Page 194 of Drown My Sorrow

I scan them, standing on the beach, checking over each and every one of them.

He’s not here. It’s devastating.

It always is.

I turn away when I see a guy walking towards me with a huge smile. He’s got ginger hair and sky-blue eyes. I start to edge back because I don’t trust that smile.

He gets close, and the scent of alpha hits me, but it’s faint, almost hidden.

“Hi!”

I eye him warily. “Hi.”

“You’re Aspyn, aren’t you?”

If anything, his knowledge of my name just makes me more alarmed. “I am. Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Eben.”

When I don’t immediately recognise him, he frowns.

“Shale never told you about me?”

“Shale?”

“My older brother, Shale. He told me about you.”

I’m curious now. I step closer, looking up at him.

“Can we talk?”

He glances around, but I nod because if he’s Shale’s brother, he must be good.

We sit down on the sand.

“So, I’m just going to come out and say it.”

I tense.

“I just, I can’t understand what games you're playing with Shale. He’s completely devoted to you. He won’t even look at anyone else, and he’s wasting all this time. How can he have a family and kids if he’s chasing an omega who won’t give him the time of day?”

I flinch and wrap my arms tight around myself.

“You are the most selfish person I’ve ever met. It’s just cruel to keep them dangling on the end of your hook-”

Eben is yanked up and away. Shale pulls back and smashes his fist into Eben's face.

Over and over. Eben tries to fight back, but it’s clear the alpha doesn’t have the savage skills that my Shale has. Or he’s not trying.

“You want to open your fucking mouth, Eben? You want to talk about fucked up? What about what you did? I know all about Emrys.”

Eben flinches. “That’s different. I’m just trying to help you-”

“You aren’t. You’re imposing your bullshit beliefs from your experiences on my life. If you would have been doing it for me, you would have realised how much she means to me.”

Eben is silent, staring up at him from the sand. “I’m sorry.”

“Get off my island!” Shale says in a bitter voice.

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