My stomach instantly coils like a snake that wants to strike. I hate that he’s touching her, but I hate the smarmy expression on his face more, and the way he juts his chin out like he’s all-fucking-that and wants to give my mate every opportunity to take in his magnificence.
“Noah, this is…my brother Kyson,” I introduce him reluctantly. Because I refuse to be the same sort of hothead that Kyson is, I swallow the growl building in my chest and tamp down the raging desire to deck him. If I give the slightest hint that what he’s doing bothers me, he’ll just double down and be even more annoying about it. My eyes drift toward the lake for a second, as I try to maintain my composure.
Noah’s hi is brief and flat. Disinterested.
“Damn,” Kyson exclaims. “I don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting you,” he announces as he pointedly looks Noah up and down in what he thinks is a compliment. She casually pulls her hand from his and takes a discreet step back, clearly uncomfortable. “Are you sure you’re with the right den, angel?” he jeers, like the arrogant ass he is. “Because I’d love to introduce you to mine.”
Ellery’s eyes flash wolf, and he takes a threatening step toward Kyson, putting his body in front of Noah’s. Gannon stiffens but lets Ellery take point. My brother laughs as he skates back, lifting his hands in surrender while still staring salaciously and unapologetically at our mate.
My chest thrums with heated aggression as I take a step closer too, the need to lash out at my brother worse than ever. If it wouldn’t freak Noah out, I’d encourage Ellery to fuck Kyson up for his blatant disrespect. Fuck knows I’d like to do it myself, but it would piss off my dads and guarantee their bitching for the next year. Despite the fact that my older brothers never fight fair and still manage to lose when they square off against me, I’m always blamed.
“Apologize to our mate,” Ellery commands.
“Mate?” Kyson questions with a tsk. “I don’t know about that, Ellery, doesn’t look like she’s got your mark yet,” Kyson counters, dancing around the line of respect by tilting his head and exposing his neck but keeping his facial expression utterly disdainful.
That motherfucker.
He’s here to start shit. It’s written all over his pompous face.
I should have known this would happen. This sort of get-together is normally too tame for him. I don’t know why I thought he’d be here to actually support us. A quick survey of the yard behind him shows that none of his denmates are here, which is a good thing, because they’re attracted to aggression like flies to shit. But for him to come out today just to make a mess of things for me and our chances with Noah…
I hate that I know that’s exactly what Kyson’s here to do. Family is everything. Whether that’s the one you’re born into or the one you create with your den, those relationships are sacred. But as I stare into my brother’s hard hazel eyes, there’s no denying the truth. That asshole blames me for being born and for every perceived slight or wrong thing that’s happened to him since. He just can’t waste a single opportunity to screw with me.
Ellery takes another step forward, his hand going to Kyson’s shoulder and squeezing hard, pressing in on a nerve running just inside the muscle. My brother’s jaw clicks together and his body tenses. He tries to fight it at first, but there’s no fighting the dominance coming off of our future alpha. Slowly Kyson’s eyes drop and he tilts his head, Ellery forcing him to submit.
Kyson clears his throat to cover up the small whine that sneaks up his throat. “Gonna go grab myself a drink,” he says to save face before turning and stomping off.
The three of us let out loud breaths, glad my brother backed down and this didn’t go further. The fact that he didn’t leave the barbecue altogether though means that none of this is over. We’re definitely in for a hell of a night.
“So… is that what a shifter pissing contest looks like?” Noah asks dryly from behind us.
I huff out an incredulous laugh, tempted to say yes. It’d be easy to tell her that’s as bad as it gets, but we’re not going to do Noah any favors by sugarcoating things. “No. It’s usually much worse than that.”
I track my brother with my eyes as he joins the others. I have the distinct feeling that this little encounter with Kyson is just the appetizer, and I’m not looking forward to what he dishes up next.
It seems Noah’s about to experience the full range of my family’s dysfunction tonight. That pisses me off more than it normally would because it will make it harder to help her understand how amazing a pack can be, and that’s what tonight is supposed to be all about.
How the hell are we going to show her the incredible side of shifter life when I can’t even get Kyson to pull his head out of his ass long enough for us to paint the picture?
When I glance back up at her, Noah’s expression is serious, her eyes studying me carefully.
I look to Ellery for help explaining why my brother’s such a shithead, without coming off like an asshole myself. He’s better at smoothing things over than I am.
“Packs have a hierarchy,” he starts to explain. “Kyson’s always been an insecure beta with a chip on his shoulder. Avoid him if you can. Everyone else is semi-decent, but he’s pure piss and vinegar.”
“Kyson, are the lovebirds here?” I hear Steph ask from nearby before my toddler-aged nieces go streaking past her, giggling and leaving a trail of clothing in their wake that Steph hurries to pick up. She doesn’t even have time to glance our way in her attempts to catch and re-dress her little ringlet-haired nudist spawn.
“Oh, are they here?” Ellery’s mom squeals, drawing everyone’s attention to us as we finally make our way to the back of the house. The huge sprawling deck overlooking the lake is big enough to host an outdoor kitchen, two seating areas with wicker couches, and a table long enough to fit twenty people.
I watch Noah carefully as introductions are lobbed at her like grenades. She’s pulled into hugs by most of the parents and patted hard on the back by one of my dads, who’s never been the most affectionate guy. Every interaction has me worried she’s about to make a run for it, and I wish I could just fucking relax. I wish there wasn’t so much riding on this.
I love my family—most of them—I really do, but Noah is barely comfortable around us, and now we’re exposing her to all of this, and I can’t help feeling this is a mistake.
I know it’s the incomplete mate bond talking, that I need to have faith and trust that the bond will work out, but shifter life can be a lot for someone who didn’t grow up around it. Gannon was happy about being an eerie, and even he struggled with acclimating to pack expectations. I suppose that could have something to do with the pack he was in before we found him, but fitting in—even when he wanted to—was hard.
With Noah—I’m not sure any part of her wants this life.
Alpha and Ellery felt it was better to introduce Noah to things sooner rather than later, but I also think Alpha Morgan might have blinders on when it comes to his son finding a mate. But when the alpha invites you over for any reason, the word no isn’t an option.