Their End

Chapter 8 | Pool Day Disaster

REMI

Fifi stood at the edge of the pool, watching it warily. Callum crouched next to her, speaking softly. Cerys and Grayson had come up with a game that involved jumping into the water over and over. Ryker and Gentry stood sentinel in the water, not letting the kids go too deep.

“Do you think he will get in this time?” Calder asked. I sat curled in his lap on one of the lounge chairs.

“We need to just toss them both in,” Cullen grumbled next to us. He was not happy. Callum wasn’t as adventurous as Cerys, and it bothered him. Fifi was uncomfortable around the pool. From what we learned, her home didn’t have large bodies of water. Callum had latched on to Fifi’s insecurity, and they had become buddies in their hesitancy.

“We aren’t going to make a big deal out of this,” I reminded Cullen.

He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. “Wasn’t a big deal when we were tossed in the pool,” he muttered.

I was about to climb off Calder to give Cullen a piece of my mind, but Calder stopped me by tightening his arms around me. He kissed my shoulder, softening my growing frustration. “Ignore him,” Calder whispered.

“Hmph,” Cullen snorted next to us.

I focused back on the kids. Cerys climbed out of the water yet again and walked around the pool to the opposite edge, where her twin and Fifi were still crouched. She waved her arm at the two of them, inviting them to jump in with her. Callum shook his head.

“If he’s ever going to be Alpha, he needs to learn to place his fear aside and handle things head-on,” Cullen complained. “Indecision will only make him weak.”

“He isn’t weak because he’s uncertain,” I snapped.

“And when it’s time for him to shift? Or learn to fight?” Cullen continued.

“Not the time,” Calder warned him.

It felt like Cullen was intentionally lighting a fuse. Even Calli bristled at his brash accusations. My teeth ground together as I tried to keep myself in check in front of my pups.

“If he faces every new or intimidating situation with such extreme caution, he will get himself and others hurt,” Cullen stated.

“Cullen, it’s just swimming. He’s only three!” Calder hissed.

“As if thinking about all the aspects of a problem isn’t a reasonable way to do things,” I threw at Cullen.

“There is nothing to think about. He bathes, does he not? How is this any different!”

“Are you seriously comparing the bathtub to a pool?” I growled. I sat up and glared at Cullen. Calder tried to pull me back, but I wasn’t budging.

“Snacks!” Pip called cheerily as she joined us, unaware of the storm brewing.

“Yes, I am. He can handle getting into the water when it’s time to clean himself. Yet, he can’t bring himself to touch the water here. Look at Cerys! That is the attitude of an Alpha!” Cullen’s voice rose as he argued with me. He sat up as well, facing me on his chair.

“They are their own people, Cullen! Just because Cerys isn’t afraid doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with Callum!” My hands clenched into fists. Even though I knew I was arguing with my mate, the instinct to protect my babies was burning bright inside me. “You and Calder don’t like to be compared, and you’re identical!”

“But we were. That’s how it goes for a Carlisle! They will be held to a higher standard because they are above everyone else!”

Calli snarled inside my head. I launched myself at Cullen as I let my claws out. I’d barely swiped at him when I was yanked in the opposite direction. “Let me go!” I screamed.

Cullen could be difficult. He did what he thought was best without regard for how Calder or I felt about things. He was always prepared to make the hard decisions, even if it meant upsetting me. Sometimes, I could stay upset with him for days. We always made up, and it usually wasn’t outright rage that he induced.

Something was different about this fight. I knew he loved both our twins equally. The way he interacted with and cared for them was undeniable. We’d had this conversation before, and he had begrudgingly agreed to let Callum take this hurtle at his own pace. It was as if he had completely lost all patience with that notion.

“Remi, calm down,” Calder said seriously. I fought against his grip even though it was useless. My wolf wanted to take a bite out of Cullen for threatening our pups.

“Put me down, Calder!”

“You can’t attack Cullen!” Calder growled back. I fought against his grip as he carried me away from Cullen. The only thing I cared about was how angry Cullen’s audacity made me. “Remi!”

When we were a good distance away from the pool, Calder set me on my feet. I immediately went to charge back at Cullen, who was now being stopped by Gentry, but Calder grabbed my arms. “Remi, what is going on?”

“He’s not going to talk about Callum like that!”

“Remi! Please, baby, look at me,” Calder said, getting in my face. I huffed out a breath and looked at Calder. His brow was creased with worry. His violet eyes searched mine as he cupped my face in his hands. “You have to calm down. You’re scaring the pups.”

A flip switched inside me. It was as if I had forgotten we were sitting outside with the kids when Cullen started in about Callum. My eyes watered quickly as the heat of my anger flooded out of me.

“Hey, hey,” Calder said softly. “Everyone’s okay. You just lost your cool for a minute. Cullen will apologize.”

“I didn’t mean to scare them,” I sniffed. The speed at which I had gone from angry to regretful was dizzying. Calder leaned forward and kissed me softly.

“It’s okay,” he assured me.

“I’m sorry. Cullen just wouldn’t stop,” I reasoned uselessly. “Calli was ready to rip him to shreds.”

“It’s okay,” he said again. “Cullen is in a mood.” Calder hugged me tight and kissed the top of my head as he tried to reassure me. “Why don’t you go inside and get out of the sun for a minute?”

I nodded robotically as Calder kissed me again. He angled me toward the house and then stalked back over to his twin. Cool air blasted over my skin as I stepped inside the house. I took a deep breath, and it shuddered out of me. Warm, wet tears soaked my cheeks as I took off for the stairs.

We argued sometimes, but I had never gotten so completely enraged with Calder or Cullen. I had never felt the desire to truly physically hurt either of them. My hands shook as I made it to our room and headed straight for our bathroom. I went to the sink and splashed water over my face as I tried to calm down.

“What is wrong with you?” I murmured to myself. “I love them. I couldn’t hurt them.”

I shook my head with my eyes shut tight, willing the tears to stop. I just needed to calm down. I would apologize to Cullen, and we could talk this out. There was nothing wrong with Callum, and Cullen knew that.

But then again, what if he didn’t? We kept pushing the discussion about the succession of Alpha down the road because it was too messy. What if my mate was choosing favorites among our pups? Callum and Cerys were so different, just like their fathers. I didn’t want them to be treated as one person in two bodies. Cerys was bold, but Callum was observant. They were both so bright.

Was it me? Was I doing something wrong? It had taken me so long to embrace the idea of being a mother, and maybe I had been right to worry. What if I wasn’t raising two Alpha pups correctly? What did I really know about raising werewolves? Or kids at all? I was a cast-out only child.

I tried to breathe, but my nose was stuffed up from all the crying. I felt a prickling along the back of my neck. One of my mates had followed me. I forced myself to look up into the mirror and found silver eyes staring back at me.