Page 40 of Big Bad Bully
My attack was brutal and efficient, just the way my father taught me.
My father peers around the corner and sees his enforcers laid out on the ground, groaning.
“What is the meaning of this?” He wasn’t expecting a surprise attack from his favored son.
“You brought Chip and Dale,” I jerk my thumb towards the half conscious enforcers.
“Their names aren’t–”
“I don’t care. Why did you bring them? Expecting trouble? From the Adalwulfs perhaps? I know you’re probably trying to do a deal with them, but they’re known for stabbing their business partners in the back.”
He recoils, and I add, “Oh yes. I know you met with the Adalwulfs. Now you’re going to tell me why?”
“Are you questioning me?” His nostrils flare, and he leans forward, transforming into a disapproving father figure before my very eyes.
But he lost the right to parent me a long time ago. “I am. On behalf of my pack. Tell me why you met with the Adalwulfs.” He hesitates, and I bark, “Now, goddammit.”
“I wanted to make a deal,” my father speaks through gritted teeth, as if my order forced him to talk. “I tried to trade information about you to Aiden.”
I thought I’d reached the depths of disappointment with my dad, but we’re reaching a new lower limit. “In exchange for what?”
“A partnership. Investment into our pack–”
“You tried to sell my pack out for money. Let me guess, Aiden refused to deal.” My dad presses his lips together, remaining silent, which tells me all I need to know. “You gave him all the information you had, which is not much, and then he said it wasn’t enough and asked for more. Keeping you on the hook, seeing how far you’re willing to go in betraying your own son. That’s why you came to me asking for a wedding invite.” I don’t need him to confirm or deny. I know that’s the play Aiden made. It’s what I’d do. I don’t blame the Adalwulfs for being snakes. The real traitor is my father.
As a pup, I almost killed myself trying to earn his approval. Be strong like him. But now, I see him clearly. He’s weak. That’s why he hates humans so much–he can’t stand up to other wolves, so he punches down.
For some reason, Aubrey’s face flashes in my mind. The thought of him ever turning his abusive gaze on her makes my wolf bristle. I don’t even want him to know she exists in the world.
“You disgust me.”
My dad’s eyes flare bright. His wolf is showing. He wants to fight me, but he knows he can’t. He’s not strong enough to fight me and win. It’s time I remembered that.
Still he blusters, “You dare come here–”
“No, I’m talking now.” My father would love the story of how I breached my opponent’s safe house and gained the upper hand even when outnumbered, except that in this case, he’s the opponent. I’m using his own tactics against him. Not only that, but I’m doing it better than he ever did. The student has become the teacher, and it’s time my dad learned this lesson. “You came to my city and met with my pack’s enemies before knocking on my door. You’re a weak alpha, leading an unimportant pack. You can’t do much more than sniff around under our table for scraps, but I don’t appreciate you trying to forge an alliance with the Adalwulfs before coming to me with your hand out.”
“Unbelievable.” Spittle flies from my father’s mouth. “You cannot talk to me that way.”
“I just did.” It was a long time coming too. I feel fucking fantastic. “And now I’m telling you to pack your things and go back to Maine. Leave the underhanded deals to the pros.”
William White II sputters. He’s in full charlatan mode, shaking his finger at me while he stands on an imaginary soap box. I’m old enough to see him for what he truly is: a bullshitter to the end. He’s got nothing: a pack he weakened with his own tyranny, a bunch of sycophants who can’t even hold a hotel room against an intruder. All he can do is bluster. “The day is coming when you’re going to need to choose a side.”
“I’ve chosen my side. So it’s up to you to decide whose side you’re on. And I advise you to choose carefully.”
I turn on my heel and stride back to the door, stepping over the writhing bodies on the way.
My father follows at a distance. He doesn’t dare get close to me, and he’s not going to lift a paw to help his packmates, either. “Blood is thicker than water,” he calls from the end of the hall.
I stop short a foot away from the door. I can’t stand it when people misquote things. “That’s not the saying. The real phrase is: ‘The blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb.’ Which is the opposite of what people think the saying means. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.”
“You’d side with Brick against your own father?”
I put my hand on the door, not bothering to turn around to answer. “That’s what I’m telling you. If you don’t believe me, then…feel free to fuck around and find out.”
Chapter Twelve
Aubrey
