Page 32 of Resisted

“Then maybe I should take my questions to Roth.” I knew it was the ultimate threat. Roth was in charge of all the subpacks. He was the top alpha, and he could settle discontent within the group. Though, I most likely wouldn’t go that far. I trusted Silas, even if I didn’t like the way he was currently hiding secrets.

“You wouldn’t.”

“I could.” I raised an eyebrow, challenging him as he challenged my threat.

“But you wouldn’t,” he repeated confidently.

He was right—I wouldn’t. But fuck if it wasn’t tempting. “But I could.”

“Why can’t you just trust me?” He looked so fucking defeated, but I’d known him for too long to think he’d cave. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t try to make him crumble.

“Why can’t you trust us?”

His hand froze midway to his hair, horror written across his face. “You think I don’t trust you? I trust you with my life!”

“It’s a two-way street, my man. You can’t give what you aren’t giving. And fuck you if you think it’s acceptable to use the whole ‘I trust you with my life’ when you won’t even trust us with your sister.”

His face paled. “Don’t call her that.”

“What, your sister?” I raised a brow, the urge to challenge his feelings nearly overwhelming me. “Isn’t that what she is?”

“You know what she is to me,” he countered. “Why are you pushing it now?”

Why? Because something had happened, something was off. I fucking needed to know what was making Silas so fucking uncomfortable that I could nearly see his wolf moving under his skin. I sighed, the movement making my bruised chest throb. “I just want to know what happened.”

“Absolutely nothing.”

It was a lie. I could feel the faultiness of it and the lie in his eyes. Moments before he looked away, and I knew he knew I didn’t believe him and I wouldn’t stop until I got the answer that satisfied me. Still, he said nothing, his gaze on me so fucking intense, I could nearly feel the heat burning into my skin. Finally, he turned on his heels, a billow of dust rising, and left for the the truck.

Chapter 13

BELLA

It was a nice day.A glorious day. The first peaceful day I’d had since I moved in with three males. I’d thought the transition would’ve been easy. I mean, I’d known the men practically my whole life. Only each day, I felt like I’d learned something new. Like Boyce, he was actually an excellent chef, a gamer, and he had a weakness for Hershey’s Kisses. Which, by the way, he liked to leave in weird places for me to find. Open the medicine cabinet,bam, a Hershey’s Kiss. Lifted the lid of my jewelry box, a Hershey’s Kiss, and I didn’t even know how he got into my room. Go to grab a spoon, Hershey’s Kiss.

And Vincent, well, he was more of a shocker than Boyce. Never once in all the years I’d known him would I have thought that Vincent, with his tattooed body and fuck you attitude, was the household clean freak. He practically had a plate washed before I could swallow my last bite of food, and I swear vacuuming at six A.M. was his favorite hobby. He was a reader, which I would admit was fucking hot, especially if you caught him when he was really into his book. His brows would pull together with concentration, and he forgot the world even existed around him.

But Silas… Silas refused to let me know him, refused to spend more than five minutes in my presence like I hadn’t spent my whole life in his. He was stubborn, so damn stubborn, and though Vincent was a force, Silas was the entity that propelled the force forward. His strength was so palpable that I could feel it dance along my skin. Hell, I would never admit it out loud, but that feeling of his power stroking the aura around me caused shivers to rack my body and dance along my spine.

That couldn’t be good, could it? There had to be something so fucking wrong with me to to be attracted to a man who, to the outside world, was family. But inside…well, a part of me felt like there was more to it than that. More to him. More to all of them. More to their involvement in my life than just family. I hoped it meant that Silas was close and maybe he’d located my pack. Maybe he was on the right trail and I would go home. Don’t get me wrong, I loved and appreciated what the Full Moon Bay Pack did for me throughout my life. I would never forget their generosity, but there had to be someone out there missing me—a father, a grandmother, an aunt maybe?

The sound of their truck’s engine in the distance pulled my attention away from my thoughts as I stood from the chair. I’d been snuggled in, watching TV and peering out the window. The cloud of dirt nearly engulfed their truck as they drove up the driveway, and when they stopped in front of the house, it took a few moments for the dirt to settle. I opened the front door, waiting for them to get out. The moment the engine was cut, Boyce jumped out of the driver’s seat and nearly jogged up the stairs.

He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Listen, that was the tensest ride I’ve ever been on. You might want to like, I don’t know, paint your nails or something.”

I pushed at his chest, causing him to stumble as he grinned. “That was the most sexist thing to say. Just because I’m female doesn’t mean I paint my nails in my free time.”

“Don’t you though?” His smile only grew because he knew he had me. Wolf senses were superb. He probably smelled the polish last night.

“What’s wrong with them?” I whispered.

“It’s complicated.” He sighed. “Just stay out of Silas’ way, he’s in a mood.”

When was Silas not in a mood these days? Every damn time I looked at him, his scowl grew. Hell, I’d be shocked if I ever saw the man when he wasn’t frowning. It made me long for the days when I was younger, when he would grace me with grins and carefree winks. I hadn’t appreciated it then, that I might lose them. Now I wish I’d taken note, memorized each crease his smile caused, and savored the sparkle in his eye that I used to find so annoying.

The truck door slammed, and Vincent and Silas both hobbled in my direction. “Fuck. What happened to you two?”

“Language,” Vincent said on a growl, the rough edge making my stomach tighten. Shit, I was sure that wasn’t the reaction he was going for, and I just hoped his senses didn’t pick up on it. If he’d noticed, he said nothing. Instead, he walked up to the door and directly past me before saying, “There was a disagreement.”