Broken Bond - Callie Rose Page 0,51

feel it too, although we’re both ignoring it.

So for now, I take this soft peck as an overwhelming gesture of affection coming from him.

I make a show of gathering all the dishes and dumping them into the sink while I listen to the three shifters prepare to leave. I told Archer I’d clean up from breakfast, and I will. But the main reason I want to remain behind is to talk to Trystan.

Archer is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing, and in my world, a man like that is someone to celebrate. No rough edges, no sharp, cutting words, just a good man with a good heart, honest and kind. Seeing the pain cross his expression after Trystan’s uncalled for “advice” has set my nerves on edge.

Within a few minutes, Archer, Ridge, and Dare are ready to go. I hear the distinct click of the door shutting behind them, and their muffled voices fade as they stride away from the house.

As soon as I can no longer hear them, I round on Trystan, letting my full irritation with him shine in my eyes.

“You asshole,” I seethe, snatching his coffee mug right out of his hand. It’s not even empty, but I toss it in the sink anyway, sudsy water splashing over the wall from the force of my anger.

He blinks up at me. “I wasn’t done with that.”

“Yes. You are,” I snap, planting my hands on my hips. “Why did you say that to Archer? God, you can be such a smug, self-righteous know-it-all sometimes! You have no right to tell anyone else how to run their pack or how to feel about their families. Do you even have a heart?”

He’s finally come to the realization that I’m not kidding. He stands, looming over me with his jaw set. “I have a heart.”

“You do a shitty job of convincing me you do,” I point out, steeling myself to glare up at him. I won’t back down. “Can’t you see that it’s killing Archer to watch his father waste away? He can’t do anything to save him, but he can make Malcolm’s last months comfortable.”

“He could be comfortable laid up without his alpha responsibilities,” Trystan barks. “Archer’s duty is to keep his pack together. To make them strong enough to ward off any outside threats. This show of weakness is dangerous to everyone, and it throws the whole pack hierarchy into confusion.”

“You don’t know that!” My voice has gotten louder, as if it can help me get through his thick skull. “I haven’t met a single member of this pack who doesn’t love and respect Malcolm—and Archer too. No one here seems to have a problem with the way they’ve decided to hand off power. The only one who has an issue is you, and this isn’t even your pack!”

Trystan blinks as I finish my vehement tirade. His mouth opens and closes a few times, but he doesn’t immediately answer me.

I scoff. “See? Exactly what I mean. You live in this little bubble where your outlook on life is the only perspective worth having. You’re so sure that you’re always in the right, and you run over everyone in your path to prove it.”

His jaw clenches. His expression is tight, and I can’t tell if he’s pissed or hurt by my words. “You think I run over people?”

“Yes.”

I step closer to him, jutting my chin out. Everything I’m saying has been building up inside me for a long time, and it feels damn good to let it out. I like Trystan. I might even be falling in love with him. But I can’t stand by and let him hurt people just because he’s too stubborn and confident to see things from another perspective.

“I don’t run over you,” he argues, a hint of steel in his voice. “You’re still standing. Standing up to me, actually, like I’m not a foot taller and twice your size.”

“Well, somebody has to,” I snap.

I open my mouth, about to say more, when the true weight of his words hits me. I realize with a start that Trystan’s right. I can stand up to him.

Me. The girl who lived with an abusive uncle for far too long because I was terrified of what running might mean.

Even though my limbs are shaking with adrenaline at the confrontation with Trystan, I haven’t backed down. It was more important to me to confront him about what he said to Archer, to show him how