Page 45 of Omega's Triplets

And then, Mark had attacked him anyway.

It had broken something in Jamie. He’d wanted to forgive his brothers for the things they’d done lately. He’d wanted to patch up the holes between them. He’d meant to try. But he was the only one who hadn’t done wrong, and here he was being attacked.

Fuck them. Fuck them both.

He reached out and raked his nails across Mark’s cheek, opening several deep cuts. Spilling blood.

There was a howl—was it Mark or Harley?—and a moment later, the pressure on his neck was gone. Jamie jumped to his feet. Mark was struggling in Harley’s arms, trying to break free. Harley was holding on with everything he had.

“Get out of here, Jamie,” Harley said. “Go.”

“You’re taking his side again? Really?” Jamie wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.Blood. Was it his or was it his brother’s? He couldn’t be sure.

“Don’t start,” Harley said, and then let out anoofas Mark lurched against his hold again. “Stop it, Mark, Jesus. He’s had enough.”

“I’ve had enough?” Jamie heard his voice rise in pitch. “You think I can’t take him?”They think I’m pathetic. Just a weak little human. But I’m as big as they are. I’m as strong as they are. And I’m probably smarter than either one of them.

“I think, if this keeps up, you’re both going to beat the living hell out of each other,” said Harley. “And I don’t know how you can accuse me of taking his sideagainwhen I just got into it with him yesterday and you were the one talking me down.”

“We should take him together!”

“Right. Two against one. Let’s definitely do that.”

“Bring it on,” Mark growled.

“Shut up, Mark. Jesus, you started all this. Charging at him like that, I don’t know what you were thinking.”

“You do know what I was thinking. It was on your face too. I saw it.”

“You didn’t see anything.”

“You’re as sick of it as I am!” Mark bellowed. “He thinks he’s the only one with a conscience around here. He thinks he’s the only one with anysense. He thinks he didn’t imprint because he’s toocivilized, because only ananimalwould do that. He said it himself.”

Jamie waited for Harley to speak again, to defend him. To tell Mark that wasn’t what Jamie had said at all.

But Harley said nothing. He looked down, and his hold on Mark relaxed.

Mark shook him off and pushed roughly past Jamie and out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Jamie looked at Harley. “You know that’s not what I think.”

“I don’t know what anybody thinks anymore,” Harley said. “I know we have the thing we’ve always wanted, and we can’t enjoy it. That’s what I know. I know I had the most intense experience of my life with Maddy, and all it’s done is drive us further apart. And I knew that would happen, but I did it anyway.” He shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I am uncivilized.”

“I didn’t say that. Mark said that.”

“Okay, so maybe Mark’s right,” Harley said despairingly. “Does it matter?”

***

UNDER ORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES, Mark would have gone for a run to burn off the anxious and angry energy pent up in his body after his fight with his brothers. Today, though, reaching out for his inner wolf felt too indulgent, and he hated to think of the satisfaction he’d be giving Jamie if he did it. Jamie was probably talking to Harley right now about how sure he was that Mark had run off somewhere to shift. Mark could imagine the smug look on his brother’s face.That’s all he does, is run away and shift. Can’t keep a job. Can’t keep his hands off the girl. He’s a dog.

They used to like his aggressiveness. They used to like his ability to sense a shift of mood in the air. They used to honor him for it. Now, they acted like it was a liability, and all because of what had happened at the stupid auction.

Which everyone really ought to be over by now, Mark thought angrily. Okay, so he’d tried to force them into going along with his plan to kidnap someone. But whether they agreed or not, the fact was that it hadn’t worked. Theyhadn’tkidnapped anyone. Maddy had come to them willingly.

Maybe he’d go for a walk anyway. Maybe he’d just go out as a human. He could do that. He had the strength for that.

No problem.

---