from that cruelty.
As the Redwoods started guiding me through the forest, the knot of tension in my chest began to loosen. It still hurt to leave the tentative bond I’d thought I’d found with my lovers behind, but it was for the best.
Seventeen
Reid
I woke up with the first sunrays, my cock hard and my skin covered in a sheen of sweat. I threw the blankets off me, jumped out of the bed, and went to look for the human female. I knew she was with Thorn, and it was time for my little brother to share. Lately, he’d been spending a lot of time with her. Well, it was my turn to have her pussy. I barged into his cabin, and he sat up in bed, groggy with sleep.
“Reid, what the fuck?”
“I need Isabel.”
“Good for you.” He covered his head with his pillow and tried to get back to sleep.
“Where is she?”
“She’s with Jax.” His voice came out muffled. “He took her last night.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fucking Jax. Why does he always have to be first?”
Thorn ignored me. I stormed out and practically ran to Jax’s cabin. I was naked from the waist up, as I’d only had time to throw on some pants. My dick was so hard that it threatened to burst out and ruin the zipper. I needed the human now! I stopped before Jax’s cabin, my nose catching a scent that was way too familiar. And way too different from Isabel’s.
“Layla,” I whispered. I’d fucked Layla just a month or so before. We used to be a thing for a while. It didn’t bother me that both Jax and Thorn had had her, too. But why was her scent lingering around Jax’s cabin? The worst part was that I could smell Isabel’s scent, too. It was salty and filled with fear, though… And sadness. I growled low in my chest, my senses suddenly on high alert. Something had happened here last night. Something bad. I pushed the door open, and sure enough, Layla’s scent was everywhere.
“Don’t you know how to knock, idiot?” Jax was by the stove, making himself a cup of coffee.
“Where is she?”
“Who?”
“Layla! Isabel! Where are they?”
“Make up your mind.” He stirred his coffee as it brewed.
“What the fuck did you do?”
I walked over to his bed, but that wasn’t it. He hadn’t fucked Layla there. I turned to the table in the middle of the room, and my nose instantly caught the scent of seed and female juices that had dried on the wood.
“If Layla was with you last night,” I said slowly, pointing at the table, “then where was Isabel?”
He grinned. “On the couch. Watching.”
My eyes went as wide as saucers. That was why I’d felt Isabel’s sadness and despair earlier. Because Jax had broken her heart. He’d fucked Layla right in front of her and had forced her to watch.
“Where is she now?”
“How should I know?”
“She’s not with Thorn.” I walked over to him and grabbed him by the collar. “Where is she, Jax? Did she run away again? Did you send her away, you piece of shit?”
He pushed me away. “Maybe I did. So what?”
“You let her escape?”
“I let her do whatever the fuck she wanted. If she escaped again, it’s not my fault. She’s not part of our pack. She could never be.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“We don’t need her, brother. I don’t want her here, and trust me, neither do you.”
I saw red. My hands turned into claws, my fangs extended, and before I knew it, I shifted forcefully, turning my pants to shreds. In my wolf form, I knocked over Jax’s coffee, along with a bunch of plates and glasses he kept on his kitchen counter. I lunged at him and managed to scratch his side. He howled as he shifted, and we both tumbled to the floor, knocking over the table and a few chairs. We fought with all we had. He bit my shoulder, and I hit him hard in the chest. We moved around the room, lunging at each other until we burst through the door, pulling it out of its hinges. Jax was so big that when I slammed into his side, he fell and took part of the wall with him.
“Jax, Reid… what the fuck?!” I heard Thorn yell at us. “Stop it!”
A small crowd was gathering around us. At first, Thorn had no idea why we were fighting. Within minutes, he caught on to what was going on.