Page 90 of Scapegoat

Atlas

Nelly wanted to say something else, I could just see it in the way she puffed up, small sounds of protest falling from her lips, but we passed her by, walking into a part of the pack house few ever visited.

“Good to see you, boys.”

Brock stood up and Jack followed behind, offering their hands. I just stared at Brock’s for a second, then shook it. The alpha gripped it tight, too tightly for comfort, then started to shift his wrist slightly, giving him a more overhand grip. I looked at him, seeing the deep lines around his eyes and the grey in his hair, things I’d never noticed before, then gripped his hand so hard he was forced to jerk his away, his not-so-subtle powerplay having backfired.

“So you’re back—” Jack started to say.

“For now.” I took the three of them in with a steady gaze.

“But you’ve found your omega, and what a beautiful mate she is,” he said, stepping forward to actually greet Kai. “It’s been a long time since this place had a woman’s touch.” Their omega had died in childbirth, trying to give them more sons. “I’m sure—”

“I’m not sure we’re staying.” Her voice was so fucking crisp and clear, strong in the face of their authority. I loved her a little bit more for it. She stared up at the three men, not looking away for a second, something only an alpha could do, or a mated omega. I watched Jack’s brows crease, the two other alphas shifting uncomfortably, glancing at each other.

“We’re here because we had an incident out in the human world,” Xavier said.

“Now see, that’s why wolf shifters need to stay in packs,” Brock said with a shake of his head. “So what did you do?”

He sounded like a long-suffering father, but we weren’t his kids, nor even official members of this pack, so that wasn’t going to fly.

“Kai—” I started to say.

“Killed the man that was going to rape her,” my mate finished for me. “Not sure if that’s sanctioned or not, but I admit I wasn’t really thinking of the pack at the time.” She blinked. “I wasn’t really thinking of anything but surviving.”

“But if you weren’t outside the pack, this would never have happened to you. No man in this town would try to rape you.” Mike’s voice was gentle, but I knew it was coming across as patronising by the set of Kai’s shoulder.

“Maybe not, but my mother beat me—” she shot back.

“Now, Kaia.”

“Kai,” she corrected sharply. “My mother was going to try and make me an indentured servant in my own fucking home.”

“I know what Abby wanted, but that wasn’t the plan,” Mike replied.

“It wasn’t just what she wanted to happen. It was what did happen—I was one my whole damn childhood.” When her voice broke, I held her closer, wanting to take this burden from her, but I couldn’t. Right then I felt just as powerless as I had when we were still kids, but that had nothing on Kai’s pain. We couldn’t save her from it, only she could endure it. “No one lifted a fucking finger but me in that house.”

“Kai—”

“The family wouldn’t eat unless I cooked it. They wouldn’t have clean clothes to wear unless I washed them.”

“Kai—!”

“I wasn’t my mother’s daughter; I wasn’t part of the family. I was there to facilitate her dreams for Anna and—”

“That’s enough!”

I think Mike was surprised when he shouted at my mate, but he wasn’t more surprised than us. We rallied a whole lot quicker, throwing ourselves in front of Kai. We hadn’t been able to beat the alphas two years ago, but we’d gotten taller, stronger, packed on the muscle of men, and I was willing to bet it wouldn’t be as close a fight anymore. Wouldn’t matter if it was. We’d take each one of these fuckers out, if that’s what it took to look after our girl.

I realised, finally, why Kai hated this place so much. It wasn’t just that the place was stained by all those shitty memories, because with Abby gone and Kai living with us, she could’ve forged her own life here, if that’s what she wanted. It was the fact that the same shit that had allowed her to be neglected, abused, kept fucking happening, and that was what killed her. Claws snicked out at the ends of my fingers and fur prickled across my skin. I was halfway gone to shifting and ready to tear these fuckers to pieces.

“OK, everyone needs to calm down,” Brock said, holding his hands out. “Let’s all take a breath.”

“Why is everyone convinced the guys are back in town for my sister?” Kai asked in a low deadly voice. “Their sister.” She stabbed her finger at us. “Why does everyone assume I’m just the friend—”

“Because if we told the pack the truth about Abby, Anna’s reputation would be ruined,” Brock said with a sigh. “She was just a kid, caught up in her mother’s bullshit—”

“Like I was,” Kai growled.

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