Page 31 of Bear
The brotherhood has just calmed from my pool exit when a low rumble of laughter and more talk begins to work its way through the group.
My brows dart together, frowning. I can’t tell what they’re talking about, it’s all muffled chatter and hushed chuckling. My eyes flick around the group, the crease down my forehead deepening at the commotion rolling through the group. A few point… toward Duke. I bite my lip, turning to get Bear’s take on whatever the hell is going on. I’ve missed something. He shakes his head, though, shrugging his shoulders. He seems as perplexed by the current situation as I am.
The dam bursts as Brendan lets out a huge guffaw. “Damn, what hellcat have you been hiding upstairs?”
And before Duke can turn to face them, there’s another comment, this time from Kai. “Fuck, Duke. Whoever she was, she clawed up your back good, man.” He eyes Duke with interest.
Bear shakes his head, deep voice booming. “That’s e-fucking-nough.”
“The fuck’s going on? What hellcat?” All heads turn to the back door where Tucker finally strolls out onto the patio, rubbing his eyes before he stops to gawk at the scene before him. A wide grin pulls at his lips.
“Just shut up. All of you,” Duke growls, a stony look on his face.
I wouldn’t cross him, but apparently, Tucker has no such qualms. His face registers surprise, then morphs into a sick enjoyment of the topic at hand. “Wait, are they saying you and your sister…?” His eyes shoot between me and Duke before Tucker throws his head back, laughing.
Someone else lets out a low whistle and a couple more chuckle quietly, but I’m more interested in the way Duke’s face has gone pale before turning bright red. The expression slipping over his features is lethal. A muscle in his jaw twitches angrily. “No, dickface. This had nothing to do with Lennon, mystepsister. But there’s plenty we need to address that does concern her, and you’ll all be present”—he grits his teeth as his gaze touches on everyone—“tonight. Brotherhood meeting. Every single one of you fuckerswillbe in attendance. There’s some shit that needs to become real clear, real quick before I start kicking asses out of this goddamn house. Got it?”
Bear sucks in a breath, but his head bobs, and he barks out a final command. “Now, get the fuck back in the house. All of you. We don’t need your help, and this isn’t for your goddamn entertainment. It’s not a fuckin’ reality show.”
Tucker wriggles his brows at Duke, which has Duke lunging forward until Bear pulls him back with one big hand to his shoulder. “He’s not worth it, man. We’ll talk about how to deal with their piss-poor attitudes and the obvious lack of obedience later.”
While we’re waiting on everyone to wise up and move the fuck on out, I turn and ask Mason one of the questions that’s been ticking around inside my head that’s only semi-adjacent to the current shitstorm. “Were you awake when I came out here? How did you get down here so fast?”
He hesitates for a moment, glancing past me toward Duke, while scraping his teeth over his full bottom lip. “Yeah, I was in the attic and actually heard the beeping before the alarm went off because I left the door ajar. I hoped it was one of these assholes coming in drunk or whatever and forgetting to punch in the alarm code, but I didn’t want to take the chance that was a wrong assumption. I got down to the first floor and was about to go to the front of the house when I saw the door to the patio standing open.”
I rub a pair of fingers at each temple in tight circles. Yep. Still embarrassed as fuck but going to put it out of my head because I have no other choice. “I can’t believe it happened again. I’m sorry.”
With a growl, Duke huffs out, “You don’t need to apologize for something that isn’t your fault.”
Mason grips the back of my neck, giving me a gentle squeeze as he shakes his head. “You didn’t do it on purpose. We all know that. Come on, looks like the coast is mostly clear.”
As our foursome trudges back to the house, I murmur quietly, “Thanks for loaning me your shirt, Duke.”
He huffs out a beleaguered grunt from up ahead of us, which is all the acceptance of my thanks I’m going to get, from the sound of it. I guess no one would have seen his back if he hadn’t done me that favor, so maybe he’s pissed about it. I wonder when it happened.
When I glance over at Bear, he’s got his lip caught between his teeth, he lets his gaze shift to Duke for a second, then back to me. His head jerks ever so slightly. I nod in response.Got it.It’s probably best to let him be, even though I have plenty of questions surrounding his shirt, or rather, why his back is indeed rubbed raw in places. I understand thehellcatandclaw markreferences now that I’ve had a chance to get a peek.
But how?I must be too tired for this. Truth be told, I’m exhausted and don’t know if I’m going to manage to pry myself out of bed to go to classes in a few hours.
Silently, we walk up the stairs, Bear and Duke leading the way with Mason and myself following. We’re leaving wet footprints everywhere we step, and, in hindsight, probably should have grabbed towels out of the pool house, but it’s late—or early, whichever way we want to look at it—and obviously none of us are completely with it at the moment. All the way up the stairs, I study the marks on Duke’s back, but I don’t dare say a word. My brow furrows.
As we get to the end of the hallway, Mason reaches out, lightly toying with my hand. “You gonna be okay, or do I have to set up camp out on the balcony?”
“Hilarious.” Bear crosses his arms over his chest, surveying the three of us as he turns, walking backward the remaining distance to our rooms.
We all come to a stop, and at the teasing smirk Mason shoots me, I roll my eyes. “I’ll be fine. Seriously.”
There’s an awkwardness among us, which isn’t usually present, and I can’t quite pinpoint what’s causing it. “Class at nine, so see you all at eight thirty at the latest?” I throw that out there, and they nod without comment, almost as if each one is caught up in his head.
Mason’s eyes finally train on Duke. “You going to class or staying home? Did you decide?”
“Don’t know yet.” This poor guy, his emotions are clearly all over the place. One minute he’s slamming doors, the next he looks so fucking sad I want to wrap him up in my arms and not let go until today is done. Maybe it’s stupid of me to have that thought in my head, but… we got along just fine when we were left alone during Bear’s fight.
“I’m going to attempt to sleep.” My eyes find each of theirs in turn and they nod their agreement. Mason’s still holding my hand, so I give it a brief squeeze, and he lets go. “Thanks for jumping in after me.”
“Anytime.”
In the dark, I can barely make something out on his neck. Curiosity gets the better of me and, leaning in, I run my fingertips over it. “Um.” I frown, cocking my head to the side, truly confused. That wasn’t there earlier today. I’d have noticed it. “Where’d that come from?” I meet his dark eyes and search them for the answer. “’Cause I know it wasn’t me.”
