do, exactly? I’m assuming threats were involved, or did he go on a power trip and threaten to have you removed from the team?”
A flash of fear appears on his face, but it’s gone a second later. Shit. Desmond really got to him. I know he can be scary, but Deacon is a Fae for chrissakes. He shouldn’t just roll over and play dead when the big bad wolf comes knocking. I thought his kind were built of stronger stuff.
“No. Not that. I’m still on the team.” His Adam’s apple bobs as he visibly swallows. “He can’t get me kicked off, anyway.”
I inwardly groan. Why are the pretty ones so dumb? Desmond could absolutely get Deacon removed from the team. All it would take is one phone call to his parents, a sizable donation, and boom. Goodbye, Hellbound U. Hello, human community college.
I decide not to tell him that because he seems a little freaked out as it is. If you didn’t grow up in Sun Valley, then it’s safe to assume you don’t know how big of a deal Desmond’s family is. Deacon probably knows who the Pierces are, the same way everyone in the states knows who Bill Gates is. But, if you saw him walking down the street, you’d probably walk past him none the wiser, and it’s not like you’d know who his kids were or what they looked like. Desmond’s parents are a lot like that. They’re the most visible shifter family in the nation, using their status and wealth as a means to show the humans that the monsters can be just like them too.
“Yo, D!” someone shouts, pulling Deacon’s attention. “Is that her? The chick you got your ass kicked for?” He gives me a heated look, biting his fist. “Damn, man. I get it.”
“Reed, fuck off,” Deacon snarls right as I give the guy a one-fingered salute.
“Come on, man. No need to be like that. I was just complimenting your girl. I’d tap that for sure.” He makes a thrusting motion with his hips and Deacon groans, covering his face with his hand.
“I apologize on behalf of my idiot frat brother. You probably won’t believe me, but he’s actually a pretty cool guy when he’s not wasted like he is now.”
Yeah. Not so sure about that, but I leave it alone.
“He said you got your ass kicked. That was because of me?”
He sighs. “It’s nothing. Can we drop it?”
Uh, no. No, we cannot drop it. I told Desmond it was an accident. Obviously he didn’t let it go, but I’d expect him to throw his weight around. Maybe threaten Deacon or try to intimidate him somehow. Physically assaulting him is taking it to another level. Why is he so riled up about this? And now that I think about it, I look down at Deacon’s hands, noting the absence of the rings from his fingers.
I sigh. “I’m going to need a play-by-play. I can get that from you or from some of your brothers who, by the sounds of it, are in the know. Up to you.”
His jaw flexes, but instead of telling me what happened, he asks, “Did you lie and tell him I hurt you?”
“Excuse me?”
He turns narrowed eyes my way. “I’ve gone over what happened in my head a few times and Desmond said I hurt you. Left a mark. But,” he shakes his head, “I never hit you. I don’t hit women. I’m trying to figure out why you’d tell him otherwise.”
His nostrils flare and damn, he looks pissed. All over again, I get the feeling he isn’t someone safe. It’s like he hides this dangerous edge about him under layers of confidence and charisma.
“Well?” he snaps.
