Page 13 of Mated to Four Wolves

“I’m on the way. This is something we definitely should talk about.”

My chest tightened. I wasn’t sure if that was because of how unnerving this made me or because I knew Spike was with the woman I wanted to be with. He was flirting with the most stunning woman that I had ever laid eyes on. The only person who made me feel all kinds of feelings I didn’t know what to do with.

Fuck, but I couldn’t do anything about it, because it wasn’t likeIwas going to act on any of my feelings. All I could do was watch Arya through the video like a fool.

I tried my absolute hardest to push all of that aside as I made my way to the headquarters room. I wasn’t usually great with a poker face. I typically wore my emotions on my face, and the people who knew me best of all could really see that. I didn’t want Spike to feel bad though. This wasn’t about him necessarily, it was about me. Me and everything that I was lacking.

But I couldn’t totally push everything aside. Sparks of jealousy ignited in the pit of my stomach as soon as I laid eyes on Spike. The funny thing was I was pretty sure that I could see the same surge of emotions rolling through Brock as well. Had he also seen Spike and Arya? If so, he obviously wasn’t dealing with it too well.

Shit, it would be something for us to bond over, if it wasn’t so embarrassing.

“Are you sure you saw Victor?” Spike asked the moment Mickey joined us as well, completing the foursome. “Because I cannotthink of a reason why he was here.”

“It was one hundred percent him. Pale skin, dark eyes, dark clothing.” A shudder ran down my spine. “Scrawny bastard but with a menacing attitude.”

Spike sighed heavily. He knew that was going to be my answer, but it still seemed to weigh really heavily on him. “Fucking hell. Why is he in Rockport?”

“And what is his connection to Robert?” I demanded, because if anyone was going to have any clue, it was Spike. “Because he was talking to him like they knew one another.”

“I don’t know,” Spike admitted, much to my dismay. “But I think that needs to be a secondary issue. For now I think we need to make sure that everyone is safe.”

“How will we do that?” Brock asked with a frown as he folded his arms defiantly across his chest. “Because I don’t see how we can get everyone out of here easily. But we also can’t let everyone stick around here and be put at risk. If Victor is as bad as you have always told us that he is, Spike, then who knows what he will do.”

My stomach started to do flip-flops. This was bad, wasn’t it? Really bad. I pressed my hand to my belly, wondering how to stop myself from throwing up all over the place. I was supposed to be good at this shit. All of us had seen way worse at war, but I guess that was still affecting me. I didn’t see any of the other guys still suffering with nightmares because of the whole thing, but I did. Not that I shared them anymore. I didn’t want them to all worry about me.

It was hard when Spike worried about me because he went into overdrive. Sure it was really nice of him to do everything that he could for me, but I never got any space to breathe and to try and sort things out for myself. Brock never knew what to say, so any issues had the opposite effect on him. He went silent and wouldn’t look me in the eye.

Mickey was more emotionless and good to talk things through with because he has such a practical sided brain––which was why his worry about the social media stuff really got to me––but I was sure that by now he had to be absolutely sick of me. I didn’t want to keep going on to him about the constant dreams that I was still out on the battlefield, fighting for my life. He didn’t want to discuss the men that we’d been forced to leave behind because bullets or bombs killed them just as much as I didn’t. I didn’t want him to get dragged back there too.

So I kept the nightmares to myself, just as I kept the worry about Victor locked away deep inside of me. It wasn’t a good idea for me to freak out.

Stay calm, I told myself seriously as Spike continued to talk, laying out the plans for us.Don’t go back to that place. Don’t let this take you out of here.

It wasn’t easy, though. Because I didn’t knowwhatwas coming. There was no clue as to what Victor was doing. We were definitely going to have to deal with Robert and interrogate him at some point…if we could get him to talk. There was no telling how terrified he was.

“I will make an announcement,” Spike finally said more firmer now, dragging me back into the room with everyone. “Then we need to transport everyone back to the hotel. We will need to have someone on watch there the whole time as well.” He turned to face me. “Liam, do you think that you could do that? Shift and pace around the hotel at all times, to make sure that you don’t pick up the scent of Victor or anyone else?”

I nodded numbly. Was he giving me this job because he knew that I could do it? Or because he was worried that I would freak out if I was given anything else to do? I really wished that I was much better at hiding how I was feeling, because this had me all messy inside.

“Great, do you want to go now then? To make sure it’s all good before I send people?”

I backed away from the other guys, checking that they weren’t just trying to get rid of me because I was useless. I didn’talwaysget this feeling, I usually coped pretty well on a day to day basis, but right now, everything was piling up on top of me in a painful way. Arya, and the way that sheobviouslyliked Spike more than me, and why wouldn’t she? I hadn’t even spoken to her. It was unlikely that she had even seen me crossing her path during the last few days. Spike, who had the girl, and Brock who I knew wanted her too. Plus, Mickey and the stress that he was under because of the social media, and now very real, threats. And this…

This sucked most of all because it reminded me that if it wasn’t for the other guys, I would be useless. It had always been that way and I guess it always would be.

As I stripped off and took my clothing between my teeth towards the hotel, I let my mind wander of past memories, which I couldn’t seem to shove down however hard I tried. I thought about my childhood, and the way that my alcoholic mother just left me when I was eight years old. Like, she just vanished and no one ever found out what happened to her. I guess these days, the only sad assumption that I could make was that she had passed away, but it didn’t make the abandonment issues any less of a burden. Especially because my father made it obvious every single day that he didn’t want to be stuck with me. He pushed me away until I left at fourteen years old, to live on the streets, constantly in survival mode.

I joined the military as soon as I could because I honestly didn’t like the look of the other paths that could have quite easily swallowed me up had I let them. I could have drowned in addiction myself or turned to crime as a way to fund my life. I just didn’t want any of that. I didn’t really have the stomach for it.

Plus, I thought that being a Navy Seal would toughen me up, which it did, physically. I guess it did mentally as well, because I was a long way away from the boy that I used to be, but I still felt like I had a long way to go. A very long way to go…

It was nice to be in my wolf form though, because while I was still plagued by everything, it was my chance to let the other side of me shine free. I was the fastest wolf out of our little crew, so I absolutely loved running. There was nothing better than the sensation of letting my legs shine, of doing something that I was the best at.

I was at the hotel in minutes and instantly started sniffing around and checking out the area. The hotel that the stars were staying in wasn’t one that had been made public, but it wouldn’t take web sleuths long to figure it out. Rockport wasn’t flush with hotels. It wouldn’t take long to narrow it down. Plus, it already seemed like Victor had insider knowledge with Robert anyway, so there was likely no hiding anything anymore.

What was Victor after?I wondered as I raced around the hotel and all the surrounding areas.What is he doing here? And why doesn’t Spike seem to know anything?

That was scary because Spike always had an idea. That was why we followed him so religiously as our leader. Not that he had ever led us wrong before, but I hoped that he wasn’t too wrapped up in Arya to take this seriously…

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