Page 26 of Next Door Midlife Alpha
“He’ll forget about it in time. It’s just like the time he thought zombies were real. It took him a bit of convincing, but he finally understood. Anyway, I should get out of your hair. I’ll see you.”
“See you.” Dylan let her out the front door, his knuckles white around the knob as he shut it behind her. He headed down the hall to his den, needing time and space to think.
It wasn’t easy, not with Stacey taking up such permanent residence in his mind. He could still feel her lips against his, her heated skin against his body. He wanted her, and his responsibility to the clan couldn’t change that. Dylan had planned to keep her as far away from their secret as possible, but Will’s conduct had put his plan at risk.
Dylan leaned back in his chair. Every muscle in his body was tight, ready to jump into action. Hisbear urged it on. Will couldn’t know that Stacey was Dylan’s mate, even if he got the idea that his twin was attracted to the woman next door, but he still had to be held accountable for revealing the other side of himself to a human.
Despite the trouble Will was causing with Stacey, Dylan knew with all certainty now just why his brother was there. He could claim he wanted to be close to family, that he was in between jobs, that he needed a break, but Dylan knew it was complete bullshit. He ran his knuckle along his jawline, trying to think it all through before taking action.
No.
That wasn’t going to work. Not now. Not with Will. There would be no talking this out, no trying to understand everyone’s side of the story. Many clan problems could be handled that way, but not all of them. Dylan clenched his hand into a fist and pounded it on the arm of his chair before he shot to his feet and stormed outside.
14
Dylan charged through the backyard,ignoring the full hydrangea bushes on either side of the patio and the meticulously landscaped beds along the fence. He paid no attention to the carefully laid pavers under his feet that led him to the back gate, which he slammed open so hard that it whacked against the fence and shivered on its hinges. He advanced across the sand, his vision laser-focused on the fishing trawler that bobbed in the water.
Paul Brigham had taken him under his wing from a very young age, guiding him in everything he needed to know to be a successful Alpha. He spoke to him of fairness, consideration, and balance. In moments of anger, or when Dylan would tussle with his brothers as all young boys do, Paul spoke to himwith temperance and peace. He hadn’t done it all at once, but bit by bit, where it would matter most. He was a master at using the events happening in Dylan’s life as teaching moments. Dylan had listened carefully, knowing how much this meant to his father. It also meant a lot to him. As soon as he’d understood he was the destined future Alpha, Dylan had been determined to do a good job and make his father proud. He knew, especially now that he’d had several years of experience under his belt, that thinking calmly and rationally about a situation would yield much better results than throwing his fists.
But as he charged through the sand, pausing only long enough to kick off his shoes, he didn’t give a shit about diplomacy. Wet sand was stamped with the shape of his feet, and the cool water rushed up onto his ankles. It did nothing to cool the fire that now burned inside him. It swept up his legs, the deepening water hindering him only slightly before it became deep enough that he could pitch himself forward and swim. His muscles powered through the bay and propelled him to the boat. His mind was still raging by the time he grabbed a rung of the rope ladder that’d been slung over the stern.
Barney yapped at him excitedly as he hauled himself over the gunwale.
“Ahoy.” Will came around the side of the cabin, smiling with amusement. “Don’t mind Barney. He knows you’re supposed to ask the captain for permission to come aboard, and he’s always been a stickler for the rules. Easy boy.” With a quick snap, the dog ceased his barking and trotted into the cabin. A moment later, he appeared through a window, peeking out at them curiously.
“I don’t exactly have the patience for protocol at the moment, especially when the supposed captain of this ship is such a piece of shit,” Dylan ground out.
“Keep in mind that we’re twins,” Will reminded him. “Anything you say about me probably says something about you.”
Dylan snarled at his brother. “We might have similar features, but the comparison ends there. In fact, I find it hard to believe we were even raised in the same household.”
Will tipped his head back. “Why don’t I get some chairs and a couple of cold beers, and you can tell me what’s truly got you riled.”
“I have no interest in sitting down and knockingback a cold one with you.” The very thought angered him all the more, but maybe that was what Will was trying to do. He had a penchant for charming the pants off of anyone he wanted to manipulate, but Dylan knew he was a master puppeteer at this point. Right now, Dylan didn’t care. His anger was genuine whether Will realized it or not. “I know exactly why you’re here. You came for the treasure.”
“Dylan, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Will turned his face into the wind and laughed as the breeze ruffled his hair. “You sound like some old adventure novel.”
“Stop it, Will. You can’t just blow me off like you’ve done anytime someone tried to confront you about what you’re actually doing with your life. You might be able to fool some people, and maybe even some of our clan, but not me.” His chest heaved with anger, and his bear reared inside him. Dylan was letting his anger flow, but he had to control it enough to get his words out. Will was going to hear just what he had to say to him. “Ever since you washed up here, I’ve been wondering why. We hadn’t seen hide nor hair from you in years, but then you marched up on the shore like nothing ever happened. I knew there had to be some sort ofmotive because why else would you bother? But it’s all so obvious now, and I’m just mad that I didn’t see it before. You’re here for the treasure.”
“Really, Dill?—”
“Stacey told me about the bullshit you pulled with her son,” Dylan continued, pissed all over again that Will had scared a young child that way. Not just any kid, but Stacey’s. “Stacey came over just now and told me what you did when he asked you if you were searching for treasure. It’s bad enough that you were an asshole, but you even let out a partial shift in front of him. There’s plenty more I could be suspicious of, but that’s all the proof I need to know I’m right. A six-year-old boy accidentally called you out on what you were doing, and you couldn’t even control yourself enough to let it go.”
The easygoing look on his brother’s face had soured. “That treasure is just as much mine as anyone else’s. You might not like or trust me but don’t forget that I’m still a Brigham. The family’s been keeping it hidden for over two hundred years, and it’s about time they did something with it instead of just keeping it squirreled away.”
Dylan’s eyes narrowed. He’d already known the truth when he’d come out there, but he still felt thesharp jab of knowledge as Will confirmed his real mission. “That’s not how it works.”
“Yeah? Maybe it’s about time I showed you how itshouldwork.” Will rolled his shoulders back. His muscles rippled as they let go of his human form. He threw himself toward the deck, and when he landed on all fours, his hands had become wide paws. Long claws scraped at the old wood, flaking off the peeling paint. His head rolled as his features changed, shifting into a different form that was no less familiar than the person Dylan had been looking at a moment ago. Will bared his teeth, his fangs yellow as he let out a throaty grunt.
It took only a fraction of a second for Dylan to decide what to do next. His bear had been fighting to get out for a long time, and he was past the point where a walk through the woods on all fours would do him any good. A roar escaped from his throat as he brought his inner beast out. The water slapped in alarm against the side of the hull as the weight aboard changed balance. Barney was just as worried, and he started barking again as he saw that there were now two black bears standing on the deck. With the barrier of his human form gone, Dylan charged.
His footsteps pounded on the hollow ship as heran forward, slamming his shoulder into Will’s.What the fuck is wrong with you?
Me?Will was knocked to the side, but the gunwale kept him from falling. The boat shivered against the force, churning up small waves all around them.I’m not the one who’s sitting on an assload of gold, keeping it from everyone else when it might be useful for something!
That just shows exactly how little you know.Dylan turned back to his brother, something that wasn’t easy in the small space. His claws tore chunks of wood out of the deck as he fought to maintain his grip. He shoved at Will once again, using the force of his thick skull along with his shoulder this time.Dad told you about it just as he did the rest of us boys.
Even in the middle of a fight, Dylan could envision it just as he always had back in the day when Paul had told them the tales. When yet another ship had fallen victim to the storms and the rocks, the Brighams’ ancestors had recovered a remarkable amount of gold, silver, and jewels that the ship had carried. They’d known then that it wasn’t a trader or a whaler but a pirate ship. As was the custom at the time, anything that washed up on the beach or that could be fished out of the water was kept by the finder. Instead of selling it off, the Brighams hadseen the advantage of holding onto it until such a time that it might be a true benefit to them. It was only to be used if the clan found itself in dire straits. From what Dylan had been told, the Brighams had only tapped into their emergency fund a couple of times over the intervening years.
