I was born to piss people off, and I’m damn good at it.
“You couldn’t predict the police station bullshit, and you guys can’t control your wolves.” I shrug. “Can’t blame yourselves for that. IfIonly had a brief window I could be around our mate, I’d keep her up all night, too.” Smirking, I hold his glare. “So cut yourself some slack. After all, you’re onlyhuman.”
We promised to take care of her, but we’re ruining her life. She’s miserable. One day she’s going to go for a run and not turn around-
A flash of warning flashes in his eyes before he pointedly acts as if he didn’t hear a word I said, but that’s nothing new. I planted that tiny little seed in his brain, though, gave him an out so that he can forgive himself later when he’s dwelling on it and processing, while jabbing his pride with a proverbial stick so he can latch onto anger to fuel him now.
It’s exhausting being the underappreciated hero.
“- figure out a fallback plan if anything were to happen to us,” Slade finishes, though I was distracted for the first part of his statement.
Sabrina finally peeks her head up, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Scrubbing a hand over his jaw, my brother leans on the counter opposite her. “Last night, say wedidget arrested. We have no plan in place for how to protect you that doesn’t hinge on one of us being by your side. And since we’re clearly being targeted-” he grimaces “- they’ll find out about Damian sooner or later, but that leaves Kaige and Hunter the logical backup plan to protect you if something happens to us.”
Her voice is ominously devoid of emotion. “So, insisting your sister should be able to make her own choices was all for show, then? Since you have no problem arranging my back up marriages without even discussing them with me first, I mean. Delightful to know that I’m as easy to rehome as a puppy.”
Shit, shit, shit!
Slade hasn’t put his foot in his mouth this bad since the night we first met her. Forsaking our clueless leader that’s currently steering the ship directly into the side of an iceberg, I meet Boden’s equally alarmed stare above our mate’s head, pleading with wide eyes for him to salvage the situation since I’m currently coming up blank.
The room explodes in a flurry of objections and fighting, but Bo cuts through the chaos, raising his voice to be heard. “She doesn’t need to be mated for someone to protect her. The rest of the families hateus,not her. Hell, Nate did last night, whether or not it was out of regard for her safety or he was just hoping to suck up in case she wanted to take another mate at some point.” I scowl at that bit, but wisely keep my mouth shut as he gestures to Hunter and Kaige. “They respect her status as Damian’s mate and treat her as such; it’susthey hate. Without us in the picture, people would go back to trying to kiss her ass and get in her good graces, or the Slaughters will try to arrange something. And let’s be real, she may look innocent and delicate, but she knocked three of you on your asses without breaking a sweat. She’s not going to take anyone’s shit; she’ll lure them into a false sense of security, drain ‘em, and bolt like a bat out of Hell. Go off grid before anyone knows what hit ‘em.”
Reid tentatively pipes up for the first time, staring at Sabrina like he’s trying to find the missing piece of a puzzle. “He’s right. If she decides we’re more trouble than we’re worth, grows tired of being mated to us at any point, she could easily kill us and walk away. Be free of this entire mess and disappear into the wind; especially now that she has the funds to do so.”
Us. I don’t think he even noticed the slip, but the way he’s looking at her like some sort of spy planted in our midst or a gold digger when she hasn’t asked us for a single thing overrules any hope I might have had. The desire to punch him in the face is damn near overwhelming, and I can’t fathom what the fuck is going on with him lately.
He does make a point though. We’re all scared of her, even if it’s in different ways. She threatens our control, gives us fragile hope, and is a weakness that can be used against us. Terrified at the thought of losing her, afraid to let her get close enough to break down the walls we’ve spent a lifetime building. She’s intoxicating and infuriating, and makes mefeelso goddamn much that I’m not sure if I want to kiss her, or break her before she breaks me. Maybe then it wouldn’t kill me when I inevitably lost her, but like hell I can actually bring myself to push her away.
It might be love, or it might be obsession, but whatever you want to call it, it hurts. I don’t think I was built to withstand so many intense emotions at once, and I have the sudden impulse to shatter something to alleviate the building pressure inside of me.
Keeping my voice deceptively easygoing, I ask, “Bo’s right, so why not have Em’s mates pinch hit and look out for her if necessary?”
Slade purses his lips, but he doesn’t wait long to reply, so I know he’s already run through this scenario. “Their loyalty will always be first and foremost to Emmeline, as it should be. They won’t take the same risks the rest of us would for Sabrina, and with so much happening lately,” he trails off, shaking his head.
Bo’s always been a behemoth of a man, but I swear, his anger and worry causes him to gain another few inches. Dragging Sabrina off of her stool, he sets her on the island in front of him, settling his palms on top of her thighs possessively. “We should reconsider when we’re leaving.”
Silence falls in the wake of his declaration before Reid cautiously counters, “How would that solve anything? At least here we know the threats, the terrain. Out there, with her fathers? We’re as good as dead when these three stab us in the back.”
Kaige’s unsettling orange eyes narrow on my twin’s face and I match his action without consciously deciding to, defending my brother on autopilot while my brain is half-asleep. He juts a hand at Sabrina like the state she’s in sums up every point he could make, and unfortunately, it does.
“The girl’s on the brink of collapsein your home!” A few seconds pass as he struggles to regain his composure, releasing a long breath. “Yes. If it comes down to the lot of you being incapacitated, of course we’ll take care of her. Hell, it’s killing me not tonowwhen you’re doing such a terrible job.” His eyes meet Damian’s, an undercurrent of fury blossoming there that I take immediate interest in, my ears perking up. “As much as I respect and honor alliances, some things are worth blowing them to hell for.”
So much for that non-existent fruit basket.
Hunter’s in the same position as before, keeping his distance and glaring daggers at everyone in the room, even Sabrina. “I respect that she’s your mate, but I’m not going to continue to stand by and watch her suffer under your care, either. And fuck, she clearly needssomeoneto step up, because she’d happily run herself into the ground if left unsupervised. Heck, maybe if someone had intervened, her mother never would have had to run in the first place. Like these jackholes said, women shouldn’t only be protected if you have a shot of getting in their pants.”
Kaige grinds his teeth before taking a breath, drawing out his exhale. “Our numbers are too few, and women too precious, to allow them to be mistreated. There are plenty of men out there willing to take on the honor of treating them with the proper respect and cherishing them. Any willing to overlook neglect or abuse because they see women as their mates’ property to handle instead ofpeoplethat need help, aren’t fit to call themselves men.”
How can I want to tear his throat out and give him a high five at the same time? Fuck these guys, and fuck today. This place. Our lives; the list goes on and on, really.
Arguing ensues all around us, but I hone in on my mate. Namely, the fact that she’s ignoring it all, snoring softly even while sitting up. Bo meets my eye, softly chuckling at how little fucks she has to give about all of their bold declarations, and I find myself grinning back. Carefully, he pulls her onto his lap, handling Sabrina like a ticking time bomb, which is a pretty apt comparison these days. As we drop to hissed whispers and seething retorts, she manages to nap all of ten minutes before Slade’s phone ringing has her startling awake.
Scowling, Slade answers it with a barked demand of, “What?”
It’s impossible not to overhear Nathan’s voice when everyone in the room falls silent to blatantly eavesdrop. “You need a soundproof alibinow.” Before my eldest brother can even open his mouth, Nate rushes out, “Anywhere with cameras and a lot of witnesses. I don’t give a fuck where, justgo!” With that, the call ends as abruptly as it began, not giving us any insight into what’s going on, but enough of a threat dangled before us to entice us into a trap.
“Fuck!” Slade slams his fist on the counter. I jerk like I was slapped, sharing a worried look with Reid, caught more off guard by our eldest brother’s display than all of the week’s events put together.
