There’s something about the way she smiles that makes me hopeful that everything will work out. I hate it.
Dr. Burdough had revealed more about Kai than he thought possible, and that was his biggest fear. Maddox should have found them an underqualified shrink. That way Felix wouldn’t be looking at him like he was right now, allsorryandlovey-dovey. Jesus. What now? They kiss?
He looked away and crossed his arms defensively over his chest. He didn’t know how to saythank you for finally understanding my side, so he said nothing and continued to mope.
“Jude,” Dr. Burdough began again. “If my notes are correct, you and Zayden arrived as the police were leaving and intercepted Felix and Kai’s fight, correct?”
“I don’t know if I’d say intercepted,” Jude mumbled. “Actually, I got my butt handed to me by trying.”
Kai rolled his eyes.
Here he goes, being all over-dramatic again.
“I was home when Kai threw the party, and I was trying to fix it all. Then, I was the one to talk to the police after Felix called them. That’s when he and Kai started getting into it. By the time I got to them, they were so heated that when Kai threw a punch, he hit me. Think we got time for that to be acknowledged, because I still haven’t heard an ‘am sorry’ from him.”
Not true. Kai apologized.
No. We didn’t, dumbass.
Kai felt a little sick to his stomach and guilty.
He thought he had, but that night was such a shit-show, he must have forgotten. Jude was religious with apologies. If he said Kai didn’t, then he didn’t.
Everyone turned to look at him. Again.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t aiming for you.”
Felix and Jude both scoffed.
Ugh. They’re not going to let that go if you half-ass an apology.
You say sorry then.
His alpha said nothing. Mr. High and mighty finally shut up, because the truth was, if Kai was an asshole, so was his alpha.
Jude pouted. “I was trying to fix it. You didn’t have to slug me.”
“I said I wasn’t aiming for you,” Kai growled, before trying to check himself. “You shouldn’t have stepped in. You can’t fix everything, Jude.”
“But—”
“I saw you. I did. I saw you try to fix things, tiptoeing around, playing matchmaker and fixer-upper, and I saw how it wore you out. I didn’t throw that party just for me, okay? Ithrew it because, unlike our alpha Zayden, I saw how all of us were hurting and being affected, and I was the only one to do something about it.” There. There it was. The truth. He stared right at Dr. Burdough and tipped his chin upwards. “I threw that party to be seen and heard, but I threw it for Jude and Felix, too. Zayden was ignoring usall. I did this for us all.”
Silence took over the room, and he saw out the corner of his eyes how the weight of his confession affected each of them differently. Felix was typically good at hiding his feelings, but right now, he looked like a giant spotlight was on him. Jude seemed relieved. Zayden looked horrified.
Can’t believe you actually said it.
Me either.
Dr. Burdough shifted in her chair, letting the silence stretch longer than Kai thought necessary, before regaining control over the conversation. “What did you see happening to your packmates that caused you to react so protectively? And during the confrontation, did you vocalize the true purpose of this party?”
Great. The spotlight was still on him.
“I know Jude was working overtime trying to make everything work. He wasn’t sneaky. No one just cared enough to notice.”But me.“But I knew what he was trying to make work wouldn’t, and that it was making him anxious and insecure. It was driving me nuts.”
“And Felix?”
Kai hesitated. He looked at him momentarily before sayingfuck it. Everything else was coming out. There wasn’t any room for him to hold back now.
