Chapter Nineteen-The Ginger

Between my mates at the head table, I smiled at each and every well-wisher that patted Jacob’s back or shook Logan’s hand like it was them that got married today and not my brother.

If they only knew that if I really had a choice in the matter, I’d be getting ready for my weekly poker game with the boys from my Order instead.

All this love and friendship under one roof was nauseating, and I fanned at myself with the wedding program.

Suddenly feeling eyes on me, I glanced at Logan. He made me feel breathless, and I could not look away from those piercing aquamarine eyes. I felt myself falling harder and harder for this man, and I don’t know why, but when he looks at me like he is right now, I melt inside.

Breaking our moment, Jacob leaned in on my other side. “Would you like to dance?” Before I even had an opportunity to agree, he was leading me to the dancefloor.

Jacob wrapped an arm around me as he pulled me close and put my other hand over his heart. He rested his chin against my forehead and held me close as we swayed to the music. It was the one time he ever really got me to himself.

Logan, being the manly Alpha, wouldn’t step foot on the dancefloor. So Jacob paraded me around proudly for the few minutes he got to pretend that I was his alone in front of his entire clan. “So, are you disappearing at midnight, or do I get another crack at you later?”

I lifted my chin to answer him until a hand met my shoulder and my brother’s voice blew over my head. “May I borrow my sister for a minute?”

A growl rumbled through his chest as Jacob broke the seal on our bodies and backed away. “Sure, but I get her back when you’re done.”

After he ordered our drinks, Teddy grabbed a handful of pretzels from the bar. “Looks like the three of you are getting on better.”

I smooshed the olive between my teeth and nodded. “For a minute.” I shook my head as the bartender pushed another glass in front of me. “You know this can’t last. Don’t you?”

He rolled his eyes to his glass. “Tess, just give it a chance.”

I licked the gin from my lips and turned to face him. “It’s not just me; it’s them. They both say they want this to work out, but neither one of them will listen to what I want. They just want me to wrap myself up in an apron and fix dinner already.”

My finger tapped at his chest. “And then there’s the future Mr. Alpha, who doesn’t want Jacob in the picture at all. How do you reckon any of us end up happy?”

He sighed through his nose and shook his head at me. “Haldir…”

I waved off whatever he was about to say with my hand. “Stop with that shit. Nothing happened. You hate him for no reason at all.”

“No reason.” He returned a pointy finger to my shoulder. “So, I didn’t see you two making out that night?”

I slapped his hand away. “No, as a matter of fact, you didn’t. Not that it’s any of your fucking business, but I kissed Haldir, not the other way around. That man loves us like his own kids. He’d never hurt either of us. If you’d stuck around for a minute instead of blowing up like you did, I would’ve told you then.”

“Seriously?” He ducked down and gave me an eyebrow. “You’re being straight with me?”

My hand came to my chest. “You said you know me better than anyone, but you don’t know me at all if you think I’d lie to you about that.”

He was just as stubborn as me, and he’d believed the lie so long that it was hard to give up, but when he held his hand up for me to stop, I knew he realized how wrong he was. “I’m sorry.”

I finished off my drink and tapped my finger on the bar. “Like I said before, I don’t give a fuck what you think about what happened. But you’ve been treating Haldir like shit all this time. Haldir.” My finger wagged all over the space around us. “The only person in this whole damn world who really gives a shit about us. I get that these people are your family now, and you think you don’t need anybody else, but he was there for you when no one else was. You owe him better.”

His finger slipped around his glass, and he nodded. “I know. I get it. I’m sorry.” A blast of air blew the little torn-up pieces of paper he made when he was nervous across the bar. “So, are you still planning on taking off tonight?”

My lips trilled at the ridiculousness of everything I was living with. “Teddy, this whole possessive, alpha thing of Logan’s, we’re going to end up clashing big fucking time. It won’t be pretty.”

A beer bottle rubbed against his forehead, and he shrugged. “He’s a man trying to hold on to what’s his.”

I cringed at the implication. “But I’m not his. That’s exactly the kind of shit I’m talking about. That man’s going to have to learn some fucking boundaries, or this thing is dead in the water.”

His lips twisted as he swallowed his mouthful of beer. “You are his. These folks aren’t like us. They’re a pack, and he’s the Alpha. It’s like a mama bear and her cubs. He’s the mama bear.”

I chuckled at his stupid comparison, and he waved his hand. “No, I mean it.” He drew a circle in the air with his finger. “All of us are his baby bears, and he’s just trying to keep us all together and safe. He’s just not gentle about it. It’s not who he is.”

He tapped his fingers against my arm. “That’s why you two are good together. There aren’t many people who can stand beside a man like that and lead. But I have not a doubt in my mind that you can.”

If anyone else in this world tried to talk me into this, I would disappear, but I love my brother. If there’s a chance that we can be together, then I want to make that work. “Fuck me! I can’t believe I’m really about to do this.”

I peeked over my shoulder and found the both of them speaking to a group of men, and I poked my finger in Teddy’s shoulder. “I’m going to go have a smoke on the deck if they come looking for me.”

He tapped the bar for another drink and nodded. “I will.”

Little clouds of smoke chugged into the air, and I rolled the stress away from my neck as the clicks of heels came up behind me. “So, you’re Logan’s mate?”

I glanced over to the redhead standing beside me with her hands on the rail. “That’s what they tell me.” Through the smoke rising from my cigarette, I squinted and took a long draw. “Let me guess, you have an opinion on the matter.”

I blew the smoke directly in her face and motioned for her to continue with my fingers. “Well, please, you have my undivided attention.” 

She swatted the smoke away and shrugged. “I just wanted to warn you that he’s slept with just about every woman in this town.” 

 After crushing the cigarette under my shoe, I smiled and pointed at her. “And I suppose you’re one of them?”

Her arms crossed her chest before her lying eyes batted away to the pond. “I just thought you should know.”

I nodded as I considered what she said. Their sexual histories had not a damn thing to do with me, but I wondered what kind of traitorous assholes Logan had in his family. If anyone ever spoke an ill word about my Order’s leader, I’d slice their damn throat without hesitation. “And what about Jacob? Any words of wisdom about him?” 

The smirk on her face set off every alarm. “Between the two of them, they have the whole territory covered.”

“Well, I’ll keep that in mind when I’m fucking them both later.” My lips pulled down as I shrugged. “Since you’re already so familiar with them, you can join in if you want.”

I meant every word as I licked my lips and pushed her hair behind her ear. “I’ve never been with a ginger before, but I’m willing to give it a go.”

Her heels pounded against the wood floor of the deck as she stomped away from me. “Fucking whore.”

I laughed as I watched her walk away, but Jacob didn’t look amused as he rushed past her to get to me. “Was she bothering you?” 

“No.” I shook my head as his hands met my arms. “Not at all. I was just telling her to go fuck herself.”

A shot of air left his mouth as he smiled and nodded to the door. “Come on. Logan’s about to have a stoke because he hasn’t seen you in a minute.”