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I think back to the moment in that bar in Alabama. I was well on my way to getting drunk when I decided to head for the bathroom. The place was an eyesore with all those photos hanging everywhere, but then my eyes stopped on one.
Tasha. I’m pretty sure I remember grabbing my chest from the ache I got just from seeing her picture. I felt the pull of the mate bond the second I laid eyes on it.
And yeah, I was fucking lonely.
I knew the only thing waiting for me after the bar was an empty hotel room and maybe a few more days of listening to a bunch of assholes pretend I only beat them because they were having an off day. I packed up that night and then spent months hunting Tasha down.
“Don’t think too hard,” Poppy teases, her voice lighter as she reaches up to pat my shoulder. “I’m not sure how many brain cells you have left after all the times you got knocked around those first few years of fighting.”
“I didn’t get—“
I’m cut off by the door slamming between us as she disappears into the room.
I rub a hand over my face and groan. I’m so damn exhausted. I barely slept last night with Tasha ignoring me even as we shared a bed. That, plus the run I took to chase her here today, and the fact that I feel like I took an emotional slap in the face from my family… I feel stretched too thin. But I’m not sleeping if Tasha isn’t next to me.
Nothing has ever been more painful than watching her pull away from me. So if that means I have to deal with all this exposure therapy with my family, then that’s what I’ll do. But I’m not doing it if she isn’t standing beside me.
I need to fucking find Tasha. I can hear her feminine laugh and start to follow the sound down the hall.
I’m just about to turn a corner into the kitchen—the smell of cinnamon making my stomach growl—when a strong grip stops me. I’m a formidable guy, but Dominic catches me off guard enough to propel me into the wall.
“Watch it,” I warn him. We might be on his land, but I don’t intend to answer to his pack’s hierarchy.
Dominic’s lip curls. “We’re on the same side here, asshole.”
“I don’t know about that.” I wouldn’t consider myself on the same side as anyone that took my mate away from me—even if she was the one who asked. Though, I do like the idea that he would rush to help protect her from anyone. Not that she needed protecting from me.
“Shut up and listen.” He sneers. “Tasha left the room hoping you would focus on your family instead of her. You want to make her happy? Go fucking play nice with your family, even if it’s all bullshit. Your woman wants you to do something? Don’t question that shit.”
“How long have you and Tess been together again?” I ask pointedly. I already know from researching them that it hasn’t been that long.
Dominic doesn’t take the bait. “Long enough to know my mate’s not a flight risk anymore.”
Touché.
“Go play nice, Glass.” He waves his hand, shooing me away like a prick. I glare at him, but all he does is smirk and turn to go in the direction I was headed. He gets to be with the women, and I’m stuck with my fucking family. Just great.
20
Paxton
If I thought being forced to socialize with my family couldn’t get more painful, I was sorely mistaken. By the time midnight rolls around, I’ve somehow been dragged along to sit beside a campfire. As if Tasha brought them all to summer camp instead of a situation where their lives are potentially at risk.
I keep catching bits of conversation between Tasha and Gabe, who sit a few seats down from me. A couple of well-timed glares from Dominic are the only thing keeping me in my seat.
Gabe apparently does some kind of tracking related work, and Tasha’s been telling him everything we know so far about the rogues hunting their family and her missing brother. I hate that she trusts him so openly with all the personal information, so I keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn’t seem to be sharing any of it with anyone.
And jealousy. Admittedly, I’m keeping an eye on him mostly out of jealousy.
“He’s not going to make a move on her.” Poppy drops into the seat next to me, jostling my chair. She ignores the annoyed pinch of my eyebrows as she makes herself comfortable, leaning toward me. “He told me earlier that he’s thinking of claiming his mate finally. Apparently he’s been ignoring her for years.”
“What? Why?”
“He doesn’t seem to think he had anything to offer her. But then he saw you and Tasha, and clearly she’s too good for your sorry ass, so he’s changed his mind.” She digs her elbow into my arm and shares a smile that isn’t mutual.
It’s great having Poppy around. So great.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that. This is what it means to have siblings, Paxton. Someone teases you so that you learn to laugh—eventually—and stop looking like an angry prick all the time. I mean, look.” She nods her head toward my other side.
