Page 53 of Brutal Reign
I jerk a nod, finishing off the rest of my beer.
“And then our pack would suffer, because you’d have to find a new Beta,” he continues, staring off into the fire again. “And let’s face it, no matter who it was, they’d never be as good as me. Nobody else can handle your mood swings.”
“Hey,” I protest, tossing my empty beer can at him.
He bats it out of the air with a laugh. “What? You know it’s true. You’re a pain in the ass.”
“Remind me why I’m friends with you again?” I grumble.
Ace chuckles softly to himself, shaking his head. “Because we’re bros. And if we wanna keep it that way, then we’re gonna have to figure this shit out before it drives a wedge between us.”
“Yeah.” I turn my gaze back to the fire, eyes glazing over. “If we don’t want that to happen, then maybe we should make a pact. Agree that she’s off-limits to us both.”
“Won’t that be hard with the way she’s always around?” he muses. “What if she tries to kiss me again?”
“Then you say no,” I reply flatly.
Ace shakes his head, shoving his hands into his hoodie pocket. “Nah, I’m not that strong, dude. We’ve gotta remove the temptation. Distance ourselves from her.”
My heart stutters a beat. “Stop being friends with her, you mean.”
“Yeah,” Ace rasps. “Can you do it?”
My chest constricts painfully as I consider my life without River in it. Don’t get me wrong, she’s an aggravating little shit, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about her. There’s nobody I’d rather bicker with; nobody who riles me up quite like she does. I thrive off the way she pushes my buttons. It wasn’t until recently that I even realized the truth– how I’ve always carried a torch for River Jacobsen.
“If I have to,” I grind out. “If it’s the only way.”
Ace heaves a sigh, sinking further back in his chair. “Yeah, I think it is.”
A silence falls over us again as we both consider what this means; how drastically our lives are about to change. It’s always been the three of us. Cutting River out feels akin to lopping off a limb; without her, part of us will always be missing.
“So that’s it, then?” I mutter, eyeing my best friend. “We have a deal?”
“Yeah,” Ace nods, yanking a hand out of his hoodie pocket. He leans forward, turning at the waist to offer it to me. “We have a deal.”
I slap my palm into his and shake it while a little piece of me dies inside.
NOW
My body joltsas I feel the mate bond snap in between me and River, a wild wave of energy zapping through me like an electric current.
Holy shit.River Jacobsen is my…
“Mate,” Ace breathes, and I whip my head sideways, gaping at him in disbelief.How does he know?Maybe it’s a Beta thing, because he’s staring at River in awe, but she’s looking between the two of us like she doesn’t know which way is up.
“No,” she whispers, shaking her head as she slowly backs away. This isn’t my first time seeing her naked, but I swear she’s never looked more beautiful than she does right now with her soft curves bathed in moonlight. She’s fucking perfect, and she’smine.
A rush of euphoria ripples through me at the realization. This is all I’ve ever wanted– it’s as if all my broken pieces are finally sliding into their rightful place, all the messy shit with her suddenly making perfect sense. I could never truly walk away from River because she was always meant to be mine.
“I’m obviously having a nervous breakdown or something, because this can’t be real,” she mutters, still backing away when she should be running toward me instead.What gives?
She can’t turn her back on fate any more than I can. Not that I want to. This is without a doubt the best fucking thing that’s ever happened to me, and the fact that she doesn’t seem to share the same sentiment is more than a little unsettling.
“Sure feels real to me,” I drawl, finally finding my voice and advancing a step in her direction.
Apparently, that’s the wrong move. The air around River starts to shimmer as she calls her wolf forward, the distinctive pop of her bones sounding as her body rearranges itself and she drops down on her front paws, shaking out her fur. It’s white as snow– the antithesis of my own wolf’s inky black coat– and it takes on an ethereal glow beneath the light of the moon. She stares in my direction for a long moment, almost as if she’s conflicted. Then she whips around with a low whine, darting off into the trees and disappearing from sight.
My own wolf keens to go after her, but I belatedly realize that Ace is still standing beside me, staring after my girl like a lovesick pup.