Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 129691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
“Bree?”
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Yes?”
Devlin rubbed at his nape. “Would you go talk to my family? I upset them.”
“No,” she said. “But I’ll go if you come with me.”
He grimaced. “I’m not in a fit state right now.”
“So let me help with that. Let me help clear your mind so you can figure out what you really want. You can’t do it like this, and it’ll only distress your mate if she feels helpless while you suffer. So if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for her and your kids.”
He sighed, staring at the bottle in his hand as if he wasn’t sure where it came from.
“I’ve got shit to do, Devlin. If we’re gonna do this, it needs to be now.”
Sighing again, he set the bottle on the counter. “All right,” he mumbled.
Bree turned to face him as he approached. She put her hand on his arm. “I have your consent?”
He gave a curt nod. “Yes.”
She dropped her shields. Anger. Shame. Bitterness. Guilt. Self-condemnation. The feelings slammed into her chest. She gritted her teeth as she rode out the heartburn-like pain while his thoughts invaded her mind.
… let them all down …
… should have tried harder …
… no clue what to do next …
Just as the heartburn sensations faded away, she slammed up her shields. Bree watched as he took a shaky breath. “I can give you a sense of peace,” she offered.
His brows drew together. “I don’t deserve that after what I just did.”
“The fact that you’d say that shows that you do, but it’s your choice. If you change your mind, you know where to find me.” Knowing that right then wasn’t the time to push him on what he truly wanted regarding the enforcer position, she said, “Now let’s go see your mate and kids.”
“Perhaps I can help,” suggested Dani, her expression oddly blank. “Bree’s done enough for tonight.”
“Or we could go together,” Bree proposed. To her total surprise, Dani agreed.
All three of them headed to Devlin’s neighbor’s apartment. Inside, they talked a little with his family and worked to put them at ease. It was another hour before the females left the building. By then, Bree’s head was pounding. She’d need to earth when she got home for sure, but there’d be no guaranteeing that the pain would leave. Extracting negative emotions from people never failed to give her a headache.
As she descended the stairwell, her limbs heavy and her shoulders drooping, it struck Bree that she and Dani had worked well together—her straightforwardness had complemented Dani’s softness in a way she’d bet neither of them would have expected. They’d made a good team.
“You did well tonight, helping Delvin,” said Dani as they stood in the parking lot.
“Thanks. So did you.” Eager to go home, take some pain meds, and fall into bed, Bree went to bid her goodnight, but then Dani spoke again.
“Listen, I’ve had a few sessions with Mateo. He told me what you two argued about.”
Just like that, the little “buzz” Bree had felt at how productively she and Dani worked together fizzled away. “Did he?”
“He regrets the things he said. He wants to make it right.” Dani paused. “What if I had a session with you both? You could resolve it once and for all.”
Oh hell no. “Maybe one day I’ll forgive him,” she said, probing her throbbing head—it felt as if she had a band stretched tight around it. “But not yet.”
Impatience flitted across Dani’s face. “That’s immature, Bree. Holding grudges is pointless. As omegas, it’s our duty to ensure peace within the pride. Play your part.”
She was a pallas cat—holding grudges came naturally to her. “You’re wasting your time with this. Let it go.”
“Show a little sensitivity, would you? The guy’s miserable. We’ve all been rejected; we know how it feels. He doesn’t have his best friend to hang out with and make him feel better, because she’s not only the very person who rejected him, she won’t even speak to him.”
“I see you’re trying to appeal to my better nature. Wasn’t it you who once told me that I didn’t have one?”
Dani’s mouth tightened. “Don’t try to change the subject. We’re talking about Mateo here. I get that he upset you, but people say things they don’t mean when they’re hurt or angry—you know this.”
“He really didn’t tell you everything. Doesn’t surprise me.” He was too much of a damn coward.
“As a matter of fact, he did tell me everything. It wasn’t easy for him, but he did.”
Bree closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. God, she just did not have the energy or tolerance for this shit. “No, he didn’t. He used you. He figured he could get you to force a meeting between me and him, so he told you just enough, and he worked on gaining sympathy from you. Which obviously worked like a treat.”