Chapter Eleven
HENRY
We're sitting around the living room, having a pack meeting while we listen to the wild story that he's telling us of the trip he and Darci took yesterday. It's a miracle that Banks hasn't beat the crap out of him for putting her in harm's way. I'm not exactly sure that the possibility is off the table either since his knuckles are white as his fingers clenched between the others are tight as hell. Probably helps that Keaton is next to him with Bear tucked between his legs as he rubs his ears. Lawrence is sitting across from me with his elbows on his knees, head hung low enough that his hair hides his face.
Something has been bothering me since he started this conversation. "What's his name?"
Saint glances over at Banks, probably thinking our other alpha might take matters into his own hands, but I highly doubt it. After the details of yesterday, it's clear to see how much Darci still cares for her brother.
"Dylan Levine," Saint finally answers.
"Holy shit," I say, leaning back stunned. "I don't know why I didn't put two and two together, but Darci was right. She had emailed me before. Back when her brother was first going to court and we wrote an article about him. She asked if I could site my sources for where I found my information."
Saint chuckles, "Of course she did."
"I never replied, because for one, we don't just hand that out to people. And for two, I wasn't sure if she was a zealous fan, or just trying to find a way to get his lawyers to find reasonable doubt," I admit. "Three, I was swamped with stuff going on. I barely had time to sleep back then, because I was having to run all over the city."
"You don't have to feel guilty about that," Saint offers. "You know that she's an understanding person."
I nod, "Yeah, I know. She reminded me of it in my office a couple weeks ago, but I guess didn't want to bring up her brother or make me feel bad."
He nods. "She seemed like she was ashamed to talk about him. I think it has a lot to do with her mom still making her do these weird ass psych evaluations to make sure that she isn't going to turn into a serial killer like Dylan. It's fucked up, if you ask me."
"Damn right it is," Banks growls. "What can we do to make that stop?"
Saint shrugs helplessly, "Until she asks us for help...Nothing."
Banks jerks up out of his seat so that he can pace the floor. "So, she's staying with us, right? We're not going to let her stay at that house by herself."
"That's the plan," Saint confirms. "We've just got to talk to her."
"I'll do it," Banks says, getting ready to walk out.
"Wait," I say, stopping him. "Maybe someone a little less hot headed would be best?"
"Okay, yeah," he agrees.
Taking out my phone, I send her a quick text asking if she wants to meet up for coffee after her classes. Our little omega is obsessed with it. She replies instantly with a quick tease about how she didn't think that I even liked it and asks what time.
I'll pick you up right after your last class. I don't want you walking anywhere right now.
Saint already beat you to the punch. I've got my car now too, remember? I can drive to your house so we can ride together?
Sounds good love. I'll be here waiting on you.
I don't realize that I'm smiling until I glance back up and the rest of my pack is watching me. I clear my throat as they all smile too. "She's going to come over here after class, and we're going to go for coffee."
"Great," Saint says, "That gives us time to get a small gift together for her."
"Damn," Banks barks, looking over to Keaton in a panic. "We're officially the worst packmates ever. We haven't even gotten her a courting gift yet."
Keaton stands up from the couch and stretches. "Well, let's go then. We've got gifts to buy."
They leave and Lawrence rests back against the couch comfortably.
"Why aren't you panicking like they are?" I tease the youngest of our pack.
He grins. "Because, I may be the baby, but by the sound of it, I'm the only one who remembered pack etiquette and already bought her a courting gift. Already have another lined up ready to go too."
My jaw drops open, and I'm sure my expression mirrors Saint's. "You do realize there is glory to be had in reminding us of these things, right?"
He huffs out a laugh. "I've never been one for glory. I just want to make her happy. I didn't want to meddle in everyone else's business because I wasn't sure if you guys were on that level with her or not. I was going to say something today before everybody left. The meatheads just beat me to it."
"Those meatheads would hold you down and make you beg for mercy again if they heard you calling them that nickname that girl from the station gave them," I tease him.
"It'd be worth it," he states with another grin. "They're too easy."
Saint drops his head, shaking it and hiding his own smile. We've always felt like family more than friends, so it's no surprise that they've always picked on each other like brothers. Now we've been gifted the center of our universe, and I for one, don't want to take that for granted.
Right on time, Darci pulls up outside where I'm waiting with a bright orange bouquet of lilies. She bounces on her toes over to me excitedly. I lean down to press a kiss against her lips before handing her the flowers. She takes them and glances up at me with a happy expression. I've never understood the whole men going to war over a woman before this moment. With the way that she's looking at me, I realize, I'll do anything for her.
"What are these for?" she asks sweetly.
I know that I'm grinning like a fool and can't help it. "Can't a guy just buy his girl flowers for no reason?"
She shrugs, "I don't know, honestly. This is the first time I've ever gotten flowers."
Be still my damn heart. She doesn't even know what those words have done to me. I'm not even sure I know.
"Want to go put them in some water before we go grab coffee?" I ask.
"Sure," she agrees.
Later as we're sitting in the coffee shop in the city, purposely avoiding the campus town, we're both nursing our warm drinks when she smiles, saying, "I really didn't think you liked coffee."
"Why's that?" I ask.
She acts like she thinks on it for a second. "You seem like more of a hot tea kind of person."
I look at her incredulously and she laughs. I love the way it sounds, dancing across my skin. Not so much how many heads the sound turns. I know without a doubt that I'm falling for her just as hard as the others at this point. Looking past the superficial things like beauty and even her scent that drives me wild, I love how smart she is and always looking for answers to the things that she doesn't understand.
"I hope you don't mind, but Saint told us about what happened with your brother. Are you okay?" I ask her.
"No secrets in the pack, yeah?" She shrugs. "I'm okay as I'll ever be. The whole explosion has been a long time coming, honestly. He's completely lost it and blames us for putting him there. I just don't think I'll ever understand how one minute he's fine and admitting to what he did, and the next we're to blame."
"Typical narcissist," I tell her. "I witnessed it first hand with one of my mother's pack alphas. It was brutal. He put her through a lot of pain and anguish before he was finally stopped."
She looks down at the table and plays with the handle on her cup like she's ashamed of what she's about to say. "I'm thinking about breaking ties with him and just not going to visit anymore. My parents have."
"That's probably for the best," I say, giving her the encouragement she's seeking.
Her finger taps a rhythm on the table. "I'm thinking about blowing my parents off too. Until my mom decides to come back to reality."
Lifting her eyes to me, she confesses, "She makes me do psychiatric evaluations every month to make sure that I'm not going to turn into a monster like my brother. If I haven't yet and I've made it this far, I should be safe, yeah? I'm done with her controlling me."
I reach out and take her small hand in mine. "You're not alone anymore, love. You don't have to face any of them by yourself. You've got a pack that supports you and loves you. We'll always have your back."
Tears fill her eyes, and she ducks her head to try and hide them. I attempt a subject change so that she doesn't get embarrassed by her emotional outburst in public like we are. "I'm sorry, too, by the way. It didn't trigger my memory when you said that you'd emailed me before. It wasn't until Saint told us your brother's name that it all came back to me. Forgive me for not reaching out during a time that I'm sure was impossibly rough for you."
She sniffles and brings her head up with a small smile. "You don't have to apologize. You're a busy man, and you didn't know me. I wasn't going to say anything because people get weird when they find out about Dylan. He's the reason I do the podcast, you know? The guilt of living under the same roof as him and not knowing what he was doing. If I'd have paid more attention, I might've spotted something to alert someone. At least the podcast allows the victims of the cases I cover to have their voice back."
"And that's a beautiful thing," I tell her, squeezing her hands. Add one more reason why I'm falling for this girl.