Page 116 of Burning Embers
“I would never hurt her,” I growl, my voice more beast than man. “And neither would my wolf.”
My wolf howls in agreement.
Silas’s brows pinch together. “What the fuck are you?—”
The door to his office is pushed open, and Ashton stalks inside, his phone already in his hand as he prepares to do damage control. Fortunately, the only person who saw me in this state was Izzy, and there are no video cameras in the immediate vicinity.
I ignore Silas entirely and turn towards my alpha. If anyone can fix this fucking mess, it’s him.
“She. Threatened. Her,” I rumble out, the words escaping through clenched teeth.
“Who threatened who?” Ashton barks, shutting the door behind him and stepping closer.
Silas moves to the side to make room for the other man.
“Michelle. Here. Izzy.” Those are the only words I can get out, but they seem to be enough for Ashton.
His intelligent brown eyes immediately sharpen, and his lips firm.
Silas interjects before Ashton can get a word out. “Who the fuck is this Michelle chick? And what did she say about Isabella?”
Ashton turns towards the older man as if he honestly forgot his existence.
“This is between me and my pack, Silas,” Ashton says curtly. Not coldly, per se, but with enough bite to his tone to let him know he means business.
Silas’s glower could flay the skin off of a normal man. The air between the two of them practically crackles with electricity as they glare at each other. Silas is bigger and stronger, but Ashton has always been a dominant wolf. I don’t know who would win in a fight between the two.
Silas opens his mouth to retort when a hesitant knock sounds on the office door.
“Is everything okay in there?” Izzy.
Her voice rushes over me like cool water on a blistering-hot day. Calming. Peaceful.
The rage festering deep within my chest begins to dwindle. It doesn’t suddenly disappear or anything like that, and my anger doesn’t entirely fade, but I’m able to breathe normally and regain a smidgen of control.
Before I can get a word out and assure her I’m fine, Ashton wrenches the door open and stares down at her. I can’t see his face, but I can tell by the way her shoulders bunch together and her hands clench that he’s glaring.
“What thefuckare you doing here?” he demands.
And I lose it.
Thirty-Nine
IZZY
“What the hell is your problem, asshole?” Reid roars, lunging at his friend.
Before anyone can stop him, Reid has Ashton pinned against the wall, one of his large arms held against the other man’s neck.
“My problem”—Ashton’s upper lip peels away from his teeth in a snarl—“is thisbitch. We don’t know anything about her, yet she thinks she can waltz in here like a damn hurricane and act like we’re all one big happy family.”
His absurd words actually make me laugh out loud, garnering both boys’ attention.
Act like we’re all one big happy family?
When thefuckdid I do that?
All I did was ask if Reid was okay after his panic attack. How does that make me the villain? Or maybe Ashton’s just so desperate to paint a target on someone’s back—myback—that he’s willing to overlook the truth.