Talons

Chapter 62: The Dent

Rhea's POV

After telling my story to Braylen, his fiancé, and mother I feel exhausted. The guys have left so that I can get some sleep, but I can tell that Mike wanted to stay. 

A part of me wished that he would have, but another part knows that he doesn't take me seriously. He may see me as a friend that has potential, but truthfully, I don't think I will ever be anything more to him.

"You haven't given him a chance," Sylvia says, and I sigh. 

"Fine, starting tomorrow, I will tell Mike that I want to start over with him. If he messes up again…" I don't need to finish my sentence because Sylvia knows, and she agrees. 

Lark calls me just as I settle into bed, and I send him to my voicemail. It has been that way since I've come home from spring break. I don't want to hear his voice, but if he texts me, I will reply. 

Robin and Luke then call but I ignore them as well. They have both tried to play middleman for Lark, but I'm not really in the mood to forgive my brother right now.

What he did is in a lot of ways worse than what Raven did, and that is solely because my sister was on the verge of insanity when it happened, but Lark is a healthy alpha male.

Raven's POV

I came home after a long shift and was thankful that Tucker made us dinner. As soon as we finished eating, we made love in the kitchen, and then again in the living room.

I could almost swear that Tucker is part wolf, but I would have smelled him by now, and I can guarantee from his parents alone that he’s a human.

Tuck goes to shower, while I stay behind to clean. Since my sister no longer lives with us, I've grown to appreciate her much more than I had in the past. 

She used to work, go to school, come home to do her chores; sometimes mine, and never complain of tiredness.

Me on the other hand, I cannot wait to become Dolton's Luna so that I can be taken care of like a queen. Even if he rejects me, which he might, I have Tucker, who is back in his parent's good graces.

We had outlined a business proposal meant to expand the reach of their hotel, and so far, it's working. His parents now see me for my worth and they have tried to get to know me. That means that if Tucker and I get married, I will at least have a comfortable life with him.

The front door knocks and I stiffen. I don't need to open it to know that it's Lark and Luke. I start trembling and my brother starts pounding on the door like a maniac. I quickly open it and he and Luke come barging in as if they own the place.

"Where is B," he says in a menacing tone, and I flinch away from him. He sniffs the air and looks at me incredulously. "She doesn't even live here, does she?" I look down and my brother grabs my arms. 

"What the f*ck are you doing to my girl?" Tucker shouts, and I turn to see him exiting our bedroom in nothing but shorts. He pulls me away from Lark, and my brother's eyes go wide. He looks back at me as if I’m a disgrace, and truthfully, I feel like one. 

"Tuck, this is my brother. I never told him about us," I look at Tucker's face and he frowns deeply. I can tell he’s hurt by my confession, but he plays it off well.

"Still, he shouldn't put his hands on you babe." Tuck looks back at my brother and then glares at Luke, who I quickly tell him is my sister's ‘husband.’ He nods and turns back to my brother. "What's the problem here?"

"Where is B?" Lark asks, and Tucker flat out tells him that she moved out months ago. My brother narrows his eyes at me before ordering me with an alpha command to tell him where our sister lives.

I struggle, but I eventually cave, and I hope that she isn't in any trouble. I heard what happened between her and the omega, and while that does not sound like my sister, there was a witness.

"Did you know that B was in the hospital for two days?" My brother links and I look up at him in shock. "That's right; there was a rogue attack and she protected Ducky while you were here playing house with a human."

I look down in shame. I had plans with Tucker and his parents, so I didn't want to go home. I kind of guessed that something happened during the break but I’ve been intentionally ignoring my family.

Robin had randomly called and told me that she was planning to get pregnant without me. She and I had made a promise to have children together, and I was kind of hurt by her decision, so pulled away from everyone.

"Why are you just staring at one another?" Tucker asks and Lark's snarls before he and Luke leave.

As soon as they are gone, I jump for my phone to call B. I want to warn her that they are coming. She doesn't answer, so I call Robin who starts bawling into the phone. She and Luke had their first argument because she did not want to tell him where I lived.

Lark had to use an alpha command on her to get her to give him the address, but I’m glad they didn't go to my parents, who, being devout, would have reacted harshly to Tucker.

I apologize to Robin and beg her to call B, but she tells me that our sister is not answering her calls. She tells me the true story of the omega and I scream into my phone in shock. 

Tucker comes running into the room, and I find myself crying into his chest. Neither of us deserve B as a sister.

Colton's POV

I stand at the gates of the territory ready to greet my cousin. As soon as she gets out of the car she throws a punch at my face, and I dodge just in time. I really want to deck the girl, but my father has told me that I need to play nice.

“Welcome,” I snarl, and Holly greets me back, making me cringe. I’m so glad that Dolt hasn’t picked up the full accent that my mother’s side of the family has because I would never be able to talk to him if he did. 

My brother and I try to keep communication open between ourselves as much as possible. We mostly text, but every now and then we talk on the phone. As twins, being apart for so long could have made us weaker, but in our case, we are both alphas, so the distance has been good for us.

Holly doesn’t even respond to my question; she scans the area and runs straight to Mandy, one of the only females around.

“You look like a fun girl,” she says. “How about we ditch the d*cks and you can show me around?” Carter growls and he pulls Mandy behind him possessively. “Oh, dip your balls in ice, will you? I can tell she’s a mated female, and from the stench radiating off her, she’s very much in love.” Mandy chuckles and Carter looks back at her disapprovingly.

Holly sighs deeply, shaking her head as she walks away from Carter and Mandy, muttering about insecure males in every pocket and corner of the world. It was at that moment that I realized she’s crazy. 

My beta’s mate seems to like that about Holly though, and she starts pouting at her mate, who makes a gesture for her to leave before roughly rubbing his forehead. Mandy chases behind my cousin, who stops to link arms with her wearing a giant smile.

“Colt, be a good boy and bring my luggage to my room,” Holly calls out and Orlin tells me to throw something at her. I can now see why they had to send her away. It's been all of five minutes and Carter and I are already done.

Rhea’s POV

I would like to have enjoyed my nap, but the constant buzzing of my phone has made that impossible. I finally answer, and my sisters are both crying into the phone, warning me that Lark is on his way. 

I don’t even wait for them to finish speaking before I hang up. I start panicking because I don’t understand why they are coming. I grab a small bag and rush to my car, but when I get there my brother and his beta are leaning against it, as if they anticipated my action.

I say nothing to my brother, as he approaches me in a way that makes me recoil. He stops in place, asking me why I didn’t tell him, and I realize that he has somehow discovered the truth.

“You felt more comfortable telling humans what happened then talking to your own brother?” He asks with hurt in his voice, and I’m now enraged. Sylvia starts pushing forward, but I calm her. We don’t want to lose control of ourselves because we are better than that.

“In your words Lark; I deserved it.” My brother flinches and Luke tries to intervene. “Those humans have been nothing but kind to me. They were going to call the police, so I had to tell them something.”

“But Lark is family.”

“Family that suspected me of being part of the rogue attack even though I almost died. Family who believed a pervert over me. Tell me Luke, if I were your sister, would you have done that?”

Lark’s POV

I’ve never heard my sister speak the way she’s speaking, and I can tell I’ve made a huge dent in our relationship. If my parent’s find out, they will be disgusted by me, and I wouldn’t blame them because I’m disgusted by myself.

I try to reason with my sister, but she isn’t having any of it. I finally come to a low point and have to hit her the only place I know will hurt. 

“How do you think Mommy would feel if she knew that you lied to her so that Raven could live with her human?” I see my sister tense, and Luke links me that I’m pushing too far. “I made a mistake, but the omega has been dealt with. Let's put this issue behind us and I won't tell mom and dad.”