Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
brIELLE
“ B ri! Bri! Watch this!”
Camden looks over his shoulder, making sure I’m actually watching him, before he jumps off one of the large rock outcroppings that hug the lake. He squeals a second before he hits the surface of the lake, water splashing out from him.
Rose squeaks and scoots away from the edge of the large rock, huddling into Logan’s side.
“You’re going to mess up my hair!” she says ruefully. She runs a hand over the end of her braid like she’s making sure it’s still there.
Logan hugs her as she sighs into his side. “Momma will fix it if she needs to.”
Rose pouts but nods. A second later, Camden surfaces from his jump. His eyes find me as soon as he pushes his hair out of his eyes, ignoring both of his fathers.
“Bri! Did you see?” he asks. “It was so big!”
“That’s what he said,” Melissa murmurs.
Caleb’s laugh is rich in my ears. I can’t help but grin as I nod and lean back on my hand, my arm brushing Caleb’s leg.
“It was! That one was even bigger than the last one.” I point to the splash marks on the rock, highlighting the newest set that’s about three inches higher than the previous grouping.
He grins and then turns around.
“Aunt Emily, can I be on your board, too, now?” he calls out.
Emily looks over her shoulder, her paddle still in the water. She smiles and then slowly turns the paddleboard around, easing it closer to Camden without managing to accidentally beach it. He flops along the front of the board, forcing Emily to one knee to keep from falling into the lake.
Melissa laughs where she sits beside me, her knee brushing mine.
Iris jumps up from Jude’s lap once Emily and Camden have started moving deeper into the lake.
“My turn!” she says. “Watch how high mine are!” She runs along the shore and climbs the rocks to get to the same spot Camden jumped. It’s become the unofficial launching point for the kids, their new favorite way of getting into the lake.
Rose whines. “‘Ris! My hair!”
“I won’t splash you! Promise!” she says.
Carter’s eyes are watchful as he focuses on her, his arm propped behind Faedra where she sits on the other side of Olivia. Her gaze is on Ethan where he stands leaning against another larger rock about twenty feet away, a soda held carelessly in one hand as he chats with Beau and Hudson. He cocks an eyebrow as Beau tosses his head back and laughs.
He hasn’t said a word to me since lifting me onto the table yesterday and kissing me until I was ready to strip out of every single piece of clothing touching my body and take his knot until I could practically feel it in my own damn throat. It’s like it didn’t even happen for him.
Well, aside from one loaded as hell look across the circle we’d formed last night while the kids watched the stars and compared them to a book Jude provided them that talked of constellations and the stories associated with them. A loaded as hell look Caleb had noticed. A look that had caused him to pull me into his lap rather than just letting his arm continue to drape over my shoulders. A look that had butterflies bubbling in my stomach for him for the first time in a long damn time.
My stomach clenches, but I ignore it.
Iris looks over her shoulder. “You watching, Daddy?” she asks.
Carter’s smile is evident in his voice. “Always, sweetie.”
She grins, plugs her nose, and leaps off the rock. Rose shuffles another foot or so down the edge of the outcropping, yelling as water splashes against her legs.
Caleb hums behind me before kissing the top of my head. His arm wraps around my waist as he readjusts us both, moving me with an ease that has my blood heating.
Thank God for Faedra bringing the newest scent blockers on the market with her. Mine don’t work with swimsuits. Now, not a speck of my scent betrays just how easily my body melts for Caleb.
As everyone claps for Iris as she surfaces from her jump, Olivia traces the small tattoo behind my ear. A shiver runs down my spine, and goosebumps spread out along my skin.
“This is really pretty,” she says.
My throat dries out. Caleb tightens his arm around my waist, pulling me flush against him, and kisses my hair again.
“Thanks,” I say automatically. And then, because it’s just my friends here, I admit, “I hate them.”
Melissa bumps my knee in quiet support. Olivia frowns and lets her hand drop.
“Oh, I didn’t realize it was from him,” she says.
For some reason, my eyes wander back to Ethan. His eyes are locked on me, a muscle ticking in his cheek from how hard he’s clenching his jaw. His beard is more unkempt than I’ve seen it over the last month. I’ve never been with someone that has facial hair. He didn’t have one before . Or even when I was here for Brandon’s funeral and Kayla was still alive.
Would it leave scratches behind on my skin? It had felt… really, really good when he kissed me yesterday.
Desire races through me in one hot, consuming wave. I force a swallow and drop my eyes, picking at the hem of my shorts.
“I think I’m going to get it covered,” I say once I’m sure my voice won’t shake.
Faedra looks around Olivia. “You’ve decided to do it?” she asks.
I offer a shrug. “Maybe? Probably. I’m just not sure what I’d get instead.”
“What about something that reminds you of something that makes you happy?” Olivia offers.
“Or something that shows off a new start,” Melissa says. “Because fuck Brett.”
I can’t help but laugh at the vehement fire in her voice, like she’s spitting out something disgusting.
Faedra leans around Olivia and grabs my knee. “Yes,” she says, just as passionate as Melissa. “Something to get him off your skin forever.”
“I agree,” Caleb whispers, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “Fuck him and every mark he’s left on you.”
I can’t help but shiver as he bites over the tattoo, pulling my skin between his teeth until I gasp. He runs his tongue over the stinging skin. Cinnamon bleeds out from him. Melissa and Olivia both chuckle. My cheeks heat, but I let myself stay relaxed against him.
Hudson frowns and turns toward me, leaning fully against the rock beside Ethan. “Wait. Who is Brett and why do we hate him?”
Caleb tightens his hold again, his fingers digging into my side. I swallow around the lump in my throat, the panic coming faster than I’ve ever felt it before. It’s never even really been panic . Why am I so nervous to have the cold reality of Brett’s betrayal laid out in front of my friends?
My eyes catch on Ethan, and the nervous band around my chest tightens. His eyes are dark, his lips pulled into a heavy frown. His forearms are taut with the strength of his fisting his hands. The soda can in his grip crushes under the pressure.
I drop my gaze and mess with one of the smaller rocks still left on the shore, missed by the kids as they tried to find good stones for skipping.
I’m not ready for Ethan to know just what happened between Brett and me.
“Her asshole of a dead husband,” Faedra says with the same passion as before.
The group grows still. That anxiety ratchets tighter. Caleb presses his lips to the crown of my head.
“And we hate him,” Melissa continues, apparently oblivious to the sudden shift in the atmosphere, “because he was a lying piece of shit.”
The silence grows charged. Somebody growls, low and lethal. I don’t dare look toward Ethan this time even though it’s undeniably him having the possessive, violent reaction. I run my palms down my thighs to keep from shifting in Caleb’s hold. His arms tense around me. Because of course he noticed my nerves.
After a moment, his growl overlays the other.
“Momma? What’s wrong?” Rose asks from her perch on the jumping rock. She’s moved back toward the edge. She kicks her legs where they dangle over the edge.
Logan kisses her head and hands her another rock as he settles beside her again. As she tosses the rock into the water, he whispers, “Just some big people things, Rosebug.”
She frowns even as she takes the rock. “But growls mean someone’s angry. What made anger happen? We were talking about Aunt Brielle’s flowers.”
Faedra and Logan share a long look, and not even I miss all the undercurrents flowing between them.
“Someone hurt Brielle, and Caleb’s upset about it,” Logan offers after an entire minute. Rose tilts her head, looking between her parents and the two growling Alphas. “Remember how we talked with Aunt Violet about how Alphas are very protective of the people they love?”
Love .
The word lances through me, cutting me to the bone. My breath catches in my throat. Caleb’s growl grows stronger.
Rose nods. “So it’s like when Uncle Dominic’s brother got angry with him?” she asks.
“Not this time. But someone was mean to Brielle, and Caleb is very protective of her.” Logan’s voice drops even lower, nearly a whisper. Rose’s eyes widen and shoot to me before looking over at Ethan. She taps Logan’s hand, and he leans over her.
The sounds of Camden and Emily wading through the water cover whatever she asks him.
“Bri!” Camden calls, waving. “Emily and I found a cool spot. Can I show you?”
Bless that kid for never realizing exactly what’s going on with the adults around him. I ease out of Caleb’s arms even as his growl continues.
“Hold up,” Hudson says. “There’s a part of this story I’m missing. Why the hell is Caleb ready to kill someone? What kind of lying are we talking about?”
Faedra and Melissa sigh in unison.
“Sorry,” Melissa says, her voice contrite. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
I shrug and ease out of Caleb’s shirt I’ve been using as a cover-up. He raises an eyebrow as I drop it into his lap, his growl cutting off all at once. His eyes darken, and a new wave of cinnamon overlays the smells of the lake. Olivia shakes her head as she chuckles.
“Brielle?” Faedra asks.
With a single shake of my head, I start toward the lakeshore. The water is cold despite the warm summer afternoon. As Emily hops off the paddle board, I glance over my shoulder and focus on Hudson. It takes all my control to not let my eyes slide just a couple feet to the left where Ethan stands, his growl still reverberating through the group.
“Lying that destroyed my marriage,” I say. Hudson’s frown deepens.
Before he can say anything else, I turn back around and ease myself onto the paddle board, staying on my knees to keep the risk of falling lower. Camden smiles.
“You ready?” he asks.
When I nod, he turns around and points to a rock outcropping a few hundred feet to the left. I don’t look over my shoulder even as Ethan’s growl grows louder.