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Dad slammed the table with his hand so hard we all jumped. “Don’t you give me that nonsense. You are all my sons,” he said, pointing at Luc and I, then Jacob and Bruno, who wouldn’t miss out on their older brothers getting disciplined even if they got caught in the crosshairs. “I know everything about the lot of you. Don’t you dare try to wriggle yourself out of whatever is going on here. I will not tolerate secrets that result in fights in my pack.”
“It’s about Becca, Dad,” Jacob supplied.
I turned to give Jacob a glare, but he just shrugged. Turning my attention back to Dad, I said, “Becca got a promotion and transferred to San Francisco.”
“Then why are you not with her?”
His question threw me for a loop. He was the reason I almost didn’t go to law school. It took Mom and me some time to convince him that the pack could use a lawyer that was one of their own. The suggestion that I chase after a girl and leave the pack again was not something I expected him to say.
He continued, “Don’t give me that look. I know she’s your mate. We all know,” he said, waving his hand at all of us. “You’re the only one dumb enough to not accept it.”
Luc chuckled, and I threw him a punch, which he promptly returned, and we would have started up again if not for Dad sending his alpha power crashing over us.
Dad rarely used his powers to take control. The feel of it was uncomfortable. It felt like I was being suppressed against my will, and I wanted to fight back, but instead I calmed down, feeling my wolf acquiesce and cower. I noticed Luc slump down in his chair more too.
“Brandon, I don’t know what is going on in your head—” Dad began.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about. It doesn’t affect the pack.”
“Everything you do affects the pack because it affects me!” Dad exclaimed.
I stared at him, dumbfounded. A chuckle came over from Luc before I heard him say, “You can get a feel of what it’s like being the first born for once.”
I shot him a scowl before looking back at Dad. “There’s nothing to do, though. Becca has moved, and I can’t leave.”
“I ask you again: why are you not with her?”
“I’m not allowed to leave the area.”
Dad threw his hands up in the air. “Have you ever asked?”
“I did when I went—”
“To law school. I know, but I agreed in the end, didn’t I?”
“Yes . . .”Where was this going?
“Brandon, is this about Pac and me?” Sandy asked, sliding in to the seat next to me.
I drew in a breath at the sound of Pac’s name on her lips.
I heard a deep sigh from Dad before he said, “You never did get over it, did you?”
I didn’t answer because I couldn’t. Why was she bringing this up? A feeling of dread and inadequacy washed over me, leaving me paralyzed. Thankfully, Luc knew what was happening and spoke up on my behalf.
“Dad, Brandon has never gotten over it as you suspected. He still thinks it’s his fault Sandy was taken and that Pac got away.”
“You fool,” Dad said, shaking his head at me.
Why were they bringing up the past when my present was dragging me down? Usually, nothing bothered me, but now Pac was back. Pac, the man who had kidnapped my sister and who now threatened Becca, my mate. I groaned and tugged on the ends of my hair.
Dad and Luc looked at me with what looked like pity on their faces. I bet Jacob and Bruno did too. My fists clenched. “You weren’t there at the beginning,” I bit out. “I should have smelled Pac coming and gotten him out of the way as soon as I realized his intention toward Sandy. I trusted him too easily.”
“Pac tell you that?” Dad asked.
“He—”
“Pac tell you that you couldn’t do anything even if you thought you could? That you were hopeless to save your loved ones? That because of you the whole pack would fall apart? Because of your negligence and your ability to trust?”
