Page 52 of Tangled Souls

From the look on Wolfe’s face, he doesn’t believe her any more than we do. I’m not surprised. He’s become very protective of our wife since meeting her. I wasn’t thrilled about it at first, but the more I watched them interact the more it became clear that they have a brother-sister relationship.

I never really thought it could be anything else because Wolfe—along with Dominic and Hendrix—are totally gone for their woman, Kirby. Still, I don’t like anyone other than us having their hands on our wife. Call me possessive. Call me an asshole. I don’t really give a fuck either way.

Oaklynn is ours. Our woman. Our wife. Our love.

And we aren’t going to allow anyone to get in the way of that.

Which is why Mikhail taking a shot at her tonight has me seething. I swallow down the words I want to bark at Wolfe to get him to back the fuck away because I know he’s here to look her over and make sure she’s okay.

He asks her some questions about what happened and how she’s feeling. She answers honestly, but it’s clear she’s more than done with this whole thing.

Our woman isn’t one to milk an injury or revel in the spotlight. It’s one of the many things I love about her, but right now she needs to let that shit go because none of us are going to be able to rest without knowing if she’s okay.

When Wolfe touches her side, his fingers gentle, she sucks in a sharp breath and winces. It takes all of my willpower not to jump out of my seat, but I manage to stay still. My eyes aren’t still though.

I share a long look with Baker who looks just about as ready to kill as I do. I’m just not sure if he’s looking to killing his brother or Mikhail. Probably both.

Wolfe spends time smearing ointment on her bruises as well as her knuckles which are clearly red and swollen. His touch is careful and clinical as he wraps her torso. The look in his eyes tells me he’s not entirely thrilled about just treating her here.

When he sits back on his heels, he runs his hand along his jaw and lets out a long breath. “I would feel a lot better if you’d go and get checked out which would include some imaging for your ribs.”

Oaklynn is shaking her head before he even finishes the words. “I’m not going to a hospital or clinic or wherever. I’m fine,” her words are fierce.

Wolfe isn’t one to be intimidated easily, “You’re strong, little sister, I get it, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need more medical attention than I can give you.”

“No,” she snaps at him, her eyes blazing with fury. But before Wolfe can respond, her shoulders slump and her face crumples. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I’m just pissed that this happened on such an important night, and I’m tired of having to insist thatI’m okay. Does it hurt? Yes. I had to kick some ass and I’m going to feel it.”

“I know you’re badass, Oaklynn,” he assures her.

And he does.

Not only has our wife sparred with us, but she’s been in the ring with Wolfe, Dominic, and Hendrix. They wanted to assess her skills and give her pointers just as much as we did. Our woman impressed them, something which isn’t easy to do.

Even so, she should never have been put in the position she was in tonight.

I have to take a few deep breaths to get myself under control before I destroy our living room and then move on to the other rooms in the house. Losing my cool won’t help anything right now.

I know that.

But it’s hard to remember. Every time I look at Oaklynn, my gaze goes right to the bruise on her jawline. How fucking dare Mikhail attack our wife.

He needs to die.

Everyone’s eyes snap over to me, and I realize I said that last bit out loud. I have no doubt that I sound unhinged because that’s exactly how I feel.

“He will,” there’s a promise in Kirill’s words.

All I can do is nod my head. I’m antsy and on edge.

The need to go down to the warehouse and find out what the fuck went wrong tonight is riding me hard. I’m not sure what answers I’ll find, but I need to start asking the questions.

Since looking at the camera feed was a bust, it feels like I’m flying blind right now and it is not a feeling I like. It makes my skin crawl.

“Okay,” Wolfe sighs as he takes in the defiant way Oaklynn is holding herself. “Please take something for pain. If the over-the-counter shit isn’t touching the pain, then let me know.”

“I won’t take anything stronger,” Oaklynn insists.

One thing I’ve learned about our woman is that she’s stubborn as hell. It makes her a good match for us because she won’t break under pressure, whether the source is outside of our little family or within. She could stand strong in the storm and come out looking like the skies were clear and the wind was calm.

---