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Dani looked at Alex, who was leaning against the countertop. “Could you leave Bree and I alone for a minute so we can talk in private?”
“No,” he said. Ah, the wolverine tone had returned.
The primary sighed. “I realize this is your home, Alex. But, with all due respect, this is omega business.”
“Don’t care. You want to talk to Bree, get it done. I’m not a fan of having people in my apartment who I don’t like or respect.”
Bree inwardly winced. “Mean,” she mouthed at him. He only shrugged.
Twin dots of red stained Dani’s cheekbones. “That was uncalled for. But since I don’t have much regard for you either, I won’t—”
“Talk or leave,” he said.
Her mouth tightening, Dani turned to Bree and folded her arms across her chest. “I heard Renee came here last night. How is she doing?”
“About as well as anyone who’s in mourning can be expected to be.” As Renee had said she didn’t mind if Bree shared the session with the other omegas, Bree gave the primary a quick rundown of it.
Sighing, Dani shook her head. “It’s all just so devastating. I’m making the arrangements for Benny and Crawford’s memorial. It’ll be held in two days. I don’t suppose Renee told you where she and Benny’s parents want his ashes scattered, did she?”
Bree shook her head. Pallas cats didn’t bury their dead, they cremated the bodies—it was a centuries-old tradition for their kind. “If you’d come twenty minutes earlier, you could have asked her yourself.”
Dani stilled. “She stayed over? Oh God, please tell me she’s not as hungover as you.”
“Well …”
Dani’s mouth dropped open. “Jesus, Bree, she came here for help with her grief, and you got her blind drunk instead?”
“Not blind drunk. We had a little buzz going on, that’s all.” They’d downed a shot each time they thought of a real good memory about Benny; they’d drank to what a good, albeit damaged, guy he’d been. “We kicked back with a movie and some munchies. She fell asleep at some point, so I set her up in Alex’s spare bedroom to sleep it off.”
Dani shook her head. “I cannot believe you, Bree.”
“Is it so wrong that she and I dealt with her grief with laughter more than tears? That we spent a night celebrating his life rather than simply mourning his death?”
“Grief is a process. You can’t deal with it by extracting that emotion.”
“I didn’t extract her grief, I just helped ease it in a different way than you would have done. But let’s be honest, you’ll always find fault in whatever approach I take.” Bree gave her a brittle smile. “Maybe you can ask Renee if she’d like to make an official complaint about me—that would sure help you build your bullshit case, wouldn’t it?”
“There is no case, you’re being paranoid.”
“No, I’m not. You’d like me out of the way, and you want people to believe I’m too unstable to be primary—then they won’t care that you’re less powerful than me, will they?”
“You’re twisting things.”
“I’m calling you on your bullshit. You really need to reconsider whether it’s wise to go down this path. You don’t want to push me any harder than you already have.”
Dani’s eyes flared. “Is that a threat?”
“It’s advice. I’d take it, if I were you. Because if it comes to a battle between you and me, I’ll win. And we both know it.”
“You think winning a battle would be enough to make you primary?” Dani shook her head. “You won’t take this position from me. Your omega abilities might be growing in strength, but strength isn’t enough. You lack every quality a primary needs. Hell, you lack most of the qualities a standard omega needs to—”
“Okay, you’re done.” Alex pushed away from the counter. “Go.”
Dani’s spine snapped straight. “I’m talking to Bree.”
“You’re talking down to Bree. And I don’t fucking like it. I wouldn’t let anyone else talk to my woman like that. You don’t get a free pass just because you’re the primary omega. So either get out, or I’ll put you out.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“What, you think your status in the pride will hold me back? That it protects you somehow? You couldn’t be more wrong. Especially since it’s a status that no longer rightfully belongs to you—something you’ll have to make your peace with sooner or later. Now get the fuck out of my apartment.”
Bree squeezed one eye shut, expecting Dani to explode, but the primary didn’t. In fact, Dani flicked her gaze to the wall as she drew in a breath. It was almost like she wasn’t just taking in air, she was sucking in all her emotions. A mask of cold calm fell over her face as she exhaled. Wow, impressive.
Lifting her chin, Dani pressed her lips together and stiffly straightened her blouse. “We’ll talk another time, Bree,” she said, a hard edge to otherwise cool words. She didn’t storm out, she elegantly strolled out of the room at a leisurely pace—didn’t even slam the front door shut behind her when she left.
