Page 40 of Healed
“Yeah, I do. So, you see the problem,” Brandt said. “He’s up all night blaring the music so loud he’s making the windows at his neighbor’s house rattle, and having different women at his house every damn day. Which, the women, that’s his business, but the noise and shit all night long has to stop. Christian lives on one side and Kiernan and his family on the other. He’s waking the kids up all night, every night. Keeping Kiernan and Shaun up all night, and they get up for work before six every day. Christian comes home to get some rest between rotations at the hospital, and he’s just stopped coming home because there is no rest when Remi is partying all night. Then lately he’s got with this girl that is just a problem from the word go.”
“For example?” Daniel asked.
“I went to his house to drag his ass to work a couple of days ago. Almost noon and they’re still sleeping. She is screaming and yelling at me. He’s pissed because I woke him up. She’s threatening to sue me because I dared to trespass on ‘their property’. I told him to get her off our property because the whole time I’m trying to deal with him, she’s screeching at me at how Remi told her to consider his house her house and how I have no right to be there. I finally told her myself to get out before I put her out. He tried to defend her, but I wasn’t having it. Found out that she’s been intimidating Abby and the kids when she’s there. Abby is outside in her own yard with the kids, who the hell wants to intimidate a young mother with babies? Nothing physically threatening, just dirty looks and glaring at her and the kids. And I’m sorry, no matter who it was, I’m not allowing that shit. Not from a stranger, and certainly not from Remi. Our people look to me for safety, and this little…” Brandt stopped himself when he realized he was getting angry about Olivia again, and refocused. “Anyway. She left, and Remi was angry. I told him about not taking care of his responsibilities and to get to work, and he just scoffed. He never did show up at work, but later on Vince called me and told me to come get him. He was falling down drunk at Vince’s and the customers were beginning to get uncomfortable.”
“Jesus,” Daniel said, shaking his head.
“On the way to get him, I find Olivia walking on the side of the road. That’s the girl he’s hooking up with. As much as I didn’t want to, I stopped and picked her up and took her back to town to drop her off, then went back to Vince’s. Vince had been feeding him milkshakes for almost an hour to try to sober him up, by telling him they were alcoholic drinks. By the time I got him home, he was angry and sullen but I tried to talk to him like a man. Told him this girl was no good for him and she was bleeding him dry.”
“How do you know that?” Daniel asked.
“She said in the truck that he owed her money for her bills, and some clothes, because he promised to pay for those things if she went to Vince’s with him, and since he said he would, he was now responsible for it. He made me a signer on his account years ago. The bank contacted me to let me know he was overdrawn. Then when I tried to direct deposit his money into his account to cover it, the bank contacted me to let me know that the balance was still negative. I told him that, and he said that wasn’t possible because he had it set up that if there was ever an emergency the checking account would draw from the savings account if needed. I pointed out that that meant his savings was gone, too. He mentioned that he gave Olivia a card, but he knew she wouldn’t do him like that. Anyway, the whole point is that when I dropped him off, we had words. He was pissed because he didn’t have his car — we left it at Vince’s because no way I was allowing him to drive. He said he’d get Olivia to take him to get it, and I told him to have her pick him up on the highway because she wasn’t allowed on our property, and to have her call a locksmith, too, because I had his keys and he wasn’t getting them back until he sobered up. I wasn’t about to leave his keys with him so he could drive in the condition he’s been in. I should have taken them away from him before now. Well, he got pissed and threw a rock at my truck, shattered the back window, and I lost my cool and got in his face. We had words, and I asked if he was challenging me since he bowed up to me and shattered my window. I told him to clean up his life or I’d remove him from the clan. He said he didn’t want to be here anyway, he didn’t need any of us. I told him to remember he made the choice, not me, and that he had three days to get off the property. Then I hit him. I haven’t seen him since.”
“You said you had words, what words?” Daniel asked.
“Without going into too much detail, I said some shit I shouldn’t have. I was angry. He said some shit he shouldn’t have. He was angry. But what it came down to was that none of us understand. We’re all holed up with our mates, and he’s alone. He said that he lost the woman he loved, lost his mate, and he finally finds someone who cares about him and we ban her from the property. I told him that we don’t want anything to do with somebody like her. Told him that I will not tolerate anybody disrespecting a single member of our clan, on our property. He wants to muddy his life with her, that’s his choice, but we don’t want any part of it and I will not allow her on our land.”
“She really all that bad?” Avaleigh asked.
“Yeah, she is. I told Tempest that maybe I should have been more accepting, understanding even and given her a chance. She said the girl is a user. That all she wants is more.”
“More what?” Avaleigh asked.
“More of anything she can manage to get from anybody. When the well dries up, she moves on to the next person.”
“I was going to ask you how she knows, but she’s Tempest, that’s how she knows.”
“Yeah,” Brandt said quietly. “I’m sorry. I really am. I said some shit that there is no excusing. But no Alpha would put up with everything I have, nor would have exposed his clan to the way he and that girl are behaving. His behavior is affecting everybody that lives near him, and he’s not even attempting to handle his responsibilities and that’s putting more on the rest of us. And the few times he has managed to find his way to work, like I said, he’s drunk. I want you to know that I’m not happy with this. I was serious when I said that I hope he pulls his head out of his ass and figures out he belongs with us. Maybe I should have handled it sooner before it blew up, but I kept hoping he’d wake up and fix it himself. He’s not out for good, he’s out until hecan show a little respect and not resent us for having mates when he doesn’t. Besides, his mate didn’t deny him, he denied her.”
“More or less,” Daniel said.
“He shouldn’t have let Cristie leave,” Avaleigh said.
“When did y’all have this blowup?” Daniel asked.
“Two days ago.”
“Two days ago?!” Daniel demanded.
“I was hoping he’d come to me by now. It’s pretty obvious, that’s not happening.”
“So, he’s got one more day to fix this?” Daniel asked.
Brandt shook his head. “I’m not holding him to that. He knows the choice he made, whether he goes today or a couple of days from now, it’s all the same.”
Daniel just shook his head and wandered away for a few feet before coming back to him and Avaleigh and just standing there.
“I’m sorry about all this. It’s not what I wanted to happen,” Brandt said.
“What about his house?” Avaleigh asked.
“The agreement is the same that y’all have with Kaid regarding this property. You can build your house in whatever spot on the property you choose. But if you ever leave the clan, or decide for whatever reason that you don’t want to be a part of it anymore, I buy it back from you so you’re not out any money. The house becomes the property of the clan. The only exception is like Kiernan and his family. They’re clan, but not family. They rent.”
“Do me a favor, Brandt. Don’t buy his house back from him. It sounds like he’d just blow the money at this point,” Daniel said.
“Yes! Please don’t. Make up an excuse if he demands it,” Avaleigh agreed. “Just don’t give him any cash.”
“You alright, love?” Daniel asked.
