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Quinten rolled his eyes. “Yes, and like I told you, he’d be the perfect fit for your pack.”
“Brother, I hate to tell you this, but you’re a dumbass.”
“Liam.”
“No, seriously. The kid already has a pack, the one his mate runs.” He said it so slowly, like Quinten was a small child who couldn’t understand big words. “Now, are you done sticking your head in the sand and pretending like that isn’t the reality? The fact is, I know you sent me away to try and protect me. I understood. I’ve always understood. So does Robbie.”
He swallowed, his heart starting to race in his chest.
“But the reason I had to leave was because you were right. I needed to be an alpha to my own pack since the one I was living in already had one.”
Quinten turned to face the wall and closed his eyes, letting his brother’s words sink into his skin.
“I couldn’t stand in your shadow anymore. It was time that I found my own place in the world.”
“I’m so proud of you for doing it, you know,” Quinten couldn’t help but say.
“I know, but it’s time you stepped out of the shadows too, Q. The world is changing, and it’s time that you make a place for yourself in it. One front and center, not scurrying around in the dark like the boogeyman.”
“I have a lot of enemies,” Quinten said slowly, though he didn’t necessarily disagree.
If his trip to the Kincaid Pack had shown him anything, it was that it might be more valuable to have packs like that as allies rather than adversaries. The things that he did for packs and covens he’d had to start doing because of who the Council was and what they did.
But now that they were gone…
He sighed heavily. “He’s really pissed at me.”
“Of course he is,” Liam said. “You shoved your entire leg in your mouth.”
He chuckled. “Fuck, I miss you.”
“Well, how about next time you guys actually come for a visit and not for a drop-and-run.”
“Drop-and-run?” Quinten asked.
“You know, sort of like a hit-and-run, only instead, you drop a person off someplace they don’t want to be, and then you leave them there and run away.”
“You think you’re so funny, cub.”
“I’m hilarious. Now, go fix things with your mate.”
Then, his brother hung up on him. Little shit.
By the time they landed on the roof of Quinten’s high-rise, he was just about done with Dare’s stony silence. The thing was, he was almost positive he wasn’t just offended on Caden’s behalf. He was pretty sure he’d hurt Dare’s feelings.
Dare had called their tight-knit group a pack more times than he could count, and Quinten had always shrugged it off. But when he denied it as a reason for trying to distance himself from his mate, it hurt him.
Like he’d always figured Quinten would come around but saying it to Caden made his denial more real.
They stepped into the elevator, and Quinten pressed the button for the penthouse floor, Dare pressing the one for his own, just beneath the communal space below Quinten’s.
“Dare,” he started.
He kept his face forward, arms crossed over his chest. “Don’t worry about it. Do you need anything tonight?”
He held back a sigh. “No. You can go check on everyone if you want.”
Checking on everyone who lived in the building was something Dare always did when they returned from staying outside the city or got back from a business trip. He wouldn’t be able to settle in his own apartment until he put eyes on everyone.
