38. Brylee
38
brYLEE
The next few days pass in a blur of feelings, emotions, and memories I don’t want to linger on.
When I sleep, for the first time in what feels like years, I dream of them . Of their soft touches, whispered promises, and inevitable betrayal. I don’t know why Dream Brylee is always so surprised when they stab her in the back. Maybe she na?vely hopes that this time, the dream will play out differently.
It never does.
I trudge to my ten a.m. Offensive Training class Thursday morning, my limbs feeling like blocks of cement.
Class passes without any incident. I purposely avoid any and all contact with Alpha Team X—including Colter, whose piercing gaze I can feel on me from even across the room. I can tell he has something to say to me, but the last thing I want to do is discuss my date with Luka.
Or discuss them —the alphas who broke me, one loving touch at a time.
Fortunately, he’s pulled away by another professor just as class ends.
I take a deep breath of relief and use a towel to dab at the sweat on my cheeks and forehead. My next class is in just a few minutes, and it’s one that I actually enjoy.
Introduction to Weaponry.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a huge fan of the topic itself, but there’s something…enticing about watching Kylian stand at the front of the room, commanding the students’ attention with an effortless grace. There’s no doubt that, of the four of them, Ridge is the leader, but all of them have proven they’re more than capable of taking control if the need arises. Kylian is also a surprisingly good teacher, both patient and funny.
He’s so different in this class than he is in combat training. Here, I can see the guy who climbed a tree just to bring me coffee. It’s so much easier to see the genuinely attractive sides of this alpha.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he usually wears a tank top and a pair of gray sweatpants that leave very little to the imagination. All of that dark, tattooed skin on display…
As if my thoughts alone summoned him, Kylian moves in front of me, his customary smirk pasted firmly on his face. Ridge stands on one side, scowling, while Luka takes up the other. My heart begins to beat even faster as their combined scents coil around me, enveloping me in their warmth. A flush starts in my cheeks and migrates down my neck and to my chest, which begins to heave.
“We need to talk,” Ridge says, that perpetual scowl of his deepening, creating grooves around the corner of his mouth.
I shuffle my duffel bag to my other arm as I avoid looking them directly in the eyes. Especially Luka.
“Yes?”
Get this conversation over with as quick as you can, Brylee, I mentally tell myself. Don’t sass back at the sexy alphas. Just answer their questions and get the fuck out of here.
For a long moment, none of the alphas speak, and I shift my weight from one foot to the other as annoyance spikes.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have to get to class…” I murmur, attempting to stealthily step around them.
Kylian blocks me.
I finally dare to meet his dark eyes, noting the challenge reflected back at me.
And god help me, a little bit of sass slips out before I can contain it. “And you should get to class too, Professor.”
Kylian’s smile broadens, revealing straight white teeth, before instantly flattening.
“That’s the benefit of being an instructor here.” He leans in even closer, until his breath fans against my face. I know he’s trying to threaten me, trying to intimidate me, but a tiny thrill shoots through me, regardless. “I make the rules.”
My stomach clenches.
I pull away before I can do something stupid—like jump him—and focus on Ridge. Of all the alphas, I think I’ve spent less time with him as Brylee. I don’t have any…emotional attachment to him.
Even as I think that, I remember our conversation in the palace, when he begged me to give him and the others a chance.
I almost gave in to him.
I almost agreed to what he wanted.
The omega part of me was desperate to please him, to ease the ache I could see brewing in his bright blue eyes.
Which is why I need to get away from them as quickly as I can. They’re already capable of cracking through my carefully constructed walls like they’re nothing but toy blocks. Their mere presence makes me want to give in to their every whim and desire, which is dangerous. Dangerous and terrifying.
It would ruin me and Teddie.
I fold my arms over my chest, praying they don’t notice the slight quiver in my hands or the way my pulse picks up speed. The tightness in my chest—like rubber bands constricting my rib cage—is impossible to ignore.
Luka takes a single step forward, and I automatically counter it with one backward.
“Did your sister used to have a…pack?” His voice is laced with jealousy and possessiveness. “We ran into triplets the other night, and she…” He forks his fingers through his hair, disrupting the normally meticulous strands. “She freaked out. Had a panic attack. What happened between them?”
Irritation flares inside of me. They’re seriously asking Teddie about this?
Why didn’t they come to me—to Brylee? I want to scream that I’m right here but manage to stop myself.
I suck in a breath, my nails digging into my palms, and debate how to respond.
“She’s fine,” I settle on at last, attempting to shove my way through them. The words feel hollow and empty. How can I say she’s fine when she’s not? When I’m not? Every day, when the memories bubble close to the surface, it’s a challenge to just get out of bed, let alone go about my day with a smile.
When I was first rescued, I spent weeks in bed, refusing to leave the safety and security my covers provided. Teddie and Caran had to coax me out with promises of hot chocolate, silly movies, and The Office . The royal psychiatrist diagnosed me with depression—though of course, my mother refuted it and claimed I just needed a little sunlight and fresh air. I don’t think she wanted to deal with a depressed child, so she pretended I didn’t exist instead.
Dad sat with me for a few days…but even he didn’t have the patience or the inclination to fight for me.
What made everything worse was the fact that the alphas who betrayed me, the triplets I had loved with my entire heart, got off scot-free. An error in the legal proceedings. Someone’s fucking incompetence caused the three men who sold me to get off with only a slap on the wrist.
I learned, right then and there, that not only could I not rely on any alphas—but that lawyers were a fucking joke. I’d never been a bitter, jaded person before, but now? I don’t know how to feel anything else.
Kylian places a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from leaving. “Don’t lie to us.” His voice is hard. “According to Luka, she freaked the fuck out. That’s not fine.” He clears his throat, releases me, and glances at his feet. “Look, Teddie, I know you don’t like us, but I promise you we only want what’s best for your sister.”
“And did you consider asking her about them?” I snap, anger bursting from me in a volcanic explosion. All the emotions I’ve been holding in, all the anger and heartache the triplets’ appearance conjured inside of me… It all comes out. “What happened to Brylee isn’t my secret to share. And the fact that you think you can just come here and demand answers…” I clench and unclench my hands as I struggle to draw in a full breath.
I’m angry. So fucking angry.
How dare they do this?
Some of the tension drains from Kylian. “I know that. Fuck, I know that. But…”
“But you know she won’t answer us,” Ridge interrupts, his tone steely.
I want to snap that they haven’t even tried yet but bite my tongue. They’re right, I suppose. I wouldn’t willingly answer any of their questions. Not now. Not with the wound still raw and bloody.
Maybe not ever.
They don’t deserve to know my pain.
“Look.” I work to lower my voice in pitch, realizing it’s been rising higher and higher in tandem to my mounting irritation. “I’m not here to gossip about my sister or help you win her over or whatever it is you want to do.” Deep breaths. “If you want answers, ask her yourself. Don’t go behind her back. That’s one way to lose her trust forever.”
Ridge, Kylian, and Luka exchange a look. The latter begins to tap his fingers against the inside of his elbow, while the former simply scowls. It’s obvious he’s not pleased with my response, but he won’t argue against me.
Kylian, however, grins and throws an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his sweaty side.
I tense automatically, but not for the obvious reasons.
Being this close to him, with his arm around me, I want nothing more than to nuzzle against his neck. Breathe him in. Lick that tiny droplet of sweat cascading down the column of his throat.
All things I can never do, regardless of what persona I’m wearing.
“You’re not so bad, are you, Teddie?” Kylian asks, reaching over to rub at the top of my head the way you would a toddler. We begin to walk toward the door of the classroom.
I scowl. “You’re just saying that because you want to get into my sister’s pants.”
“No.” Ridge’s stern voice makes me freeze. I frown and glance over my shoulder at him. He’s walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Luka, irritation painted across his face. “That’s not what this is about.”
“It’s not?” I arch an incredulous eyebrow at him.
“Brylee is not just…” For a brief moment, his scowl falters, and hesitation sparks in his eyes. “She’s not just a prize we’re trying to win. She’s… She’s everything. Our entire purpose is ensuring she’s safe and happy, which means making sure you’re safe and happy. You understand me?”
My heart begins to pound even faster.
That’s similar to what he said to me earlier in the palace.
And god help me, a sliver of the ice surrounding my heart melts at his words. Just a sliver, but it’ll be enough for these men to wiggle their way through if they ever notice.
I can’t have that.
I quickly look away from Ridge’s penetrating stare and focus straight ahead, allowing Kylian to lead me down the hall, toward my next class. At some point, Ridge and Luka break apart from us and head toward their own classes, and I hate that I notice they’re gone. I hate even more that I miss them.
By the time we enter the classroom, every seat except for one is already full.
Kylian steps away from me and swaggers toward the front of the room, a cocky grin firmly in place. He smirks at me and arches a brow.
“Theodore, you’re tardy. That’ll be strike one,” he says with feigned firmness.
I open my mouth and then close it as indignation fills me.
Asshole.
With a growl, I stomp toward my seat beside Sam, who’s staring at me with wide eyes.
“Everything okay?” he mouths.
I don’t bother responding, mainly because I don’t have an answer.
Is everything okay? I…I don’t know.
I don’t know anything anymore.