Grayson prefers to be out of the way until the initial burn has simmered into a stony silence.
“What’s Leo doing in the kitchen?” Nix asks incredulously. “He’s not going to actually cook anything, right?”
He runs protective hands over his belly as if to shield their babies from the idea of Leo’s unskilled culinary assault.
Grayson has to agree—that’s probably the scariest thing he’s heard all day.
3
Souls Once Torn (Gideon)
“Leo,” Jay cajoles from his current place well out of range of the beta’s reach, but not his anger or his burnt cinnamon scent.
Gideon can’t blame their leader for trying to get him on their side, but he knows it’s an exercise in futility when Leo is still so hurt.
Leo Costas has a will of iron when it comes to his beliefs, as well as a soft heart. It doesn’t help that he feels like Jay has made a unilateral decision that affects them all. So, he’s piping hot under the collar, and so hurt that no sweet words or placating tone are going to bring him around.
He wishes it were different, and adds his mates’ hurt and anger to his ever-growing list of transgressions.
The cushion beside him depresses as Finn plops down beside him. “Are you letting him swing in the wind all by himself?” he asks, as he slides his cold, bony toes under Gideon’s bare thigh.
For a moment, Gideon entertains starting some shit for the added distraction, but no matter his desire to think about something else, he can’t ignore that the plan has set the whole pack off, and now is not the time.
“Don’t ‘Leo’ me, Jay. You made your point earlier,” Leo growls, slamming another already-clean pot on the drainboard. He’d pulled every single clean pot out of the cupboard and filled the sink with hot, soapy water to make this point. There’s no doubt about its effect. “I am the alpha of this pack, you said. So, fragile little Leo will just take his place here in the kitchen until you call on him for his other services, Alpha.”
Little Leo? Other services?Ouch.
“Fuck no, he’s on his own right now.” Gideon gives up on any distracting mischief with Finn, instead watching Jay foolishly try to hug his incensed mate and get a face full of hot, soapy water for his trouble. “I am a lot of things, puppy, but I am not that stupid.”
Nodding emphatically, Finn hums in agreement, but there’s a sharp pinch from those bony toes to get his attention. “Well, at least you aren’t hiding behind the bedroom door in a beanie, headphones, and slippers.”
It’s an oddly specific statement for Finn, and his mate is hardly ever prone to hyperbole, so it clicks rather quickly.
“Luca?”
“He’s in with Grayson and Nix,” Finn says, tossing his chin back down the hall toward their temporary nest room.
So, Luca isn’t packing the laundry room up. He must be soothing his anxiety about Grayson’s new magical behaviors with constant proximity and avoiding unpleasant tasks. It must be bad if he’s dodging Gideon’s direct request.
Leo slams a cast-iron pan down on the counter, and the loud clang grates on his nerves. It must be worse for Luca, whosesenses are likely at their max if he’s got his headphones on. Dammit.
Leo is ramping everyone up, beyond just letting Jay know he’s pissed him off.
Guess Gideon has to be stupid after all.
Resigned to his fate, he pinches Finn’s calf (so he knows Gideon loves him) and climbs to his feet.
Squealing, Finn kicks Gideon’s thigh. “Ow, dammit, why? Into the fray, and Godspeed.”
When Gideon gets close enough, he sees Jay soaked from the top of his curly head down the front of his black t-shirt. He smells like lemon dish soap and sad, smoky pine, but he shrugs at Gideon, like he doesn’t know what to do next.
Genuinely remorseful…and still so fucking sad. It’s unlike Leo to let his anger and hurt get the better of his sympathy—it’s a surefire sign this is pressing all the wrong buttons.
“Leo.”
He’s braced for his turn under fire, but he still isn’t prepared for the sight of Leo’s eyes, red from crying, and his cheeks flushed with anger.
“And you,” Leo growls. “Enabling this fool’s mission. What the fuck is wrong with you? You, of all people, know what Carnell is like. I’ve been telling you since we got here!” He points a lime green rubber-gloved finger right in Gideon’s face.
