5. Rhone
CHAPTER FIVE
rhone
I leaned up against the cabinets in my kitchen, an apple in one hand and my phone in the other, glaring down at the screen.
Maverick
Bloom just heard a rumor from Elizabeth that you're not going to like
Me
What is it?
Maverick's response took longer than it should've.
I took a vicious bite of my apple, hoping it would distract me from what I really wanted to put my mouth on.
Me
Just tell me
Maverick
It's pretty bad
Me
You’re so fucking dramatic
Maverick
Apparently Harper told Cora and Lana that you cleaned Ryker's cum out of Harper with your fingers and tongue, then replaced his with yours
I stared down at the screen.
Harper had lied to them about us having sex.
What could her motivation possibly be?
Maverick
Some of the guys in the pack are making bets as far as who can talk her into spending breeding season with them now
That could just be a rumor… but it wasn't. The pack didn't do rumors like that.
Whoever had started the betting was fucking dead.
Me
Did I not make myself clear enough in the hallway?
Maverick
I'm sure you did
I set my apple down on the countertop, no longer hungry.
Maverick
Are you going to spend breeding season with her?
Me
No
I’ll figure something else out
Maverick
You think you're going to convince your sex-addled brain to let you suffer for days rather than fucking the woman you've been obsessed with and possessive of for months?
Me
Yes
Maverick
I will bow to your self-control if that happens
Happily hand over the Alpha mantle, too
Me
I don't want it
Maverick
I don't want to deal with the fallout of you claiming a woman you don't want as your mate and nearly killing one of our enforcers for touching her after she fucking asked him to
Me
Harper and I had a misunderstanding
It’s been solved
Maverick
If she's spreading rumors about you, it's not solved
Gossip is how human women go to war
We don't have the time or energy to fight a battle on two fronts right now
I clenched my jaw.
He was talking about the challenges. They had been relentless since he claimed Bloom. He was fighting every fucking weekend.
We'd limited it to three fights a day on Saturday and Sunday, but it was harder on him than he would admit.
Me
I need you to back me on this
Maverick
I am
But without a fated bond or a relationship, the possessiveness worries people
Me
Which is why I've fought it for so long
Maverick
Just have a conversation with her and settle it
Me
Fine
I'll kill the rumors tomorrow
Maverick
Not by killing our enforcers, Rhone
Me
Maybe
Send them all to the gym, I'll deal with the betting problem.
Maverick
Do I get a please?
Me
No
Maverick
And here I thought you loved me
Me
Fuck off
"The enforcers are heading to the gym. Break bones if any of them are involved. We don't bet about where a woman spends breeding season,” Maverick said through the pack link.
"Yes sir."
"Watch your sarcasm, Beta."
I didn’t need to see him to know he was grinning.
The enforcers would fucking hurt.
My phone vibrated with another text on my way to the stairs. I wasn't taking the elevator. I had too much energy, and hated being trapped inside the metal box.
Bloom
He's mine after 8 PM, Rhone
We've been over this
I still don't care if he was yours first
Me
If you try today's shit again, I'm keeping him until 10 every night
Bloom
Are you threatening to take my mate from me?
Me
No
Stating a fact
Bloom
She's struggling
You need to go easier on her
Me
Going easy hasn't been working
She needs to be pushed
Bloom
She lost everything
You don't understand
Me
I understand a hell of a lot more than you do
Last I checked, you have a loving family that’s still alive, and trying to take over the Vampire Guild.
Bloom
Technically, it's called the VAG
But fine
Just try to be nicer
Me
No
Being gentle and patient didn't work, so I'm done trying your method
She started a rumor after today, that’s progress
Bloom
You were never gentle or patient
She started the rumor because she was angry
Me
Angry is better than depressed
Bloom
In what world?
Me
The one where you've lost everything
Bloom
So what, you're going to let her use you as a punching bag?
Me
If she needs something to hate, I'll be the something
Bloom
You’re crazy
Me
She wore clothes that fit and started a rumor, so I don't care what I am
Bloom
She needs a different necklace for the fangs
She's always hated gold
Me
She doesn't care what anything looks like right now
Bloom
She does
The look in her eyes was different when she put the clothes on and saw that they fit
She's always said that the way she dresses affects how she feels
Get something like this, or I will
She sent me the link to a simple, short metal chain.
Apparently they made metal in pink now.
I sent the link to Nolan.
Me
I need the version of this that will last
The one Bloom had found was fifteen dollars. I wasn't giving Harper a necklace that was only fifteen fucking dollars.
Nolan
Hire a real assistant
Me
I have one
Nolan
We both know Harper's not assisting you with anything
Me
She will
Just find it for me. Soon.
Nolan
I assume this is because of the rumor that's spreading about you
How do you feel about it?
Me
I feel like if you don't find me the fucking necklace, I'm going to break your bones instead of the enforcers'
Nolan
Do you even know how to say please?
Me
I need it first thing in the morning
Nolan
I’m your omega, not your bitch
He’d do it anyway.
I reached the floor with the gym on it and stepped through the doors, pocketing my phone and glaring at the group of men and women in front of me.
Some were fidgeting. Those would be the ones who knew they'd made a bad call.
"Make two lines," I barked. "One for anyone who thinks it's acceptable in this pack to bet on where a woman will spend breeding season. Another for anyone with a fucking brain."
Only one line formed.
I was going to kick all of their asses.