I’m not sure whether I’m amused or irritated about Pandora causing a rat infestation at their house, but I school my expression into neutrality. “And what do you expect him to do about it?” I ask.
“Do you remember the Kappa Alpha creed?” Holden asks.
I tense, and quietly say, “Loyalty to my brothers above all else.”
It’s always been perfunctory, something we said when we pledged but didn’t actually mean much of anything.
We’d never had that loyalty tested by much before. It’s easy to say the words, but in practice…
Then again, maybe it’s that I’ve always felt like an outsider.
I’ve already been loyal to Blaze above all else. The frat has always been secondary, and now Pandora ranks even higher than that.
Maybe even above Blaze.
“What’s the point of being in a fraternity if your brothers don’t have your back?” Holden says. “Blaze is talking big, how he isn’t scared of us, but that’s not going to save him if everybody bands together against him.”
The idea of everyone going up against Blaze makes my stomach churn. He’s meant to be a leader, not kicked to the curb.
“And what happens if everyone bands against him?” I ask.
Holden’s eyes narrow. “You saw what we did to Pandora.”
My vision briefly cuts out as rage slams into me hard enough to leave me breathless. The words are a very clear threat to Blaze. I know he can take care of himself, but the idea of them even trying to hurt him has me plotting murder already.
“You saw what happened after that,” I retort in a clipped voice, my eyes narrowing. It’s not like Holden to be this bold, so he must really be pissed about the rats. “You think it’s a good idea to threaten Blaze Bouchard, Holden?”
“I’m just giving you the facts,” Holden says. He clenches his fists on his thighs, and I wonder if somebody put him up to this.
Holden has always been a follower, not a leader.
Some would say that about me, too.
They wouldn’t be wrong, but I would do something like this without encouragement orpermissionfrom Blaze if I thought it was necessary to protect him.
“Think about it rationally,” Holden says. “You joined Kappa Alpha for a reason. You’re being loyal to Blaze, but what’s the point if it doesn’t get you ahead in the future? Nobody’s going to help you out if Kappa Alpha disintegrates. Blaze is being led around by his cock, and you’re the only one who can knock sense into him.”
There’s no knocking sense into Blaze, not where Pandora is concerned. She’s gotten under his skin. She’s gotten under my skin, too.
Holden has made a mistake, though. I’d take a future with Blaze and Pandora—hell, a future with River in the picture, too—before doing anything to betray them to get ahead. He should know that.
“And what do you expect him to do, exactly?” I ask. “Stop dating Pandora? Because that’s not happening.”
Even the thought of him cutting her off makes something twist in my stomach. I’m not leaving Pandora behind either.
Not that she’d let us even if we tried.
“I want Blaze—and you, and River!—to remember what it meansto be a Kappa Alpha brother!” Holden’s voice gets louder. “I want you to think about everyone’s future. I know Blaze’s dad is a hotshot, but so’s my dad, right? We aren’t powerless here. It’s a network, a fraternity. Not Blaze’s personal army.”
I grimace.
Blaze’s future isn’t nearly as clear as Holden thinks it is. With George Bouchard on the defensive, and the frat members on the verge of mutiny, it’s possible he could lose everything.
I can’t sit back and watch that happen.
But what’s the alternative? Losing Pandora?
That’s not a thought I thought I’d be willing to entertain, except…
