Chapter Seven
Suero inwardly sighed when Macey walked into the living room with a tray in her hands.
Just keep your mouth shut and remain seated. Act like she isn’t even here.
Rising from the couch, he took the tray from her and placed it on the coffee table.
“Thanks.”
She smiled and sat on the middle cushion. Choosing the chair would come off as rude, so he settled back down and focused on his phone. He needed to delete the messages he’d exchanged with Kia. How many times would he read them before he stopped missing the little cheetah?
“I wasn’t blind to Jacob’s flaws,”
Macey said softly, staring out the window. "I kept thinking I could change him. Maybe if I were kinder, dressed more attractively, or just agreed with him on everything.”
She folded her hands in her lap. “Love conquers all, right?”
Suero let out a snort he immediately regretted, hoping it didn’t seem like he was mocking her. “People rarely change.”
She smiled, a breath escaping her nose. “It’s not so simple when your mind and heart are in conflict, Suero.”
She handed him one of the glasses.
Then, she placed a large bowl of Doritos between them, taking one for herself. After a bite, she said, “Love sucks.”
She sounded annoyed, as if she completely resented the idea. Her fingers kept returning to the bowl, her mouth angrily chewing.
“Can’t argue with that,”
Suero remarked, popping a few chips into his mouth. He hadn’t reached the stage of love with Kia, but getting ghosted still stung.
“Boy or girl?”
Macey asked, her cheeks a bit rosy. “It’s fine if you’d rather not say.”
She turned back to her chips, munching on a few more before sipping her drink.
“Guy,”
Suero admitted, stuffing a handful of chips into his mouth to avoid elaborating. He didn’t know her well enough to trust her with his thoughts, and didn’t want her repeating anything he said.
Matias was all about transparency, but some things a guy preferred to keep to himself. A few dates and texts weren’t a threat to their pack, just a hit to his pride.
Diablo already teased Suero about the whole maternal figure thing, and finding out a cheetah had dumped him would just give the jerk more reasons to rib him.
“How long were you two together?”
he asked when the silence turned uncomfortable. He wished he’d just waited on the front porch for Percy to come home.
Instead, he kept eating chips, telling himself not to offer to move something heavy for her or repaint her entire house just to avoid talking to her.
“Twenty-seven years.”
She picked up a chip, looked at it, then dropped it back into the bowl. “I know it’s foolish to miss him, but...”
“But emotions are messy and complicated,”
he concluded for her. The drink was surprisingly delicious, tasting like a mix of strawberry juice and lemonade. There were even bits of fruit in it.
She snorted, causing him to grin. “You hit the nail on the head, Suero. Every time Jacob shows up...”
She swallowed hard, sipped her drink, and exhaled slowly. “For just a brief moment, I wonder if he’ll be the man I fell in love with or the angry, bitter person he became.”
Suero quickly moved to the kitchen to grab some paper towels and brought them to her. He hated to see a woman cry and never knew how to comfort them.
“Thanks.”
She accepted them, using one to dry her eyes. A brief laugh escaped her. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear any of this. Sorry for being such an emotional wreck, especially when you’re dealing with your own issues.”
“He just stopped talking to me. No reason given,”
Suero suddenly admitted. A flush of heat spread across his face, his ears burning. Here he was, a fierce predator, confessing someone had left him heartbroken.
She looked at him with softened eyes. “Then it’s his loss, right?”
Suero just shrugged, because to him, it felt the other way around.
“It still hurts though,”
she murmured.
He looked around, feeling uncomfortable about discussing his feelings. It wasn’t as if his father had such openness. Pedro had been emotionally distant, never once telling Suero he loved him or was proud of him.
They’d merely coexisted under the same roof. His father never took him on trips or organized family nights like Suero’s friends enjoyed with their families.
Not once had Pedro taken the time to get to know his only child. So, when Suero had the chance to join the Salvador pack, he seized it.
The pack was a close-knit family, a brotherhood that looked out for each other, offering the support and stability, the sense of belonging Pedro had never provided.
Despite Diablo’s teasing, Suero knew the wolf would lay down his life for him, just as Suero would for each one of them.
He was startled when Macey hugged him, his arms shooting out from his sides. He sat motionless, his eyes flitting around.
“I’m sorry you’re hurting,”
she murmured. “If you ever need someone to talk to, someone who understands heartache, my door is always open.”
He swallowed and gradually wrapped his arms around her slender shoulders. “Thank you.”
With a laugh, she pulled away, taking her motherly warmth with her. “How about we watch some terrible movies and indulge in even worse junk food?”
Macey suggested, rising and making her way to the kitchen, with Suero trailing behind her.
“You grab the gallon of juice, and I’ll get the cookies,”
she instructed. “Empty calories be damned.”
He grinned when Macey retrieved a quart of ice cream from the freezer and grabbed two spoons from the drawer.
Clearly, she meant business.
With the juice and an extra bag of chips in hand, he followed her as she carried the cookies and ice cream.
Turned out, looking after Percy’s mom wasn’t so bad after all.
* * * *
When no one answered the door, Diablo gently pushed it open. He was there to take over from Suero, to relieve him of a burden he never wanted in the first place.
A grin formed as he took in the scene. Suero and Macey were asleep on the couch. The wolf sat upright, head tilted back, eyes shut. Macey was curled up, a throw blanket covering her small frame, her head resting on Suero’s lap.
The coffee table was cluttered with snacks, and a movie played softly on the television.
Pulling out his phone, Diablo captured a few photos, but not for sharing or teasing. It was too intimate, a rare glimpse of tenderness within their pack.
He planned to send the images to Suero.
Although the wolf would be pissed they were taken, he wouldn’t delete them. They would serve as a reminder of what had transpired that night—that Suero now possibly had a maternal figure to rely on. Hopefully he hadn’t mopped her entire house. Diablo wouldn’t put it past him.
Suero opened his eyes, his irises glowing amber as they locked gazes. He’d been ready to end whoever had entered before realizing it was a pack member. Diablo gave him a peace sign before quietly exiting the house. He sat on the steps, resting back on his elbows. Inside him, his beasts stirred restlessly, growling and straining against their confines.
Even if it took him until his dying breath, he was determined to find a way to free them.