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Chapter fourteen
Crow
The man at thebar isn’t our normal clientele, and he’s watching Hunter in a way that is raising all my killer instincts. I want to take him out the back and beat his head in for the glare he’s leveling my pack mate.
Since she left, I haven’t been able to shake this fury that’s been sitting on my chest. Did I expect her to stay? Yes, I kinda thought she would stay. Take the crumbs that we offered her, like the low-lifes we are. She would be thankful for them. She would come around to the idea, and we could be friends. Obviously, she’d find a job, get a home, and live happily ever after. I’m not generous enough to hope she finds someone else. No, I’m the selfish bastard that hopes she pines for us forever.
I lean against the bar and turn to the man, glaring at him until he turns and meets my gaze.
I’m struck dumb. Oh, crap, I know those eyes. I stand up straight, but my head is spinning.
“Hi, are you the asshole who broke my daughter’s heart?” His voice is so friendly that I almost miss the question.
Hunter drops a glass. All I can do is stare at him until more of them show up. The woman peers up at me, narrowing her eyes.
“You made her cry. Now, if you want her, you’re going to have to prove you’re worthy.”
I open and close my mouth, wanting nothing more than to turn tail and run because I don’t do parents. Not mine, not someone else’s.
He, her dad, smiles at me with eyes that glitter with malice. “You made my girl cry.”
“It wasn’t intentional, Alpha. She deserves better than us,” I manage to rasp out. The lie is as clear to me as it is to them.
“Well, we can agree on that. Still, she says you’re scent matches.” He turns and pins Hunter with a glare. “I want to meet the other one.”
I pull out my phone, almost fumbling it, in an effort to send Saint an SOS. He comes out from the back, completely calm and unruffled. I’m jealous of how at ease he is.
Alpha Raines sits up straight, but he doesn’t stand. He just turns on the stool and watches.
Saint holds out his hand. “I’m Kellar Saint of Pack Crow. This is Oli Crow, and our third is Dale Hunter. He works behind the bar. Let’s all go back to where we can talk.”
The alpha with the stetson and Bethany’s eyes exchanges a look with the handsome blond man with blue-green eyes. “No, I think we’ve seen enough.”
Saint narrows his eyes, his lips twisting unhappily. “What does that mean?”
“You’re capable, financially stable, intelligent. Which means just one thing.”
“What’s that, Alpha?” Saint says the title as a barely concealed insult.
“My name is Wayne. This is Charles, Sol, and Auggie. We are Bethany's parents, and I’m glad we’re all on the same page. That one thing, it’s the most important part.” Wayne glares at Saint, but then flicks his gaze to me, then Hunter. “You don’t deserve my baby girl.”
With that, the alphas from Pack Raines stand up and walk away from the bar with their betas. I make a sound of protest, but it’s swallowed up by the thumping bass in the club.
Saint glares at them, and then turns and sags against the bar.
“I didn’t think it would be this hard,” he says and covers his eyes with his huge hand.
I agree. I didn’t know, either. It feels like I’m missing something vital. Like the happiness and excitement that was in my life went with her. I can’t put a finger on exactly what’s wrong, but everything is slightly off. No, more than slightly. I feel sick without symptoms, lost when I know where I am, hopeless when I have everything I want.
Six days. That’s all it had been. That’s not enough time to get to know someone. My rational brain screams logic at me. But I need to touch her. I need to smell her scent; I need to lay my hands on her and feel her breathing. It’s all-encompassing. This need.
But it had only been six days. Not even a week. She could have so many things about her that clash. She might be disloyal or corrupt, she might hurt animals or children. It’d only been six days.
I don’t know which side of me is going to win, the side that wants her, yearns for her or the scarred side of me that is screaming protests of caution.
Saint grabs my chin and presses his lips to my ear. “Breathe, Crow. Nothing is going to happen. We will keep you safe.”
Memories slam into my head, my cries dulled by the throbbing of my heart in my ears as hunger and pain try to drag me into a black oblivion. Older kids surrounding me, hitting me until I can’t move. Those times were few. Most of the time, it was hunger and being cold and alone. Being scared. I don’t like to be alone anymore, and I dislike admitting it.
