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"Don't let that random guy make you spiral again, though," Kat said gently.
She had been right about one thing. From the moment he left the property I was sitting here worried that I'd never see him again. Evrin had hurt me and I swore off mates forever. But now that I'd let a new mate walk away I couldn't help but feel like I was being stubborn and missing out on something. I could look around at my friends, see how happy Ellie was with her pack after being hurt.
I wanted that, too.
Even if I struggled to admit it to myself.
"It's not that easy, is it?" Ellie whispered to me with a soft, understanding smile. "They didn't let me push them away and your mate won't, either."
I winced. "You heard that?"
"We all did," Ezra confirmed.
Great.
* * *
Amos
There was something about the girl in the picture that I couldn't get out of my head. She was glaring right at the camera, her dark hair wild in the wind and her tattoos on full display. She was clearly a force to be reckoned with.
It made sense that my idiot of a brother never got over her. But why did he want her back if she hurt him deep enough he developed a never-ending drinking problem?
She's also a cheater, I had to remind myself. That was how this all started. My brother had gone from a vibrant, charming person to closed off and downright hateful. He'd pushed away all of us and Malia, a friend he'd had since childhood.
She eventually moved on, found a pack, and has a house and picket fence. Evrin lost himself.
And apparently, the girl who had caused it all was living her life like none of it mattered.
Once Evrin picked up booze, it was over. The man I knew once was replaced by this shell of a person. A demon in his own right.
He'd moved into our family's summer cabin and has barely resurfaced since. The only time he actually answers our texts is if it's related to the case. He was also one of our first customers so we couldn't turn down the price tag he offered.
My phone rang and I picked it up as Silas' name flashed on the screen.
"How did it go?"
His laugh rang out, shaky and panicked.
"Well, I hope you guys are happy, I almost fucking died. Her dad is a terrifying biker who wanted to rip my head from my body. She barely let me talk. Though you should have seen her when I named dropped Ev, she looked white as a ghost. I told you there was more to that story than he was giving us. She was far too shaken for some cheater who didn't care about him like he played her off to be."
There was something else he wasn't saying. I knew my brother well enough to tell.
"So, one talk has you convinced of her innocence?" I said dryly. "I know she's hot but Evrin isn't irrational."
He was quiet so long I pulled the phone away from my ear to make sure the call hadn't dropped.
"She's my mate, too. And not chosen." The gravity of his words had me swallowing hard.
"Oh god," I said, sitting down hard enough the chair screeched. "We can't tell him. Evrin would freak out or get even worse."
"I have to know what happened that day," Silas argued. "I'm telling you, Amos. He missed something. Someone who cheats doesn't care as deeply as she did. The girl put on a tough act but I saw right through it."
"Jackson and I will come to you, you're only a few hours away. Find us all a room for the night," I ordered him before hanging up, ignoring his muttering about bossy alphas. Despite finding out that she was his mate, Silas wasn't the irrational, spontaneous type.
"What's going on?" Apparently, we'd broken Jackson's insane focus.
"We're leaving. Pack up," I ordered the beta. He raised his eyebrow at me but simply nodded when I didn't back down. We were pack, something Evrin wasn't pleased about when he realized, but he hadn't stuck around long enough to see how it played out. Jackson was the calm to my storm and I was his strength. I rarely used my alpha commands and that was the only reason he wasn't arguing right now. I hung up with Silas and we packed in silence.
