Page 41 of Rejected Exile

He hears me as I step into the room, and looks up from what he's doing. "Who was at the door?"

"Just Niall with some business." I watch him for a moment, my eyes straying to his thick biceps, and have to jerk my gaze away. Cat is getting in my head. "He dropped off Kieran."

"Oh." Lance's mouth thins at this. "I didn't realizehewas coming."

This I like. Cocking my head, I dare to ask, "Do you have some sort of issue with Kieran?"

Lance's eyes flick up to my face briefly. "I would've thought thatyouhad an issue with him, if anything."

My heart thumps. Of course Lance would know about my past with Kieran, even as a new member of the pack. It still stings that I can't get a fresh start while everyone else can. Wherever I go, I'll always bring my past behind with me like a boulder.

"Kieran and I are... complicated," I tell Lance. My own sentence makes me snort in disbelief. "Actually, we're toxic and not at all on good terms. But he can pull up weeds in the backyard.ThatI'll let him do."

"I suppose you and I don't differ significantly in our opinions, then."

"We should stop talking about unpleasant things and get back to work." I motion towards his area. "Need any help?"

"Actually, yeah. I could use some help with the staples I've been leaving behind, if you could pull them up."

"No problem."

"Also, I wanted to ask you—where do you want me to cut the planks?" He motions towards the flooring. "This part is warped, but I know you wanted to keep some of the original. I was going to slice through some of it with the circular saw to get it up. Then we can sand it down and stain it all the same."

"Let's cut the floors off right here." Pacing over, I nudge my toe against the line between the living room and the hallway. "That'll make for a smoother transition."

"Got it. Now it's just a matter of doing the work."

I grab a nail claw out of the toolbox by Lance's knee and get down on the bare flooring to pull up some of the nails still stuck around the edges of the room. There are bits of glue as well; Lance passes me an old rag and a big bottle of solvent for that.

As I work on the parts of the floor he's cleared, he uses a crowbar and a sledgehammer to peel back the warped and rotten boards. What would be a difficult job for any average human man is impossibly easy when a strong werewolf is doing it—which means he's more than capable of carrying on a conversation between thumps of the sledgehammer.

"So..." I glance up at him as I rock the nail claw back and forth, easing a staple out of the floor. "I know why Kieran and I don't get along. I think everyone who lives on pack territory does. But why don't you like him?"

Lance grimaces, bracing as he hits the crowbar with his sledgehammer. He waits until he's peeled up the plank of wood before he answers, though I think the pause is deliberate. "I don't necessarily have it out for Salt. I know what he's been through. It's just the way he handles his grief that I don't like."

Remembering Finn's words, I murmur, "Vampire venom."

Lance's head jerks up at this. "Someone told you."

"Finn did. He and Roarke were trying to apologize for something Kieran said to me. Apparently the venom is at fault."

Snorting at this, Lance shakes his head. "Not everything he does can be blamed on the venom—though I know Roarke would like to use it as an excuse. Truthfully, I feel for Kieran. I'm sure after what he's been through, the venom eases much of his pain."

We fall silent for a moment as Lance peels up another of the boards, the sound of his sledgehammer and crowbar filling the room. Once there's an opportunity to speak again, though, I can't help but sate my curiosity.

"What has Kieran been through?" He looks up sharply at this. "I mean, we were kids together. I know about all that, and everything up to the point I was exiled. But when I knew him—he had a messy family, yeah, but that was it."

"Oh. I suppose it makes sense you wouldn't know." Lance grabs onto the loose planks and shifts them towards the pile he's made on another spot of the floor. "Someone will tell you sooner rather than later, so I might as well—though I hate to gossip."

"It's not gossip. Just filling in a little backstory."

"If you say so. I'll tell you all about it... the reason why Kieran is the way he is—or the excuse, depending on your way of looking at it."

Picking up his sledgehammer, Lance aims at another plank. I duck my head and grab at the staples, trying to pretend like I'm not hanging on his every word.

"It all started after you were gone—at least from what I know. I didn't join the pack until a while after you left."Was exiled.Potato, tragic poe-tah-toe. "Kieran was paired up with a new intended mate. Her name was Tara. I met her after I joined—nice girl. Young, pretty, not my type... a little simpering and weak, but nice."

His choice of words makes me wonder what Lance's type might be. Strong, maybe, with dark maroon hair? A girl can hope. I'll probably regret hoping, but that doesn't stop me.

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