Page 61 of Brutal Reign
“I’m surprised he’s still breathing,” Hayden huffs. “Your dad…”
“Respects the order of things,” I finish for her, delivering a pointed look. “He knows his hands are tied. I’m sure it’s driving him crazy to sit back and watch this all unfold, but he has no other choice.”
“You haven’t talked to him?” she questions, brows shooting up in surprise.
I give a little shake of my head. “I’ve been trying to avoid real life since Friday.”
“Yeah, I get that,” she sighs, reaching over to rub my arm comfortingly. “Pick up the phone next time though, huh? You could’ve at least let me know you were okay.”
“I know,” I murmur apologetically.
“Heads up, looks like Jake isn’t your only problem,” Kendrick remarks in a low voice, tipping his head to the right.
I turn to look in the direction he indicated, suddenly remembering that my problems are a lot bigger than Jake’s challenge. Seb and Ace are lingering nearby, their intense stares pinning me in place the moment I meet them. A sharp tugging sensation erupts in my chest, reminding me that we’re currently tethered together, for better or worse.
Hayden follows my gaze, snorting a laugh. “Wow, stalk much? What’s up with those two?”
I snap my head back around to face her. “What do you mean?”
The look she gives me says that I just asked the dumbest question in the world, but it’s not exactly easy to think straight with my heart racing and palms sweating, the damn mate bond practically humming in my chest. “They ignore you for years,then suddenly can’t stay away?” Hayden inquires dubiously. “Make it make sense!”
All I can do is shrug and shake my head, because none of this makes sense tome, either. Even after Ace explained why they cut me off, I still can’t wrap my head around the whole thing. I still find it hard to believe that they pushed me away because they cared too much, because if they truly cared, they wouldn’t have hurt me like they did.
I’d love nothing more than to confide in Hayden and talk through everything with her, but this definitely isn’t the time or place. Once I get her alone, I’ll bring her up to speed, and her head will probably explode.
“They’re still staring,” she points out, elbowing me in the ribs.
I whip a glare over my shoulder, groaning as I turn back around to face her. “Be right back,” I say, turning on a heel and stomping away from my friends.
Seb looks pretty damn pleased with himself that he was able to summon me, his lips curling into a smirk as I make my way over. Meanwhile, Ace is eating me up with his gaze, looking like he wants to take a bite out of me.
Shit, part of me wants to let him.
“What the hell are you guys doing?” I whisper as soon as I’m within earshot, scowling at the two of them.
“It’s Monday, you said we could talk,” Seb quips.
“No, I saidmaybeI’d talk to you on Monday.” I stop short, folding my arms over my chest and leveling them with a glare.
“If we didn’t tell anyone, right?” Seb drawls, tilting his head, cocky as ever. “We’ve held up our end of the bargain, so I think we’ve earned some quality time with our mate.”
I bristle as soon as that word leaves his lips, lunging for him and grabbing onto his bicep. “Shhh!” I hiss, yanking him to follow me to the edge of the practice field. My fingernails dig intohis flesh, and I don’t miss the way his muscles bunch and flex beneath my palm or the sparks that bloom between our skin as I drag him further away from the other recruits, Ace taking the cue to follow along with us.
Once we’ve reached an acceptable distance to not be overheard, I let go of Seb’s arm, belatedly realizing that I clawed his bicep hard enough to draw blood. There’s a row of little red crescents adorning his bicep, but he doesn’t seem bothered in the least by his injury, grinning smugly at me like he enjoyed the pain.Sick bastard.
“Would you fucking stop?” I huff, glaring daggers at him. “Everyone’s already talking about Jake challenging me, and the last thing I need is to give them more fuel to add to the fire. You guys need to stop hovering. Just pretend I don’t exist, you’re good at that.”
“But you’re mine,” Seb growls, flickering a glance toward Ace before amending, “Ours.”
“I’m nobody’s, so back the fuck up,” I snap, my shoulders bunching with tension as I punch my fists against my hips. “I told you I wanted to keep this quiet, and I meant it. I can’t have you guys hanging around or people will start to get suspicious.”
“Suspicious of what?” Ace cuts in, brow furrowing. “Just because we’re talking doesn’t mean they have reason to suspect anything. The three of us used to be friends. For all they know, we’ve just set aside our differences and are becoming friends again.”
Of coursehe has a point– Ace is always the reasonable one– but Seb shakes his head in disagreement, frowning.
“But we’renotfriends,” he grumbles. “We’re–”
I cut him a glare and he snaps his mouth shut, holding up his hands in surrender.