15. Face Off
Chapter fifteen
Face Off
We end up on the floor.
My back presses into the wall, my legs blocking the way and my eyes pinned on Lauren. She’s taken up her own stance a few feet away, each of us aiming to outstare the other.
This is ridiculous.
My shoulders are starting to ache, my throat dry, but I can’t move.
She shifts again. “I’m—”
“Don’t say it,” I snap. Another headache is building, and I press my skull back against the wall to try and claim relief. “I get it.”
Apologies won’t help here.
My phone is in my bag on the couch. We both hear the buzzing at the same time. It’s not the first time, either. Lauren’s phone goes off a moment later, buried somewhere inside her own giant bag left in the hall.
“They won’t be long,” I repeat. My voice sounds a lot hoarser than it did the first time I said it. “Liam will…”
Fix it. They’ll come home, and they’ll fix this. Preferably before my bladder explodes. But Lauren only nods, her eyes flicking back down the hall.
He’ll understand that this is too much to ask all at once.
It’s the first day.
I need time to adjust.
I recite words and explanations in my head until the ting of the bell announces the arrival of some freaking help with our current situation. But my mouth dries up as the sound of footsteps echoes through the quiet, and Lauren straightens.
“Lauren?” Jonas calls out. A murmur follows. “Ro?”
“In here,” I call out. The footsteps thump heavily before Jonas steps into the living room opposite us. His eyes sweep over the room and the kitchen, missing us completely before his gaze darts back. A crease appears between his eyes.
He clutches a brown bag of takeout in his hands as Liam appears on his heels. “What’s going on here?”
Liam takes us in with one look. Lauren, closest to the common area. Me, legs stretched out and blocking the hall. I swallow as his assessment ends with my face. “We may have hit a small snag.”
“I see that.” He examines us again, his eyes moving to the hall I’m blocking. “Jo, put the food down.”
Jonas looks uneasy as he places the bag down on the island. “I don’t get what’s happening.”
I find myself pulling my legs up and wrapping my arms around them as Liam approaches. He stops in front of Lauren first. When he leans in and brushes his hand over her cheek, a small noise emerges from my throat.
He doesn’t look at me. He doesn’t say anything to me at all. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” Lauren mumbles. “I’m sorry for the trouble.”
“Don’t be.” He tilts her face up. “Not your fault.”
It’s not. And it’s not mine either. But it starts to feel that way as he straightens and turns to face me. I shrink in on myself, finally pulling my eyes from Lauren. “I couldn’t help it.”
There’s not a single speck of softness in his expression as he crouches before me. His hands stay between us. “Explain this to me.”
Swallowing, I search for the words. “I… she wanted to come down here. To the bedrooms, and… and my nest. And I couldn’t do it.”
Jonas inhales sharply in realization.
My voice wavers as I look between them. “Isn’t this enough for one day? Does it have to be all at once?”
Liam studies me silently. Jonas looks at Liam.
“I’m trying.” My grip on my knees is white-knuckled.
His head tilts. “Like you were trying when you broke the safety glass? You know that stuff’s thick enough to stop pucks, Ro.”
Only on one side, clearly. I blink. “I lost my temper. For a moment. I didn’t mean to break it.”
He takes a deep breath. “You told me you trusted me. This doesn’t feel like trust.”
“I do,” I whisper. My eyes threaten to drop, but I force them to stay steady as they fill up. “I just—I need—”
When he holds out his arms, I crawl into them, winding my arms around his neck as he straightens. Liam’s murmur fills my ears as I press myself into him. He nudges me back against the wall. “Jo, can you finish the tour while I stay with Rosie?”
My body stills against his. “What? No.”
“Uh,” Jonas sounds uncertain. “Sure. I guess.”
Liam’s hand winds into my hair, holding me in place. His voice lowers. “Stay with me. I’ve got you.”
“But—” I try to push back, away from him.
But he has me pinned, and I stare over his shoulder as Jonas holds out his hand to Lauren.
She takes it without smiling, her face a deep red as he easily lifts her to her feet and she gives me a quick, guilty glance before looking away.
“I said no. Not tonight. She doesn’t need to see everything. ”
“And I’m saying yes.” My eyes fly to Liam’s. Betrayal is a cold wash inside my chest. He looks grim. “You’re not thinking rationally, so I’ll do it for you. Better to get it done.”
Her mumbled apology as Jonas leads her past has me struggling again. They stop outside his bedroom, the first door on the left, and my hands fly up to Liam’s chest as Jonas looks back at us, indecision written all over his perfect face. “Liam… maybe it would be better to hold off.”
Lauren wraps her arms around herself and I swing my gaze back to Liam, an ember of hope flickering. Only to extinguish when he shakes his head without a word.
“I don’t want her down here,” I plead with him, my voice rising. “Please, Liam. Tomorrow. Or—in a few days. Slowly.”
His hands feel like restraints. They close around my wrists, holding me in place. “You’re letting your instincts take over, baby. The timing doesn’t make a difference. Once it’s done, it’s done, and there won’t be any more face offs like this.”
He holds me down.
The hands that have always given nothing but comfort now feel almost painful. His voice lowers again, and I flinch away from the words as if they’re physical strikes against my skin. “You need to understand this change. It’s hard now, but it will get easier. Watch.”
I don’t want to. I try to twist away, but his hand comes up to cup my cheek. It feels like steel. Immovable. My tears fall freely as I watch them disappear inside Jonas’s room.
I can already scent her. Even the air is filled with her. I’m not going to have anywhere to go where I can feel like my pack is still mine.
Nowhere safe.
Liam fends off my struggles easily.
“Stop.” His lips plead into my skin. “Ro, stop this. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
I can’t. I can’t stop fighting, pushing back against him, my eyes fixated on my alpha’s bedroom and the open doorway. Seconds feel like hours before they appear again. Lauren’s wrist brushes against the doorway, and I whimper.
Jonas runs a hand over his hair, for once not caring that it’s out of place. “Maybe that’s enough for today?”
One. One out of three. It’s already too much.
“Finish it,” Liam says quietly. “It has to be done. You want to swap?”
Jonas’s eyes flick to Lauren’s face. They avoid mine completely.
And he shakes his head. “I’ve got it.”
My legs lose their strength. And Liam is holding me up, murmuring words I can’t hear as I watch them move down the hall. They disappear into Liam’s room, and his grip tightens when I buck against him.
“Get her out,” I beg raggedly. “That’s enough.”
But it’s not. His hand pushes against my mouth when Jonas reaches for Carter’s door and my cries stretch into a scream. His murmurs of attempted comfort don’t touch the panic clawing at my chest. “Almost done.”
But Lauren shakes her head. Her eyes are pinned on the floor, her words close to silent. “Not this one.”
I still, my breathing heavy behind Liam’s hand.
“You sure?” he asks behind me. He sounds so gentle. So removed from the way he’s holding me that it knocks me off-balance all over again. “It’s your choice.”
“I’m sure.” She looks at me, then. A quick, horrified glance. “I don’t need it. I think—this was enough. I’m done.”
As if by agreement, all three of us look to Liam. I push back against his grip on my mouth, trying to pull away.
I can’t speak.
He turns his head to look down the hall. To the door at the end, and what sits behind it.
My head bangs back against the wall as I fight to break free of his grip. He hisses, twisting to me. “Rosie. That’s enough.”
Not my nest.
Not my space.
Not—
I sink my teeth into his hand.
Liam grunts, yanking his hand back and staring at it. “Jesus, Rosie. Really?”
Silence falls across the hall. My mouth opens, only to close again.
“Really,” Lauren blurts out. I feel a shift in the air as she moves closer, and I flinch back. “I don’t need anything else.”
“You need a bedroom.” Liam doesn’t take his eyes off me. “There’s a scent-neutral room next to Rosie’s nest.”
I flinch again, and his mouth flattens into a thin line.
“Well,” Jonas says after a moment. He approaches me slowly, his hand reaching out before curling into a fist and pulling back. “It’s done now. You good, Ro?”
Probably a wise idea to keep back. I might bite him too. I feel like I’m losing my mind.
Am I good?
“Let’s all take a minute,” Liam steps away from me, and I’m… glad. I wrap my arms around myself and grip the sides of my dress tightly. “This was rough.”
I look away before he can pin any more disapproval on me.
“Come into the kitchen.” Jonas and Lauren shift past Liam, but I don’t move. “We’ll have some dinner, calm down a little. Rosie?”
There are teeth marks in the hand he holds out to me.
Lauren glances back at me uncomfortably. Jonas’s hand lingers on her lower back. Liam hangs back enough to take my hand and squeeze it. “Tensions were high back there. It’s okay, Ro. Let’s get you some food, alright?”
His arm slips around my shoulders, guiding me forward. “It’s gonna be okay.”
I don’t have anything left to say.
And I’m not sure he’d listen if I did.