Page 59 of Break The Ice

Wren takes the phone and presses play on the voicemail. I know that because Jay, Callan’s asshole father’s voice, suddenly comes into the room, deep and hurtful.

Ryann slides down Callan’s body and pushes away from him, but I don’t think he notices. He just listens to the vile message.

I don’t know how many Kit gets. I’ve told him to block Jay, but Kit says he can’t do that. Callan stalks over to Wren and snatches the phone out of his hand.

He ends the voicemail and, a second later, another one starts. Kit crumbles in my arms, getting smaller and smaller.

“Callan?”

Callan shakes his head. “Give me the keys.”

“No.”

“Raider, give me the keys to the car.”

I shake my head.

Callan turns to Wren. “Give me the keys-”

“No, I’ll drive you.”

Callan’s eyes flash with gratitude. I want to stop them, argue with them, but Callan probably needs to do this.

“Block his number in Kit’s phone while you’re there,” Ryann’s tipsy voice slurs.

I sweep her and Kit up and herd them towards the dining room. “Sit down. Let’s get some water into you.”

Kit giggles and runs away, which then has Ryann running away. I chase them back to the lounge, where I’m grabbed and pulled down. The next thing I know, I've got Kit on one side and Ryann on the other, and they just relax.

The still-hurting jagged memories of Kelly fade away, soothed by the balm of my alpha and our temporary beta.

I find myself relaxing to the sounds of nature, and then Kit hands me the bottle.

“Raider, have you ever tried Drunk Yoga?”

Chapter fourteen

Callan

I don’t say aword on the drive, just focus on finding the familiar roads.

It takes us about two and a half hours to drive from Greene back to the place where Raider, Kit, and I grew up. Good old Ashgrove. Our quaint little backwards town left scars on all three of us.

Wren looks around curiously, and I finally relent from my rigid silence.

“That driveway is to Justice Farm. Raider’s family lives there.”

“I always thought he was a city boy?”

“No, he was born and raised on a horse farm. They used to have sheep and other animals, but they decided to lean towards raising horses and giving people a respite from the world.”

I continue driving until we reach the town. It’s a small town, nothing much changes, even in the years I’ve been gone. You’re driving along, and then, the next thing you know, you’re in it, and, if you blink, you might miss it. I try to imagine it from a stranger’s eyes, but I can’t.

I have so much hatred for this town. So much rage.

For an unknown reason, I drive to the school and stop in the carpark. It’s holidays. None of the kids are here, so we’ve got an uninterrupted view of the gym.

“The kids come by bus from all the surrounding towns, but most people know each other. It’s like that here. Kit was smaller for his age. It didn’t matter so much when he didn’t have a designation, but it mattered when he presented as alpha. He’s strong. He hides it, he doesn’t use the bark, and he doesn’t feel the same driving aggression that I have.”

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