Page 132 of Alpha Theo

My eyes fly wide. “Really? I’m so sorry, I didn’t know…”

Quinn waves a hand dismissively. “He’s an ass. You know I caught him hooking up with Camilla?”

My jaw goes slack and Quinn snorts, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah. I walked in on them. That guy’s a tool.”

I can’t really argue with her there- I’ve never been a huge fan of Clay. Although she sounds pretty cavalier for someone who got cheated on.

“Jeez,” I wince. “That must’ve been rough…”

She shakes her head. “I don’t wanna dwell on it. That guy’s already had enough of my tears.”

If I know Quinn, I know she’s just playing tough right now. She’s got a sensitive side that most people don’t get to see- kinda like her brother. She clearly doesn’t want to talk about it, though, so I just nod in understanding, allowing the subject to drop.

“But yeah, I’ll think about it. Maybe come up there for a week.” Quinn says.

“Really?” I ask, my eyes lighting up.

She chuckles, brushing her chocolate brown hair over a shoulder. “Don’t get all excited, I said I’dthinkabout it.”

“Hey, that’s all I ask!” I chirp, holding up my hands. My lips spread into a grin. “But really, I think you’d love it. I hope you’ll try it out.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she laughs, turning around and striding back over to her bed. She sinks down on the edge, reaching for her laptop.

“Guess my work here is done,” I smile, turning for the door.

“You’re leaving already?”

I glance back at Quinn over my shoulder- she’s got her bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

“Yeah,” I sigh. “Gotta head back. We’re short handed over there in the unit.” I wink.

Quinn giggles, rolling her eyes. “Okay, okay. I’ll talk to my dad about it and give you a call.”

“Perfect,” I grin, heading for the door again. “Can’t wait for your call!”

She just laughs again as I step out into the hallway, and I make my way to the stairs and down to the first floor of the packhouse. There’s nobody in sight, so Theo must still be in his dad’s office. My own father spends a lot of time over here- he’s close friends with Alpha Anders and helps out with pack business often- so I’m familiar with where the office is and head that way, down the south corridor, picking up on raised voices coming from that direction.

Crap. Theo and his dad are arguing.

As I draw closer, I start to make out the words they’re shouting at one another.

“So what, you think you could do a better job than I’m doing?” Anders booms.

“Dad, that’s not what I’m saying!” Theo’s voice sounds pinched; strained. My chest tightens.

I hear the sound of something slamming- probably Anders’ fist against his desk. “You don’t know the first thing about running a pack, son. All you care about is chasing tail and having a good time with your friends.”

“You don’t know what I care about!” I hear Theo say defensively as I hurry down the corridor, approaching the open door of Alpha Anders’ office.

“Please. You can’t just show up after all these years and act like you give a shit,” Anders growls. “If you cared about this pack, you wouldn’t have left in the first place.”

“You know why I left,” Theo barks in retort as I reach Anders’ office, stepping into the doorframe. I almost run right into Theo- he’s on his way out. His eyes meet mine and they’re so defeated- the look in them frickin’ kills me.

“Just go back to having your fun and I’ll keep our pack safe, like I always have,” Anders snarls from behind him. Either he can’t see me because Theo’s huge frame is taking up so much of the doorway, or he just doesn’t care who he disparages his son in front of. Either way, hearing Theo’s dad talk to him like that breaks my heart.

Theo presses his lips into a tight line, staring at me as I blink up at him. He moves forward, reaching out for my arm. “C’mon, let’s go,” he murmurs quietly.

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