40

40
BRANDON
I sit quietly in the corner at Lonnie’s house, my arms folded across my chest. I’m sure the others can see the anger radiating off of me. Alicia’s the one I’m really mad at, of course, but she’s not here, so I’m venting my rage at the rest of them.
Like poor Maddy, Lonnie’s girlfriend. She can definitely be a little tiresome-she’s really young, that’s most of her problem-but she’s never bothered me before. If she wasn’t dating Lonnie, she’d probably be all right. As it is, I kind of feel sorry for her most of the time.
But that’s most of the time. Right now, the only feeling I have room for is anger.
So when I catch Maddy looking at me, I bare my teeth at her. She looks away quickly, obviously startled, and I can’t blame her. I’ve never been aggressive with the younger members of the pack before. They don’t remember the way I was when I was in my teens and early twenties. They think of me as the guy I am now-calm, rational, a balance to Lonnie’s hotheadedness.
Maddy leans over to whisper something to Jack, who’s standing beside her, and he smirks and whispers back. I think I know what they’re talking about. She’ll have asked him what my problem is, no doubt. He’ll be telling her that it doesn’t matter, because he’s going to get my position in the pack and I’ll be nothing.
Right now, I couldn’t give a damn about that. I can’t believe I was thinking of making a play for alpha for Alicia’s sake. She’s not worth it.
Lonnie’s been lounging on the couch, but now he sits up a little bit. “Okay,” he says. “Here’s the plan. We need to get Alicia out of town.”
“We could just kill her,” Jack suggests, completely sincerely.
Even Lonnie’s not that insane. “We’re not going to kill her. Don’t be stupid.”
“Why not?” Damn, Jack was really hoping for a kill.
“Because it would start a pack war,” Lonnie says impatiently. “The rest of my family would turn against us.”
“A couple of women and an aging alpha? Who cares?”
Lonnie sighs. “Think about it,” he snaps. “My father might be aging, but he’s still the alpha of our pack. He can still make decisions that will have consequences for all of us. How do you think he’s going to react if I put a hit out on his daughter?”
“Who cares what the old man does?” Jack asks. “If he tries anything, we’ll kill him too.”
I snort from my corner.
Jack turns to face me. “Got something to say?”
“If you really need me to explain it to you,” I say. “People are loyal to Vern. Lonnie hasn’t built up that kind of loyalty yet across the pack. If we tell
everyone they have to pick a side, there’s absolutely no guarantee they’ll pick yours.”
I hear myself say yours instead of ours. But it’s the truth. I’m not on their side. Whatever they’re planning now, I don’t want any part of it.
I’m furious at Alicia. I can’t stand her right now. But I don’t want revenge against her. I just want to never have to see her again.
“So we’ll run her out of town,” Lonnie says. He glances at Jack. “Don’t worry. There will be plenty of action. Plenty of chances to fight. Maybe you’ll get a few bites in.”
I could fucking take his head off for that, and I don’t know why. I don’t know why it disturbs me so much to think of Jack getting his teeth into Alicia. I shouldn’t care anymore. She’s been playing me for a fool.
Right?
Or am I allowing myself to be played here?
I shouldn’t care about Alicia, not if what Lonnie has been telling me is true. But I do care about her.
And Lonnie is a known liar. He would do anything to cement his position in the pack. He doesn’t want Alicia here because her presence is a danger to him.
Why am I listening to this guy?
Suddenly I realize that Lonnie’s version of events isn’t good enough. I need to see this for myself. I need to confront Alicia before the pack runs her off. And I need to see Emmy again too, to reassure myself that I really did see my features in her face, that I wasn’t just imagining things.
I get to my feet.
“Hey,” Lonnie objects. “Where the hell do you think you’re going, Brandon?”
“For a run,” I say.
“Don’t you want to help us plan the attack? You’re the one she’s been fucking around on. I’d have thought you’d want as big a hand in this as possible.”
I shrug. “Maybe I’ll go over it once you’ve got the plan in place.”
“We’re not going to want to make any changes at that point. It’s now or never.”
“Fine. I trust you.” I move toward the door. “I need to get out of here.”
Jack whispers to Maddy again and she smirks. She really is kind of insufferable sometimes.
“All right,” Lonnie says. “Do what you like. Just so you know, the plan will probably be finalized when you get back.”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it.”
I head out the door and set off at a jog-but not in the direction of the woods. I’m not going for a run. At least, not the kind of run Lonnie imagines. I’m staying human tonight.
I need to talk to Alicia, and I need to do it now. No matter what happened with her and me and the baby, she doesn’t deserve violence. I’m not going to stand by and let Lonnie and the others hurt her. I’m going to let her know this is coming her way soon, and I’m going to tell her to get out of town.
I’ve given Alicia warnings about Lonnie before, but this time there’s one crucial difference.
This time, I don’t want her to stay.
Frankly, I don’t care if I never see her again after today. In fact, I hope I don’t.