Page 113 of Brutal Reign
“Ew, he bet on me andMicah?” Riv cuts in, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
Dad gestures to her with a laugh. “See, that’s what I said! And you were always hanging out in Ace’s room…”
“Only because he had the best music,” she clucks, shooting me a side-eyed glance. “Sorry, Seb, but you listen to a lot of trash.”
“Hey, I listened to Audio Whiplash for you,” I reason, knocking my shoulder into hers. “Doesn’t that count for anything?”
Her lips pull into a coy smile, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. She’s probably thinking of the same thing I do whenever that band is mentioned– what we got up to in that VIP alcove at the show. The memory of that night will forever live in my head rent-free.
“You’ve really gotta tell your dad, Riv,” my father murmurs, swiping a hand over his chin thoughtfully. “He’s been pretty intense ever since his Beta’s kid issued that challenge.”
Her expression falls, gaze dropping to her lap. “Yeah, I know,” she replies quietly.
“He should really hear it from you before he hears it from someone else,” Dad continues.
“I know,” she murmurs.
“Hey, lay off,” I snarl, my inner wolf pushing forward defensively. “She’ll tell him when she’s ready.”
River glances up at me again, reaching over to rest a hand on my thigh. “I appreciate that, but he’s right,” she says softly. “I’vebeen avoiding it for too long. If we’re really doing this, then I need to tell him.”
“Well, you don’t have to do it alone,” Ace offers, sweeping his thumb over the back of River’s hand affectionately. “We’ll do it together.”
I jerk a nod in agreement. “Just say when.”
River rolls her lower lip between her teeth, staring off across the room for a moment. Then she suddenly heaves a sigh, abruptly pushing up to her feet.
“Whoa, we didn’t mean right now,” I snort, reaching for her.
She whips around to face me, folding her arms tightly across her chest. “It has to be now, or I’ll keep putting it off,” she says, hazel eyes pinging between me and Ace. “So are you guys coming, or…?”
“Obviously,” I huff, shoving up from the couch.
“Shit, can I come too?” Dad chuckles as Ace and I get to our feet, both ready to follow River into the fire.
“Dad,” I groan.
“Alright, alright,” he laughs, scrubbing a hand over his face. Amusement twinkles in his eyes as he meets mine, pointing a finger at me. “But remember son, my money’s on you.”
37
“How much longer?” I ask, darting a nervous glance toward the front door of the packhouse.
“Any minute, now honey,” my mom replies with an encouraging smile.
I blow out a slow breath, my knee bouncing anxiously as I stare down at the coffee table, wringing my hands in my lap. All that courage I had when I came here has slowly evaporated with every minute that’s ticked by since we walked through the door.Of all the times for my dad to be out handling pack business…
“Can I get you guys anything?” Mom asks, swinging her gaze between the three of us seated on the couch opposite her. “A snack or something?”
I shake my head. If I tried to eat something right now, it’d probably come right back up.
“No thanks, Mrs. Jacobsen,” Ace replies politely.
“Unless you’ve got whiskey?” Seb drawls, waggling his brows.
Mom rolls her eyes, snorting a laugh. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a spitting image of your father when he was your age?”
Seb smirks and shrugs a shoulder. “Once or twice.”