Page 119 of Fight

I know they’re friends, but I don’t know how much she knows. All of that fades away when her eyes flash with anger.

“None of that was his fault. He was a kid when she was sold,” she says as we begin to walk up the stairs.

“Yes,” I agree. “He apparently kept hearing them talk about Wren when they thought he couldn’t hear them or were really high. We were told as kids that Wren went to live with my mom’s sister. I didn’t know she didn’t even have a sister. One day, he biked to my house and told me my parents may have sold Wren based on a fight they had. The kid was pale and freaking out. That’s how I figured out that she had been sold.”

“Fuck,” Cere whispers. “I can see why he’d want to stay close to you, though. I hope I’ll get to meet him.”

Remembering what he said before I punched him, I smirk. “Please don’t give him any slack if he’s a shit to you,” I tell her. “The kid seems to think omegas are sirens looking to ruin men’s lives. I can’t wait until he figures out differently.”

Snorting, she shakes her head. “That’ll be interesting to watch, I’m sure,” she murmurs.

Getting to the third floor, we walk to Augustine and Cerenity’s apartment, walking in once she unlocks the door.

“You guys have to be exhausted,” she says with a sympathetic smile as we move into the kitchen. “I can’t believe you drove back tonight.”

“Jasper almost fell asleep entering Minneapolis,” Tommy tattles, making me roll my eyes.

Augustine chuckles as he pulls out dishes from the oven. It’s a seafood boil with a rice pilaf that smells incredible. Tommy sets down the lemon cupcakes that we were told are her favorites and Tiny’s eyes widen.

“We didn’t want to miss the rest of your birthday, Tiny. Doesn’t matter how long of a day it was, it’s totally worth it to see your face right now,” I tell her.

“Wait, where did you find those?” she asks.

“Do you remember when we went to Chicago a couple of years ago?” Augustine asks calmly as if this is no big deal.

“Mmhmm. We went to one of Gabe’s fights,” she says with a nod.

“A couple of years… that can’t be right. We weren’t talking then,” Gabriel says, frowning.

“You weren’t talking to me because you were being ridiculous,” Augustine grunts, opening a bottle of wine. “I still came to watch one of your fights with my girl.”

The pieces fall into place for Tiny, and she takes a shaky breath.

“Sneaky alpha,” she mutters. “This is incredible, thank you.”

“I still can’t believe you came to see me,” Gabriel mutters.

Tommy smirks, thoroughly enjoying this as he begins to serve everyone.

“I think we should agree that Augustine needs to be our alpha,” Tommy says out of the blue. “I make decisions all fucking day. It’s exhausting.”

“What?” Cerenity asks, looking as if she has whiplash from the intensity of our conversations.

“I think so too,” I say with a shrug. “He could have been really fucking petty about everything that’s happened. It takes a real leader who understands when to push or wait someone out. Pretty sure that’s Augustine.”

“It’s silly for me to pretend that you wouldn’t want to become a pack, so I won’t,” Cerenity says with a deep breath. “I’ve been worried about the fact that you all have such strong personalities.”

Augustine looks around the table as if to gauge if they’re actually serious.

“You’re being for real right now?” he asks.

“It makes sense,” Gabriel agrees. “You know Cerenity the best, and you’ve helped us navigate how to make her happy without being in our faces about it. You also gave her the space to fuck up Tommy and Jasper when they needed it.”

Tommy snorts and he rolls his eyes as he points at his hair as Exhibit A.

“I’m not easy to live with,” Cerenity says, wincing. “I need things in their place, but the problem is that place changes from time to time. Sometimes I need the curtains open or closed based on how it feels at the time. It’s?—”

“It’s what you need,” I grunt with a shrug. “Rooms hold energy, good, bad, or indifferent. Whether what you’re working out are inner demons as you rearrange things or fixing the energy of the house, do it. I can tell you, it won’t bother me one bit.”

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