Page 20 of Twisted Mates

Xander

“Get your hands off me, Clayton,” I say through clenched teeth. “You don’t want to do this.”

“Oh, I really do,” Clayton shoots back, his light green eyes flaring with anger. “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”

I laugh as I look down at him. At 6’6” I have an entire head over him, and if I wanted to, I’d already have him on the ground. But I heard my brother and Alexia come in, and I don’t want to do this in front of them.

“This isn’t a fight you can win, so just let me go,” I say, lifting my hand and grasping his wrist, plucking his fingers off me and shoving him backward.

“You motherfu—” he starts, but he’s interrupted.

“What the hell is going on?” Kai asks, setting down a box of what must be Alexia’s belongings from her office. Her office at her job that Clayton forced her to abandon.

Goddamnit, I’m getting mad all over again.

“Ask your father,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest as Clayton straightens his tie.

“Xander just needs to keep his nose out of family business,” my stepfather says, and my blood boils. I want to snap back at him, but I hold my tongue.

I don’t have to say anything though; Carrington does it for me as she steps down from the staircase. “I don’t know what’s going on in here, but I’d like to go on the record and remind everyone that Xander is family too.”

My heart warms and I offer Carrington a small smile as she crosses the room to Alexia and Kai. I haven’t even looked at Alexia since she walked through the door. Not because I don’t want to, but because of what Clayton and I were fighting over.

Clayton rolls his eyes. “I realize that. I should have said that he needs to keep his nose out ofKai and Alexia’sbusiness.”

“What are you talking about?” Kai asks.

“He doesn’t like the way I’m handling things, and I told him if he feels that way, he should just leave.” He gestures to the duffel bag at my side. “So for once, he’s listening to me. But before he left, he justhadto try and get in the last word.”

“What did you say to him?” Alexia asks, and this time, I can’t help but follow her voice and meet her gaze because I know she’s talking to me.

I feel guilty. She asked me—practically begged me—not to confront him about this. And then I went and did it anyway. But I can’t help it. This is bullshit. And I won’t stand by and just watch it happen. My mother would be appalled by his behavior.

“I’m sorry, Alexia, but I don’t think you’re being treated fairly. You should have never been forced to give up your job. My mother would have never been okay with that. She would have been so proud of you for landing that job, and to see you give it up in order to be queen would have gutted her. She never would have allowed it. She would have found a way for you to do both.” I gesture over my shoulder. “I don’t know what he’s up to, but I wasn’t just going to stand here and pretend it’s okay. I wantedmy opinion known. I didn’t want that on my conscience. Because it isn’t right.”

By the time I’m finished, my chest is heaving, and I’m so wound up. I don’t know why I always let him get to me, but it’s been like this since he walked into our lives. And seeing him treat Alexia like this... I don’t know, but something about it has me all kinds of fucked up.

I expect her to get angry, tell me that she asked me to leave it alone and that she’s disappointed. But she doesn’t. Instead, her brown eyes turn soft, and the gratitude in them is clear. She doesn’t have to say anything; I can practically hear her sayingthank you.

“Okay, if you’re finished,” Clayton says, interrupting the silent interaction I’m having with Alexia, “you can go ahead and head on back to the beach now. You got that off your chest, no reason for you to stay. Your brother and his mate have otherbusinessto attend to.”

The heat that washes over my face is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. Not even my bone-cracking first shift had me heated like this. It boils in me until I pound my fist into the high decorative table beside me. The wood groans under the impact. “Business? What business?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“Mind yourself in my house, boy. And they have the type of business that mates conduct to complete their bond.”

My attention shoots to Alexia. Just yesterday morning she told me she had trouble falling asleep in the same bed as my brother. She was so uncertain of what was next for her and Kai. That doubt still lingers in her eyes, yet my stepfather is urging her and Kai to fuck.

“This is sick,” I mutter under my breath.

“Jealousy isn’t a good look on you, Xander. Then again, your mother never denied you anything. You always were a spoiled child.”

I turn on Clayton, my hands balling into fists. I pull my arm back, aiming straight for his nose. But I pause when Kai jumps between us.

“Don’t do this,” he says.

I meet my brother’s green eyes and for a moment I see nothing but my mother in them. She’d hate to see that it’s come to this between me and Clayton. She was never against me going my own way. Tensions between me and her husband were always high. She chalked it up to my “free spirit” versus his need for control. He said it was because I’d never been disciplined. But it was simpler than that when I was younger. This was a man who came into our lives and wanted to pretend like my father never existed. My disdain for Clayton started on day one.

“Fine,” I say, bringing my arm down by my side. “But I’m not leaving. Not anymore.”

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