Mending the Beast (Awakening Pride #10) - Lacey Thorn Page 0,40

hold control from his animal side.

“Daniel!”

He turned to see his brother looking completely pissed with him. That was par for the course by now. He and Gabriel had been clashing all week. Gideon and Vic had gone back to Riverton after a long conversation with Ariel the night before, and Daniel wasn’t sure if either of them were coming back. Of course, they had a full house as it was. There was Aleksy and Lyra along with Tony. Then there was Gabriel and Kenzie. Mitch and Jonah had gone back with Quinn originally. Mitch had stayed with her, but Jonah was back with two new guys. With Daniel and Ariel, their traveling party was at ten. Not exactly inconspicuous.

“Are you even paying attention?” Gabriel thundered as he stomped to Daniel. Not for the first time, Daniel wondered what it would take to get Gabriel on the helicopter back home.

“What the hell do you want, Gabriel?”

“I—”

Ariel was between them in an instant, a growl spilling from her lips. One hand flattened against Daniel’s chest while the other fisted around Gabriel’s shirt.

“Enough!” she snarled, getting in Gabriel’s face. “Are you paying attention? Your brother’s one escalation with you away from shifting into his lion right here. Is that what you want?”

“I want him to go home until we figure out what’s going on with him,” Gabriel snarled, and the only thing that saved him was the fact he didn’t get in her face.

“Well, too fucking bad,” she snapped. “We’re here, and we’re not going anywhere. Deal with it.”

Gabriel growled, but Ariel merely leaned in and growled back.

“Problems, boys?” Kenzie asked as she and Tony joined them, but her gaze was squarely on her mate.

Gabriel blew out a breath and took a step back from Ariel. She immediately moved so she stood directly in front of Daniel, planting her feet wide as if she were going to protect him from anything else thrown at him. He dropped his hands to cup her hips and simply held onto her.

“Whatever the two of you are doing, do it faster,” Gabriel commanded. “Both of you look like the walking dead. And the rest of us are no good if we’re watching out for you all the time. Get your shit together or get out.”

With a growl, he reached for his mate then walked away.

“I’m still not sure if I like your brother or not,” Tony admitted. “But he’s right. Neither of you are doing the rest of us any good in your current conditions. Both of you need sleep before the bags under your eyes become bigger than the ones we’re all living out of right now. Whatever it is you need to work through, work through it. If I have to choose between getting my hands on Talbot or saving one of your lives, I’m not sure I can be trusted to put either of you first.”

Daniel doubted that. No matter what Tony said, he’d never be the type to leave them in the lurch.

“Why don’t you two head back to the hotel. Try to sleep. Or talk. Or do both. Or whatever.” Tony waved his hands toward the lot where they’d left their vehicles. “I’ll send Jonah back with you. He wanted to check in with Mitch today, anyway.”

“We don’t—”

“Yes, we do,” Ariel interrupted. “I’m so exhausted I can barely think, and I know you’re not much better. We need to sleep.”

She’d turned to face him, and he kept his hands on her hips, letting her spin in his hold. He couldn’t not touch her. The need for her touch in return was a physical ache beneath his skin trying to claw its way out.

“Don’t make me kick your ass in front of everyone,” she warned, and it took all he had to hold back his grin. He didn’t think she’d appreciate it at the moment.

“Where’s Jonah?” Daniel asked Tony.

“Headed to one of the vehicles. We’ll stick local today. Between Gabriel and me, we have several contacts we can check in with. I’d like to move out early tomorrow morning, so we’ll keep it lowkey today unless we get a hot lead. Rest. Be ready to pound pavement tomorrow, or I’ll knock you both out and put you on the helicopter home. Understood?” Tony didn’t wait for them to answer. He merely nodded that he accepted their unspoken agreement and headed off. The man was constantly in motion. Daniel hoped he got the opportunity to get to know Tony better. He found that he