“He was just a bit of a dick at first. He apologized and I’m trying not to punch him in his smug face for your sake.”
“He likes to goad people. He also wants you, and I should warn you, healwaysgets what he wants,” Luca said. “He’s a brat at heart.”
Then he was gone, too, leaving Nikolai standing in front of me.
“Aries, please?—”
“Please what?” I shot back. Even I winced at the sharp tone. I was a mess right now.
“You just let me bite you. I can feel what you’re feeling. Why are you pushing me away?”
“I don’t know,” I said, throwing up my hands. “You just barged in here, rutted me like you had any right to after twelve years, and now you expect me to have all the answers? That everything’s just gonna fall in place and be fine?”
“No, but fuck, I’ve looked for you for so long. I’ve lost my mind grieving over you. I killed your fucking mother for selling you, and now you’re pushing me away like I mean nothing.”
The bond lit up with his hurt and it only made me feel worse. Tears burned in my eyes.
“I loved you back then, but I had to shut that part of myself down to survive. I thought of you, but I couldn’t dwell on those feelings. And right now, I don’t know how to process the fact that you’re standing in front of me, that you claimed me as yours. I’m not saying I didn’t want it, Nikolai, but I’m saying it’s not going to be perfect. You don’t get to just walk in here and make demands of me. If you want to be a pack, and you want to be my alpha, then you need to earn it like everyone else.”
He let out a breath and closed his eyes for a second, fighting for control. Finally, he opened them back up, the hazel blazing with determination.
“Fine,” he said.
Then he turned and went into the last room, closing the door behind him.
“Come on,” Leon said gently. “Let’s go wash off our run.”
I followed him to the shower, so numb that he helped me wash. His hands were gentle as he massaged shampoo then conditioner into my scalp. Even washing my body he treated me like I was precious and fragile.
When he dried me off he dragged me to our bed, the one that smelled like the alpha who’d claimed me.
Leon barely flinched as he laid down, pulling me with him.
“Now would be a good time for a nest,” I muttered as I snuggled into his chest.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Aries
Leon and I escaped the packhouse early the next day. Last night we’d all hidden away and the guys barely stirred.
I wasn’t even sure what to say to them and sticking to my schedule felt like just enough control to not lose my damn mind.
This entire thing was an absolute mess.
I had a fresh bite mark, my relationship with Leon was still new, and there were two more men that were supposedly my mates as well.
When we walked back in they were all three waiting. I offered a tight smile as Leon and I hurried to our room.
After we put up our workout gear, I couldn’t avoid this any longer. I wasn’t the ‘hide away and ignore it’ type, so we joined them in the living room.
At first, no one spoke. Nik just started pacing and the tension rose with every lap until I wanted to scream.
“Can you just sit?” I finally burst out. I couldn’t handle Nik stalking back and forth any longer.
“Fine,” he growled, dropping down onto the couch next to the other two.
