Page 19

I knew right away that Cayden was seconds away from exploding, and this looked bad—really bad. I had no idea how long he had been standing there, but I could imagine we weren't being quiet. Even if Weslie covered my mouth, noises echoed and went through walls.

I swallowed, feeling my entire face growing hot with embarrassment now. "Cayden, let me explain."

His eyes snapped back to Weslie, and his hands curled into fists. "Were you fucking my sister?"

I tried not to let the words bother me, but they did. Fucking made it sound like this wasn't something special. Like Weslie was just using me, but that wasn't what was happening. I knew he would see it that way, but I had to try.

"Cayden." I took a step towards him. "Take a breath. This isn't what it looks like."

Cayden quickly shoved me out of the way, pulled a hand up, and punched Weslie in the face. I screamed as the sound of bone on bone filled the air, "Cayden! Stop!"

"You fucking bastard!" Cayden erupted, grabbing Weslie's shirt and yanking him forward. Weslie pulled his hands up, trying to pull away, but his shirt wouldn't let him. "Are you fucking insane! I asked you to fucking protect my sister, you fucking prick! I said, protect her! I didn't say you could fuck with her emotions and fuck her!"

"Cayden, stop!" I screamed, reaching forward and pulling at his arm, trying to break them apart. "It's not like that! Cayden, stop! You're going to hurt him! Just calm down, and let us explain!"

"Let go!" Weslie snapped, trying to break free, but it was no use. Cayden had his shirt fisted in his hand. I could see the look in my brother's eyes. He was out for blood now.

"You are supposed to be my best friend, and you do this to me! Are you fucking kidding me!"

"Cayden, stop," I pleaded now, imagining our voices were traveling outside. "Let go of him!"

I shove at Cayden, finally breaking them apart. I moved, standing in front of Cayden, making sure he couldn't charge as Weslie again. "It's not like that! So stop hurting him and fucking listen for a moment."

"Don't," Cayden growled at me. He pulled his hand up, pointing a finger. "Don't tell me what it is and what it isn't! I'm not fucking blind! You're fucking dress is all scrunched up, and he has your fucking lipstick on his face! So don't try and tell me that nothing happened in that closet."

Okay, so I couldn't say we were just talking in the closet, but he was taking this wrong. He was seeing it as Weslie taking advantage of me when, in truth, we both wanted what happened in that closet.

"I'm an adult," I said. "And I don't need you punching him."

"I will do whatever I have to do to keep you safe, April! You are still new to the pack, and I'm making sure you get yourself on steady feet!" He looked from me to Cayden. "And you're fucking dead!" Cayden pushed against me to get to Weslie.

"We're in a relationship!" I yelled, stepping back into Cayden's space. I placed my hands on the wall, not letting him get around me. I held my head high as I stared at him. "A relationship."

"It's a fake relationship!" Cayden yelled back. "The entire thing was fake, or have you forgotten about that? Have you forgotten that he's a womanizer and that he jumps around from woman to woman!? Or did he somehow convince you he hasn't done that since the moment he arrived here?"

"It's not like that," Weslie growled at Cayden. I could see the frustration on his face as he pushed against my back. "And you know that! You know damn well that we all have had a lot of relationships. You don't see me throwing that in your face when Riley gets angry at you."

"What I know is you were feeling my fucking sister up in a closet! That's what I know! And if you don't fucking get out of this house, I swear to god, Weslie. I'll fucking choke you to death!"

I went still for a moment, knowing my brother could. He'd killed Brad, and in his eyes, Weslie had crossed a line you shouldn't even touch.

"Cayden, stop!" I yelled at him, shoving at his chest. "Fucking stop! Stop it! Let me explain!"

"There is nothing to explain!" Cayden growled, looking at me. "You don't know what type of person he is! I do. I've been around him all these years."

But that wasn't true. I did not know what type of person Weslie was. I had fallen in love with him all those years ago, and he hadn't changed. He was sweet and caring, a bit sarcastic sometimes, but always there when I needed him.

I stood my ground. "I do know because we had a relationship in the past! We dated before and after you left."

Cayden froze, looking at me confused. "What?"

I sighed. The truth had to come out. "I know what type of person he is because we dated when we were younger for a while. So….this isn't new. We just…got back together."

I watched Cayden ground his jaw together, and his eyes quickly left me and went to Weslie. "Are you fucking kidding me!?" Cayden growled and shoved past me straight toward Weslie. Another punch was thrown, and they tumbled backward.

"Stop!" I screamed, trying again to break them apart, but Weslie was throwing punches back this time. The room echoed with them punching each other, and I didn't know how to stop them.

"Stop!" I screamed even louder. "Stop fighting! Please!"

The fight moved as they tumbled into the living room. Swear words were thrown, and both of them were screaming at each other. Weslie shoved Cayden, and Cayden pulled Weslie down with him. Over and over. I could hear their shirts being ripped, and blood started to drip onto the wood floor.

"I'll never fucking forgive you for this!" Cayden yelled, throwing another punch at Weslie.

They tumbled out of the house onto the porch. "Fuck you!" Weslie yelled, and everyone turned, looking at all of us. I could see the confusion in everyone's eyes, which quickly shifted into horror.

I watched Lucas and Miles quickly move, hurrying up the stairs to pull them apart. Miles grabbed Cayden, and Lucas grabbed Weslie, but they couldn't get them apart.

"Hey! Hey!" Miles started yelling over them. "Enough."

Weslie threw a punch, and Cayden tumbled backward, fumbling down the stairs. I screamed watching as he hit every stair until he landed on the grass. Riley screamed, pulling herself out of her chair as she ran to him.

"Oh my god!" I pulled a hand up quickly, covering my mouth.

Tears poured out as Weslie stood panted. Lucas stood in front of him, not letting him move forward. My brother stared back at him, ready to come back up the stairs and continue. He wiped his nose as Riley got to his arm. Miles started down the steps blocking his way. "That's enough, you two."

"What is going on?" Riley asked, looking directly at me.

Cayden laughed, waving a hand up at us. "What's going on is I found him in a closet with my sister."

"While that's not a sight you probably want to see, I don't see the problem," Miles said, crossing his arms. "I've seen things I don't want to see too, man, but that doesn't mean you hit people. They're married, after all."

"It's fake!" Cayden yelled, throwing his arms up. "Their entire relationship is fucking fake! It's not real! And horn dog over here couldn't keep his fucking hands to himself." Cayden looked at Weslie. "Did you fuck her up there? Did it make you feel like a man? Do you enjoy screwing her life up?"

"Enough!" Ayden's voice boomed over the yard, and everyone went silent. I swallowed, looking at Ayden and Wendy. Ayden looked pissed, and Wendy looked uncomfortable. This entire situation was uncomfortable.

"You two pull yourselves together. You are important members of this pack, and you're not going to fucking fight like children! And certainly not in front of them!"

I quickly looked over to the kids, who each looked scared, clinging to a family member. I felt even worse. This was not something they should have seen.

"I want him gone," Cayden yelled. "He betrayed everything I fucking asked! He was supposed to protect my sister, not..."

"It's not like that, Cayden." I tried to speak up, but my voice came out scratchy. "Cayden, he cares about me. He…”

"He doesn't!" Cayden snarled. "Your just another fucking notch on his post! You really think he gives a shit about you?"

"No, she isn't!" Weslie yelled back. "I'll fucking hit you if you say that again.

"Enough!" Ayden yelled once more. "I said enough! This is my house, and you are done! You're not going to behave like animals!"

We all fell quiet once more. I took a deep breath, trying to stop the tears. I looked at Weslie as he wiped his busted lip. He had a cut on his forehead as well.

Ayden shook his head and pinched at his nose. "Clean yourselves up, and both of you in my office."

I took Weslie to the bathroom and cleaned his face. He had a black eye forming, and I tried not to cry about it. I frowned, and he wiped my face. "Don't cry." He kissed my forehead as he slipped out into the hallway.

I waited in the living room with Riley while Ayden took them into his office. I could hear Ayden yelling at them, and I knew they were in deep shit. Riley paced while I sat in the chair.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked softly, turning to me for a moment.

I looked at her, seeing the hurt expression in her eyes. "Which part?" I asked. "The past where it was fake, or the part where I fell in love? Or the past relationship we had back in the old pack? Or did you want to talk about how he left me and I married Ivan? There is so much there, so I think you'll need to be specific."

Riley frowned, looking hurt, and I suddenly regretted the harsh words. It wasn't her fault everything was falling apart. It wasn't fair for me to take my frustration out on her. "When did you stop trusting me with the truth? When did you stop trusting me with your secrets?"

I blamed Ivan. I blamed the fear and the constant worry that this was all going to be over before I knew it. That this happiness was going to disappear and I'd never have it again.

And I blamed myself for letting myself fall this far. I should have known better. I should have left him.

I shrugged. "When did you stop telling me? You didn't tell me about the house. What other secrets don't I know?"

Riley remained silent because I wasn't the only one keeping secrets. We both were.

The drive home was quiet, and I stared out the window. I kept replaying everything over and over in my head. I felt numb at this point, unsure of what was going to happen.

We parked, and Weslie leaned onto the steering wheel. I looked at him, feeling my stomach churn up. Was this the end? Had he decided crossing the line wasn't something he wanted to do?

"Do you want to end this? I…I understand if you do…"

Weslie didn't move, and I felt tears build up once more. I wiped at them, feeling my voice crack. "I understand if you want to rethink this all. I know how important my brother is to you."

He looked at me, and his eyes were so soft. He reached over and wiped my eyes. "I don't. I don't want to change anything."

"Are you just saying that because I'm crying?"

He gave me a soft smile, shaking his head. "No, but I don't want you to cry because I have a headache coming, and if you cry, it's going to make me feel worse than I already feel."

"Sorry," I whispered, wiping my eyes.

"Let's go upstairs," he said, squeezing my hand. "Please? I'm tired after that, and I just want to lay in bed with you."

I nodded, and we hopped out of the car. We headed upstairs, where we both stripped down and crawled into the bed. I sank against Weslie, allowing him to hold me tightly.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to him. "If I hadn't…"

"Don't," he said, sounding in pain. "Please….sweetie…this is on me. If I had just been honest from the start, we wouldn't have this problem."

"But…"

He pulled me tighter. "For now, just let me hold you."

I wanted to ask what we were going to do tomorrow, but I didn't. And if I was being honest, I didn't want to think about tomorrow. I just wanted to be in this moment. I closed my eyes and focused on his breathing. I inhaled his scent and allowed myself to drift off to sleep.