Page 77 of Brandy Snap: Part One

Kai wasn’t my sister, or Mum. He wasn’t someone I had to take care of. Actually, I should stay a million miles away from him, but the pain that burst in my chest couldn’t be ignored. Memories of all the abuse hurled at me since I began working as a maid at the Spa filled me. Zania could have just been another angry omega who demanded special treatment before her heat. I’d had people call me a whore before—it was one of the reasons it hurt so much when the Rislers thought I was one—but it didn’t mean I could pretend I hadn’t heard that.

More and more memories assaulted me of all the times I’d swallowed my anger, of how I preserved myself so I didn’t hurt others. But even if Kai tried to hide it, I didn’t need his bite to tell how deeply her words cut him.

“It’s part of being their family,” he said as he pulled away from me to glare. “I didn’t know what they were like before they bit me. And guess what? You won’t have to go through any more of that shit. Because…” He dropped his gaze to me, another one of his cruel smiles beating out. “You’re not our fucking mate,” he hissed. “So just shut up and endure it until we get rid of you after the Ceremony.”

I dropped my head and bit back anything else I had to say.

I knew instinctively that Zania had treated Kai like this since he first joined their pack.

He’d had to put up with those words, with her scorn and disdain, all because of who he was and his designation.

He spoke about having a choice, about me choosing to come to this party and see them and be with them, but how much of a choice did he have when people who were supposed to love him treated him like that?

Kai

Headdown,fuckingtrembling,she was a mess.

I could feel all her shitty emotions rolling through her because of the stupid fucking bite that was driving me insane. Just because my heart leapt when I saw her again didn’t mean a thing.

Because how dare she.

How fucking dare she turn up to the party smelling of my mate?

Maybe her reaction to Zania and Vivian proved she didn’t know Sin or Cas’s parents and she wasn’t sent to trap us, but that wasn’t the fucking point.

I’d been buzzing since she entered the building, swanning around like she owned the place in a dress thatIspent two days making for her and shoes thatIbought for her. And just because she smiled and blushed and looked like she was going to die from blushing when she saw me didn’t mean a fucking thing.

I mean, obviously, the only way to cure the pure fury seething through me that was getting me empty-slash-judgy looks from Sin was to throw her at Zania and see how she handled it.

But her intro and Zania’s all-star treatment just proved she wasn’t working for her. Unless their acting really was just that good.

Brandy was acting like she was already part of our pack. I mean, that was literally the whole reason she was here, but that was also totallynotthe issue.

If she seriously thought she was good enough, then she could jump in feet first and find out what it really meant to be Sin and Cas’s mate.

Like the fact those two assholes fucked off to do ‘business’ shit at the start of every single fucking event we went to.

I didn’t care if bringing Brandy to the party was my plan, and I fucked off as well—we should have at least stuck together to show we wanted to be a fucking pack or whatever we needed to do to show we were committed to saving Camille. But I was so used to them disappearing that I didn’t really think about it.

Now, after all that chaos with Zania, I was soaking in guilt and glee, and Brandy’s shoulders trembled as grief and rage poured through her.

I didn’t even bother lifting my fan again to hide my massive smile. Because she deserved it. Even one breath got me a hit of brandy and vanilla from where they had been rubbing all over each other before they even fucking arrived. The problem was that it was so right and wrong at the same time.

I needed to find a way to make them pay for fucking around behind my back that would actually have an impact. Because obviously reminding Sin I was his only omega by making love to him every single time I saw him wasn’t doing the fucking job.

Brandy made the smallest noise that I barely picked up, and my excitement soared.

She was crying. She was actually crying. Yeah, maybe Zania was abitmore harsh than usual. I mean, it wasn’t like it was anything new. She physically hurt me when she was seriously on one, and she only did it when Sin and Cas were away. And I tended to hide it from them because I wanted to deal with it myself.

But, fuck, if Brandy couldn’t put up with that little scene, then there was no way she would survive in our pack.

Not that she was ever joining. It was just a thought.

I draped an arm across my stomach, loosely holding my fan, while the other rested on my hip as I waited for her to get over it.

I really hoped Brandy was going to start dramatically sobbing and run off into the sunset so we’d never have to see her and her gorgeous ass again. Even standing next to her and tracing the smooth line of her scratched up bare neck with my gaze was giving me ideas. Her frazzled hair hid her face, but all I needed to do was brush it back and I’d be able to see her pain.

I thought I had to take action because she was just standing there. But I didn’t expect her to reach out a trembling hand and lightly clasp mine.

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