Page 15 of Bitter Discord

Heath knew better than to admit his real worries to Jacky. She didn’t like the idea of needing a father’s blessing to be married. He was almost inclined to agree with her and would turn a blind eye if a modern man asked Carey to marry before asking him. He would silently seethe, but he wouldn’t make it a fault of the young man. Asking for a father’s blessing was falling out of style, and he understood that.

But Hasan is dangerous.

Hasan was the type of dangerous that woke you up in a cold sweat. He was capable of and willing to kill his own family if he thought they jeopardized what he thought was best. Heath understood killing when someone in the family proved to be evil, but Hasan took it further than Heath could imagine. He was a cold, ruthless man who refused to see beyond his own hate.

Heath was going to marry Jacky one day. Nothing would stop him from marrying the one woman in over two hundred years who truly worked with him.

He didn’t want to do it with an axe aimed at her neck.

That was the second reason he didn’t tell Jacky about his worries. He didn’t want to tell her he was worried her father would kill her as she walked down the aisle if they couldn’t get his approval.

I’ll earn it, then it won’t be a problem anymore.

Finally, the bathroom door opened, and Dirk came out, drying his hair with a purple towel. His clothes were damp with sweat and condensation.

“I should keep a change of clothes here,” the young man muttered to himself.

“It would be a wise thing to do,” Heath agreed, revealing his presence. Dirk’s head snapped up. Heath fiddled with his phone, then put it back in his pocket while Dirk watched him, completely still. Slowly, he crossed his arms, looking at the ground as he considered exactly what to say.

“I’ll forgive you once for nearly fighting in front of Jacky. I’ll let it go this once because I know you’re easy to pick a fight with.” He looked at Dirk, knowing his eyes were ice blue. “I won’t be as forgiving a second time. Keep it under control. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Dirk said, nodding quickly. “I shouldn’t have been rude. I was just annoyed. It won’t happen again.”

“What were you annoyed with?”

“Him. His pity party,” Dirk said, his head down. “Woe is me. Give me something to do so I don’t feel like I’m broken or useless. Let me take care of Jacky, even when making her find shit for me to help with only giveshermore work to do. He’s always over here, demanding that she give him something to do, so she does because she feels sorry for him.” His head came up, and his eyes were jade green. With every word, his natural accent slipped out more.

“She has enough shit to deal with, and she was trying to babysit his fucking feelings. You should have heard it. She was bending over backward, telling him how fucking sorry she was not to have anything for him to do.” The fierce blaze in Dirk’s eyes reminded Heath of something he had temporarily forgotten.

I might be his Alpha, but he is not my wolf. He might be avoiding his family, including her, most days, but his loyalty belongs to Jacky.

Before Heath had the chance to say anything, Dirk continued in his native German, a language no one else in the pack spoke. Possibly. Heath wondered if a few of them actually understood but refused to admit it, and he didn’t want to pry. Sometimes, Heath liked mysteries in the pack. They kept everyone interesting.

“Dirk, eyes on me,” he ordered, not particularly upset with the outburst. The order was as gentle as Heath could make it, a simple directive to give Dirk freedom to continue stomping around if he wanted to. Dirk had never spoken like that to him. What he just said about Ranger was out of line. Heath had a feeling about where this might come from.

“Heath, he’s a grown-ass—”

“He’s a disabled werewolf, and Jacky is doing what I asked her to do. I asked her to tolerate him for a little while, let him be helpful, even if it becomes frustrating, weird, or creepy, and she agreed to it… for up to a year,” Heath corrected. “Don’t put your nose in it again. Keep your annoyance to yourself. If you can’t be productive in this situation, stay out of it.”

Heath decided he wouldn’t act on what he felt actually caused Dirk’s bad mood. He wanted more time to verify it, and his experience told him Ranger was the more troubling piece of the puzzle, although not for the reasons Dirk wanted to believe. Those were typical and within the limit of Heath’s tolerance.

Heath lifted Landon’s keys, having never put them down. He needed to get to the problem. Dirk’s issues were less serious than Ranger’s, and Dirk needed to go to the one person no one could take away from him, who would make him feel more at ease.

“Landon already started home. He thought a run seemed like a good idea. You’re on his insurance, right? Take his truck and stay home for the evening. Kick your feet up. You have a second aunt coming into town tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I can drive it,” Dirk agreed, grabbing the keys, but Heath didn’t release them.

“With Zuri coming into town, neither you nor Jacky told me the plan about you being a werewolf. You were supposed to decide that today, and we’re dealing with something that never should have happened,” he pointed out. “Do you want to tell me now?”

“Jacky is going to test the waters, then we’ll do a last-minute decision about whether or not she can know. I plan on telling Niko in Spring. Around a year, but you knew that.”

“We’re playing it by ear.”I shouldn’t have expected any different.“Of course. That means you need to be late to the pack meeting tomorrow. I’ll ask Jacky to give me or Landon a signal to tell you when you can come in. Wait for Landon’s word before you come over. Fortunately, your scent doesn’t cling to Landon all that much. Tell him the plan, and he’ll know what to do to keep Zuri from noticing anything before we want her to.”

“All right. Again, Heath, I am sorry. I shouldn’t have been rude. I know that. I know I pissed off a more dominant wolf.”

“You’re a good man. Take Landon’s truck home,” Heath said, patting Dirk’s shoulder with his free hand as he let go of the keys. He watched Dirk leave, knowing he was handling all of this the best he could. His world was turned upside down, and he was in a social environment he wasn’t used to.

Dirk didn’t realize he was annoyed because he was jealous. I’ll have to warn Landon. Landon will make him feel all better while I dress down the wolf who knew better.

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