Page 92 of Lilacs and Leather
I look around at my pack as we sit on the sectional, and I can’t help the brief pang of longing in my chest.I wish this was a normal evening, where we could all just curl up together and watch a movie after a long day. But instead, we have to deal with the parasite that is Seth Douglas. Everyone is looking at me expectantly, but I can hardly get my thoughts in order around the roaring need to protect the omega at my side. Having her scent in my lungs, the softness of her skin under my fingers, is helping, but I’m still fighting tooth and nail against the urge to throw her over my shoulder and lock us away in my room until the danger has passed.
“So? What exactly happened at Alice’s, Rhett? Matty said he showed up for the interviews,” Lucas prompts, breaking the tense silence.
I nod, taking another deep breath. “Dom and I were talking at the upstairs bar, going over his notes when the hostess said there was someone there asking to speak with you, actually, Luc. When I followed to see who it was, that’s when I saw Seth.”
“Probably didn’t expect you to be there, considering you are pretty hands off,” Mateo comments with a thoughtful nod.
I bark out a humorless laugh. “Oh, he most assuredly didnotexpect to see me. I told him he had sixty seconds to find the exit, or I would help him find it myself. Little chicken shit bastard nearly pissed himself.”
Lucas lets out a snarl of a chuckle, a cruel sound that I can’t help but appreciate. “Fucking good. Next time, only count to ten and see how fast he runs.”
I echo Lucas’s petty laugh, but Lex rolls her eyes. “Hopefully, there won’t be a next time.” She sighs.
“If you let him get away with this, there absolutely will be,” Lydia grumbles into her wine before taking a drink.
Lex looks at her with a wrinkled brow, confused at the heat in her voice and the absolute certainty of her words. But I know better. Lydia has been through this before, so she knows the warning signs. I want to pull her farther into my lap, to chase away the demons in her eyes with my lips and hands, but we have business to attend to.
“But what did he want? Not that talking to me would have been any more productive, but it still begs the question of why take the risk?” Lucas pushes, sitting forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
I take a long breath, and I can’t stop myself from picking up Lydia’s legs and draping them over my lap. I need her close, my protective instincts making it hard to see reason. She lets me adjust her, the hand not holding her glass coming up to touch my shoulder. I let the steady weight of it ground me, so I don’t fly off the handle.
“He saw the article. The photo of Mateo and Lydia.”
Mateo launches out of his seat, spitting a string of colorful and creative curse words as he paces around the room, running his hands through his hair, pulling slightly. Lydia stiffens beside me, and I wrap my arm around her back, tucking her close. Lex’s eyes follow Mateo, but Lucas is watching Lydia. I can smell a trace of soft cotton and graham crackers, the scent he uses to calm, but it’s not enough to reach Mateo yet.
“You’re sure? Gabby saw the picture and didn’t realize it was me until I pointed it out, and she’s my best friend,” Lydia rasps, face distant.
I look at Lex, Lydia following the look, and after a moment of consideration, Lex gives a solemn nod. Mateo has stopped his cursing, but stands over by the picture window, staring out across the back lawn, hands on his hips. Lydia’s breath shakes as she exhales, using the counting technique to stay calm. I run my thumb along the patch of skin on her side where her shirt has ridden up, trying to calm her without words. It takes a minute, but she eventually clears her throat and looks down into her lap.
“Okay. So, what does he want with me?”
The resignation in her words breaks my heart. It takes all of my effort to keep my seat and not take her from this mess, to keep her safe from our past, so I can’t answer right away. I feel her eyes on my face, but I can’t look at her. I have too much anger in my heart, and I don’t want her to think for even a fraction of a moment that it’s directed at her.
“He’s trying to exercise his right of first refusal,” Lex says when I don’t speak.
Even the memory of his smarmy fucking face as he made his demand at the meeting makes me want to break something. Lucas lets out a snarl that would make any alpha proud, and I hear Mateo’s hand slam into the wood of the window frame.
I can scent bergamot mixing harshly with Lex’s bitter oranges and Lucas’s burning marshmallows. Lydia’s scent is still mellow, full of florals. She picks up my hand and presses it between her breasts. I look at her face and find her brow furrowed in concentration. She’s humming, and the sound occasionally drops to her chest, and I realize with a burst of astonishment that she’s trying to purr for me. My anger melts a little as the warm kernel of love fills my chest with affection. Her scent is strong with lilacs and vanilla, and it acts like a balm to my nerves, even if she doesn’t quite get the purr right. She huffs a sigh after a brief moment, letting my hand drop. I want to say something, but Mateo speaks from his spot by the window.
“Snowball’s chance in Hell that we’re going to do that,” he snaps, words shaking slightly in his anger.
“Seconded. No fucking way,” Lucas adds, just as furious.
I let out a little growl of agreement, and Lydia’s head whips up and her eyes narrowed in a glare. All of her softness is gone, her hackles raised.
“Hey, wait, no. Y’all don’t get to make that choice for me,” she interjects, trying to pull away slightly.
I tighten my grip, stopping her on instinct. “Seth is dangerous—”
“This isn’t my first time at the narc rodeo, Rhett. I think I should get to decide what risks I’m willing to take,” Lydia snaps, cutting across me.
“It’s not that we don’t think you could handle him, but—”
Lydia swings her head around hard enough for the tips of her hair to whip my cheek. She turns her steely glare to Lex, effectively ending our discussion.
“What’s he willing to give up if I do it?” she asks in a tone that brokers no argument.
I turn my attention to Lex, and I catch the surprised lift of her brows before her face settles back into the cool neutrality.