Page 74 of Awakened
“What do you mean?”
I knew Brandon would hate what I had to say, but that was nothing new. “You need to stay with the pack.”
He started to argue, but I held up my hand. “I’ve been reading through this plan. On paper, it’s an innocent event. We’re going to have a problem convincing the more traditional packs to abstain. If we can’t stop this thing from happening, then I need people I can trust on the inside.”
Brandon huffed and glared out the windshield. I tried to give him a moment to process, but his silence freaked me out.
I touched his arm. “I’m worried Aiden won’t see the dangers in The Gathering. I’m not sure he’ll take our concerns seriously. I need you there to be the voice of reason and, ultimately, to help protect the pack if shit goes sideways.”
“I hear you, Les. I do, but I don’t know if I can keep myself from killing Aiden. I’ve watched you break down twice now, and he caused it both times. You didn’t have to come to Denver, but he suggested it was a good opportunity for us to solidify ties with the Amazons and that you could talk Seth into anything. I thought he was giving you two a chance to be together, you know, righting a wrong. Now, the best-case scenario is he was careless and selfish. Worst-case is he wanted to hurt one or both of you. Either way, I can’t pretend everything is fine. I’ve done that for too long.”
“I don’t understand.”
He slumped in his seat. “I should have left when you did. I should have stood up for you.”
I frowned, leaning forward to try to catch his eye. “No, that’s ridiculous. My breakup with Aiden wasn’t your problem.”
“But I shouldn’t have made it so easy for you to be replaced. I’m in their fucking wedding, Les.” He shook his head and rested it on the steering wheel. “I’m a terrible brother.”
“No Brand. You’re a great brother. I never expected you togive up everything. As a beta, it’s your job to support the alpha couple. On top of that, Aiden’s your friend and future brother-in-law. I could never get in the way of all that.”
“Stop being a fucking martyr! You have to be at least a little mad!”
“If I’m being honest? I guess I’m still a little mad at Aiden, but more than anything else, I feel forgotten. That lunch showed me just how little my old pack misses me, but that’s not your fault. Hell, that’s not even Aiden’s fault.” I huffed out a laugh. The situation sucked, but I was over it. “At the end of the day, it all worked out like it was supposed to. I have the Amazons now. I’m happy.”
Brandon mulled over everything I said. “Okay, so say I go back, what do I do?”
Gotcha.
“Give me a few days to dig into this whole mess. I’ll let you know when I get a handle on all the moving parts, and we’ll go from there.”
“That’s a super great plan,” he deadpanned.
“Sarcasm isn’t a good look on you.” I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know enough to have a real plan yet. I’m not going to jump the gun.”
Brandon started the car and drove toward Highway 63. “Okay. I guess we’re going back to Kirksville.”
“Yes, we are.” I settled into my seat, pleased my brother had seen the light. That reprieve was short-lived.
“Can you call Emily for me? I told her what happened.”
My jaw dropped. “You didn’t.”
He nodded with a slight grin.
“Then there’s a good chance Aiden is already dead.” I tried not to smile as I thought of my friend tearing apart her brother.
“That would be the best gift my beautiful fiancée could ever give me.” His face lit up.
“Please don’t start with that. I’d like to make it to Kirksville without puking.”
Emily was on a warpath when we reached the little white house. We found her in the middle of the kitchen, surrounded by boxes, pots, and pans. All their clothes were bagged up and stacked in the living room. She had already found three apartments in St. Louis to tour and submitted her resume to about a dozen jobs. She kept saying, “What fucking brother?”
Emily was pissed.
It took hours to calm her down and convince her to stay in Kirksville with the pack. Brandon wanted me get some sleep, but I needed to be home, so I left and promised to drive safely.
When I reached my street, there was no space to park, so I had to park two blocks over—the perfect end to a terrible trip.
