Page 114 of Brutal Reign
I flinch at the sound of a motorcycle engine roaring outside, jerking my head up and glancing toward the door again while my pulse takes off at a gallop.
“Sounds like he’s here,” Mom quips, pointing out the obvious. “You ready, sweetie?”
I turn to look at her, drawing a deep breath and exhaling with a nod. “No going back now, right?”
“Right,” Ace agrees, clamping his hand down on my bouncing knee to stop the movement.
My breath hitches as my eyes ping over to meet his.
“We’ve got you,” he murmurs, flexing his fingers against my leg.
I bite my lip, nodding.We’re in this together.
Ace flickers his gaze to Seb’s knee bouncing on my opposite side, and I reach over to do the same thing Ace just did, slapping my palm onto Seb’s thigh. His leg stops moving, eyes coming to mine as he covers my hand with his. Then we hear the front door swing open and we all yank our hands back to our own laps as my dad storms inside the packhouse, boots clomping against the floor and the door banging shut behind him.
“What’s going on?” he barks out as he makes his way over to us, eyes narrowing when his gaze hooks on the boys seated on either side of me. “And what aretheydoing here?”
When my mom called him to say I was here and needed to talk, shemight’veleft out the fact I brought company.
“Why don’t you just come sit down,” Mom suggests, reaching over to pat the couch cushion beside her.
A scowl pulls at my dad’s lips as he turns her way. “Why don’t you tell me what these two are doing in my packhouse?”
“Theo,” she snaps, frowning.
He heaves a sigh, dragging his hands down his face and stomping across the room in her direction, dropping down onto the sofa beside her with a discontented grunt.
“Our daughter has something to tell us, and we’re going to listen respectfully and reserve judgment until she’s finished,” she says calmly, sliding a hand onto his thigh and giving him a pointed look. “Right?”
“Right,” Dad grumbles, turning his gaze back on me. “But you’d better hurry up and get on with it, because I’m two seconds from losing my shit here. What’s this about, Riv? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
Patience has never been my dad’s strong suit, so I know that dragging this on won’t do me any favors. I just have to rip off the metaphorical band-aid and come right out with it.
“I’m not in any trouble,” I say, hoping that at least puts him at ease. “But I have something to tell you, and I need you not to freak out when you hear it.”
His own knee starts bouncing as he stares back at me, and for a second, I wonder which of us is more nervous. Luckily, we’ve both got our mates here to anchor us. Mom’s fingers flex against his thigh in a little squeeze of support and his leg stops jumping, his hazel-eyed stare imploring me to continue.
“Last full moon, after Jake announced his challenge, I ran to Goldenleaf,” I say, reciting the speech I rehearsed in my head the whole way here.
“I already know that,” Dad snaps, quickly reaching the end of his patience.
“Theo,” Mom admonishes, whacking him on the chest with the back of a hand.
“Sorry,” he grumbles, shooting my mom an apologetic look, then turning back to me with a nod. “Go on.”
Twisting my fingers together, I draw a deep, steadying breath, shoring up my confidence to continue. “Seb and Ace were in Goldenleaf for the run. When I was headed for the packhouse, I felt a pull, and it led me to them. We’re fated mates.”
I hold my breath in anticipation for his reaction, but it doesn’t come. My father doesn’t even so much as flinch at my admission, he just stares back at me unblinkingly.
“Dad, did you hear me?” I ask anxiously, needing him to say something.
“I’m waiting for you to tell me this is a joke,” he deadpans.
I shake my head, brows drawing together. “No, it’s…”
He shoots to his feet, upper lip curling back from his teeth in a snarl. “Which one of you thinks he’s mated to my daughter?” he demands, his furious glare bouncing back and forth between Seb and Ace.
“We both are,” Ace replies calmly.