Page 103 of Crystal Luna
“I want seventy percent and no consequences of the loss.”
“Fine, whatever.”
She gently nudged Curtis. “C’mon, let’s see what trouble Rayan has come up with.”
“What are you going to do with the money?” Curtis asked as he caught up to Vel’s side.
“How about a new book for you?”
“Dad says I have too many already.”
Vel leaned across to the teenager, nearly having to stand on her toes. “Then you’ll just have to tell him you could be addicted to worse things.”
“Dad!” Mia fussed.
With a grin, the alpha kept his eyes on Vel as he leaned down to his daughter. “You’d better demand equality. Tell her that if she buys Curtis a gift then you need one too.”
Mia rushed off without a second thought.
After a few moments, Evelyne excused herself and Beta Wayne was quick to follow.
Vel was on the other side of the clearing listening to whatever mess Rayan had pulled her into. She sat at a stone table with one warrior across from her and the others crowding around them. Her eyes sparkled as she rested her left elbow on the stone and held her hand open. Her opponent matched her.
Asher couldn’t help it. “I thought she was right-handed?”
“Damian is left-handed, which is probably the only reason they agreed to bet against her,” Alpha Heath explained. “It won’t matter though—she trains with both hands. Rayan knows that.”
“And the others don’t?” Isaiah asked, a little confused.
“She doesn’t tell everyone her strengths. She’s not one to brag, but she’s confident.”
They watched as Vel and Damian wrestled for the upper hand. She appeared to struggle, her face scrunched together as she tried to get Damian’s arm to budge past the midline. Just as Damian got a little cocky, Vel smiled at him. They watched the blood drain from his face as she crushed his knuckles against the stone.
“Just give her time.” The word please hung in the air.
Asher’s eyes snapped to the alpha opposite him.
“She’ll come around when she’s ready, but she needs to do it on her own terms.”
“We won’t force ourselves on her,” Asher pressed out between gritted teeth.
“It’s not that.” Heath shook his head and returned his focus to Vel.
Asher felt his brother tense beside him, only to relax again. “We aren’t going to hurt her.”
“You already did, so you’re going to need to be far more patient with her. She never talked about her past but when she came to us, she could barely look anyone in the eye. It took Rayan and Marvin over a year to get her to train with anyone but them. The woman you see right now is one that came from more patience than you could ever imagine.”
Asher couldn’t help the snort that escaped, but Isaiah stopped him from saying anything stupid with a warning push against his mind.
“We’re not going to destroy the woman she has become,” Isaiah reassured. “We are going to treasure her until she is ready to trust us.”
“Even if that means she’ll never fully trust you?”
“Yes.”
Heath stared into Isaiah’s eyes for a few moments before he seemed to be pleased with his response.
Vel didn’t return to their table after her arm-wrestling victory. So, all three of them watched from afar as she made her way around the pack and said her goodbyes, only making her way back to them once it was time for the final step. He and Isaiah followed her current alpha to a spot where everyone could see them.