Page 35 of Tied in Knots
Reluctantly leaving her, I make my way back to the drawing room just in time to see Sebastian punch Derek in the face.
“Why are you really here?” he growls.
“I told you already…”
Sebastian bunches his hand up and smashes the alpha in the nose, making it bleed profusely.
“Fuck’s sake,” Derek groans, his head lolling forward.
“Once more,” Sebastian says quietly.
The drop in his tone chills me.
I step forward and place my hand on Seb’s shoulder. “How about we try this a different way?”
When his eyes meet mine, I see that the thrall of Faith has dropped over him as well. He will do absolutely anything to protect her, including beating her brother to near death because he doesn’t like the look of him.
After a hefty pause, he nods grimly and steps back.
I pull up the matching chair to the one Derek is tied up in and sit in front of him. “Ben, ask Lindsey to bring him some ice, please.”
Ben nods and crosses over to the pressbell on the wall and pushes it, alerting the maid that she is required in the drawing room.
Minutes later, after Ben’s instructions, she comes back with some ice and a tea towel on a tray. I take it from her and wrap some ice up before I stand up and untie Derek. Then I sit back down and hold out the makeshift ice pack.
“Try to run and Ben will stop you before you’ve gone two feet,” I inform him casually. There’s no threat in my tone. It’s merely a statement.
He gives me a vicious glare from eyes that are just like Faith’s. I’d noticed it before, but until we know his intentions, brother or not, he is a threat to Faith’s safety.
“Why are you here?”
Derek snatches up the ice pack and places it on the back of his head where he must have a huge bump from when Xander smashed his head on the floor.
“To pick up my sister,” he replies curtly.
“She is safe here.”
“Says you.”
“She is about to become our mate.”
“Is that whatshewants? Because this is news to me.”
“Tell me about yesterday.”
My tone is soothing and non-accusing, and this is why I’m the mediator for this pack. The other three deal in fists and violence, but sometimes it’s not needed.
He sighs. “It’s none of your business.”
“Actually, it is. Faith was runningfromyour stepdad, and she said before that she was runningtoyou. Why weren’t you there for her?”
“Look, I will tell Faith my side of the story, but it’s nothing to do with you. It’s family stuff.”
I sit back and cross my legs at the knee. “I’m not letting you anywhere near Faith until I know what you’re going to say to her. She is in a delicate state right now and I don’t want anyone upsetting her.”
“You have no right to keep me from her.” Fury emanates from his eyes as he places the ice pack against his nose now.
“I don’t want to, but I will.”
