AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’ve headed this direction figuring there’s a good chance Tasha’s either going to her sister or back to the Sovereign Pack.
And now, here in human territory, is my brother, but not Tasha.
“Where is she?” I don’t bother with hellos or pleasantries. I’m not interested in being part of the fucked up super-pack my parents tried to build. And that means I’m not interested in playing happy family with my scattered family members.
We all got out. That’s all that matters.
Except when Peter swivels on the bar stool and offers an easy smile, he might as well have sucker-punched me in the gut. “Big brother,” he drawls. “It’s nice to see you too.”
He’s almost the spitting image of me at his age, except he’s let his hair grow long so the curls almost touch his eyelashes. Callie was always so jealous of those curls when we were younger.
“Where is she?” I repeat. It doesn’t matter how much the kid looks like me, he’s taken something that doesn’t belong to him.
He raises one eyebrow, eyes darkening with judgement as he shakes his head at me. “She chose to go, Paxton. If you drag her away again, you’re no better than—“
“Don’t finish that fucking sentence.”
I am not Greg. He took something that didn’t belong to him. Tasha is my mate. And she’s not safe. No one will keep her safe the way I will. Although I haven’t been doing a great job of proving that. No wonder she fucking ran from me, every time I take my eyes off of her, something bad happens.
I won’t make that mistake again.
“You have no idea the kind of danger she could be in, Peter. You don’t understand the way this world works. If the packs start to catch wind that there’s a price to be paid for delivering her or her sister, even they’ll start to turn on her.”
Peter’s mouth twists in disgust. “You always did see the worst in everyone. Packs aren’t that bad, Paxton. Not when they’re run the right way.”
“There is no right way.” I’ve seen it time and time again. The packs always turn to corruption eventually. No matter how wholesome their ideas might be in the beginning.
“We’ll agree to disagree.” He sighs as if he’s had this argument a thousand times, and I can’t help but wonder if that means he’s had it with our other siblings since it hasn’t been with me. I force myself not to ask. We’re all better apart, there’s no changing that.
Instead of giving me what I need, Peter puts his back to me and waves down the bartender. Peter is lean rather than bulky, but his body looks like that of a man. His shoulders are broad and his jawline defined enough to give him the air of being older than he really is. I’m not surprised the bartender doesn’t card him. Especially when I watch him slip her a twenty-dollar tip.
Peter’s not a little kid anymore.
I’m tempted to beat the shit out of him and then see if maybe he’s more apt to give me what I want. He’s too friendly, too easygoing. I thought Peter’s time with Greg would have hardened him, but maybe he wasn’t old enough to learn those lessons back then. I’m not nearly the asshole Greg was, but as his older brother, it’s my job to knock some sense into Peter. Especially if that’s what it takes to get a straight answer from the kid.
“Don’t blame your brother,”Leah’s words from earlier haunt me, forcing me to uncurl my fists.
He just did what Leah asked him to do. Hell, if I was in his place and the woman came out of hiding to ask me a favor, I probably would have done the same thing. No questions asked.
The Glass family owes Leah a debt that can never be repaid.
“Peter.” My brother looks over his shoulder at me, but I can’t actually think of anything to say. It’s been too long, and my mind is too wrapped up in all the ways my mate might be in danger right this very second.
“Paxton.” His lips thin into a firm line.
I need him to be on my side. “Have you found your mate?”
He barely manages to blink back his surprise. “No.” He narrows his eyes suspiciously. “You’re not going to butter me up and get me spilling my guts to you after years of pretending I don’t exist. Sit the hell down, brother. Order a drink and take a deep breath. You have time. Your mate is somewhere no one will dare look for her yet. Some things are still sacred around here.”
Sacred. That word alone gives away too much.
I slide onto the stool beside Peter and gesture wordlessly for one of the beers in the case behind the counter. The bartender tries to bat her eyelashes at me, but she’s barking up the wrong damn tree. I’m spoken for, whether Tasha is ready for me or not.
I’m already running through a list of options for where Tasha might feel comfortable going. She won’t go somewhere unfamiliar, she’s too smart to be caught off guard again.
The first three places people look will be with Tess’ pack, the Sovereign Pack, or the East Terrace Green Pack where Tasha belonged with her first mate.
She’s our mate now.My wolf is jealous of a ghost.
