Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Jesse swore. “She isn’t feral; she’s just protective of her mate. Go judge her.”
Roni said to Harley, “He doesn’t need you fighting his battles—”
“And I’ll bet Marcus doesn’t need you fighting his,” said Harley. “But can you honestly tell me you never once stood up for him, even though he might not have needed it?”
Roni’s eyes slid to Marcus, who gave his mate a pointed look.
“I didn’t think so,” said Harley.
Whatever Marcus whispered into Roni’s ear made the anger leak from her expression. The female raked a hand through her hair. “Eli has a lot going on right now.”
So fucking what? “He doesn’t get to wear that like a badge and think it gives him the right to treat his pack mates the way he treated Jesse.” Harley spoke to the others as she added, “And if anyone here disagrees with that, they should be fucking ashamed of themselves.”
Kent and Caleb exchanged looks, suddenly uncomfortable, and did the human equivalent of tucking their tails between their legs.
Roni sighed. “Eli—”
“It’s your brother and he’s hurting,” finished Harley. “You want to protect him. Fine. I had a brother and . . .” No, she wouldn’t talk about Michael. They hadn’t earned a piece of her heart. “My point is I know the instinct to defend a brother is strong, so I understand why you’re so upset. But I’m not sorry for what I did and I won’t pretend to be, so if it’s an apology you’ve come for, Roni, you’re wasting minutes out of our lives. And if it’s a fight you’ve come for . . . bring it.”
Jesse and Marcus sprang into action and inserted themselves between Harley and Roni. Marcus angled himself so he could look at both females as he said, “This ends now. We don’t want fighting within the pack.”
“I wasn’t aware that you regarded me as part of it,” said Harley.
Marcus winced. “I didn’t at first.”
“No one who will rip strips of flesh from my son’s back is welcome here!” declared Kathy.
“Your son had every chance to stop antagonizing Jesse,” began Harley, “but he kept at it—even when Jesse tried to walk away. He was trying to pick a fight. You should thank me, really. If I hadn’t gotten involved, they probably would have fought.”
“Thank you? I should thank you?”
“You don’t have to actually say the words. A box of chocolates will do just fine.”
Everyone froze as Nick, Derren, and Ally walked out of the trees. Taking in the situation, the Alpha scowled. “What the hell is going on here? I got a call from Zander telling me a bunch of you were storming through the forest like you were on some kind of crusade.”
Kathy turned to her oldest son. “You saw what she did to Eli!”
“Yes, I did.” Nick’s jaw tightened. “And I told you to let it alone. Just like I told Roni that Eli wasn’t a victim of a feral attack. He’s working through some personal shit right now and it’s clouding his decisions. This is not helping. Roni, you know better than to let Mom get you all riled up.”
Kathy gasped. “Nick!” He just ignored her.
Fed up with this shit, Jesse announced, “We’re done here.” He took a step back, placing himself at Harley’s side. “I had a great deal of respect for you, Kathy, but you lost a lot of that today.”
The fire in Kathy’s eyes dimmed. She swallowed. “I’m just defending my son.”
Harley shook her head, incredulous. “Eli used Jesse as both a physical and emotional punching bag. If you can defend that, if you’re willing to defend that, you don’t deserve the trust Jesse has in you.” Spinning on her heel, Harley marched inside.
Jesse sighed at the crowd. “Eli implied that having Harley here would make me pull away from the pack. Ironic that if I pull away to any extent, it will be because of what you guys did today. Not because of her.” Before anyone could say another word, he returned to the lodge, slamming the door behind him.
He tracked Harley to the kitchen, where she was staring out the window. He slowly curled his arms around her and kissed her nape. “I’m sorry about that, sweetheart.” She hadn’t deserved any of that.
“Not your fault.”
“I want you to feel safe here.” He wanted her to find peace in this place. That was hardly going to happen when she had his pack mates confronting her. He kissed her neck again. “I won’t try to defend what Roni did tonight. I will say that she’s a good person. She’s very protective of her baby brother. Her mother . . . well, she knows what buttons to push.”
“I know. I’m not mad at Roni,” said Harley truthfully. “I know how manipulative some people can be.”
“You’re talking about Clive.”
“Yep.” Her father had a whole species eating out of his hand because he knew how to play others so well. “I won’t say Kathy is quite as talented as he is at it, but she’s good.”