Page 14

WINTER

One minute, I’m holding the bouquet of lilies I received from Kieran, and the next minute, I’m surrounded by the restaurant’s valets and a few people who are just as concerned and surprised as I am.

Deacon’s eyes flash with rage as he drops another punch to Kieran’s face. The punch itself ricochets in the air like a bone being snapped in half.

Some woman next to me screams.

Another man whispers harshly in the distance, “We have to stop them.”

“They are two Alphas fighting. If you get in between them to try and stop them, you’ll be the one losing a few teeth tonight. Let them be. Alphas fight all the time,” another older guy with a beat-up cane sneer.

Kieran, who’s still on the ground, barely manages to evade Deacon’s fists as they rain on him like unexpected hail from the sky.

Another punch has Kieran’s blood spurting from his nose and mouth. The sight of blood nearly made me hurl the little food I had in my stomach.

Another fist connects with Kieran’s nose, and I’m not the only one worried that this fight might end with one of them seriously injured and the other one getting buried six feet under.

With lax confidence and fury rolling off my shoulders like a storm brewing on the horizon, I drop my flowers, tearing myself from the crowd that has continued to attract masses since this fight started.

“Deacon!”

The bastard barely listens to me. I contemplate moving behind him and placing my hand on his shoulder so that I can pull him away from Kieran, but even I know that’s a bad idea.

They are Alphas. If one of them decides to shift, my wolf won’t be able to hold any of their wolves down.

“Deacon? Stop! Stop this!”

My molars grind against one another as I scream again.

For a brief moment, it’s like Deacon hears me because he turns around, and our eyes lock. His eyes are bloodshot, glowing red like a fuse that’s about to combust at any moment. I don’t even think he’s seeing straight.

Unfortunately for him, Kieran chooses that as his golden opportunity to turn the fight around. Bile lodges in my throat as I watch Kieran flip Deacon around so that the latter is on the ground and the former is straddling him. Then, raising his fist in the air, ready to strike Deacon’s face, I open my mouth faster than Kieran’s punch can land.

“Kieran, no! L-Let him go. Don’t stoop to his level. Please.”

Every muscle in Kieran’s body tells him to attack Deacon, too, I can see it in the way his hands fist, but instead, Kieran actually listens to me.

He steps away from Deacon.

I barely think for a second as I storm over to the man who’s having difficulty standing, let alone stringing a coherent word together.

“Win… Winter,” Deacon slurs with a shy smile.

Is he drunk right now?

“Get up,” my voice comes out wobbly, but I refuse to let an incident like this bring me down.

People are watching. I can also see the flashes of cameras being pointed at us. Tomorrow, everything that happened here will add to those malicious rumors I’m trying to fight. Deep down, I pray it ends up the opposite.

“Baby… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Sorry doesn’t begin to cover what you just did, Deacon. What the fuck are you doing here? How? Why would you do this?”

“Winter…”

“You need to leave Deacon. Right now.”

The wounded look in his eyes almost gets to me, but I can’t for the life of me understand why he did this as I watch him stand up and stagger backward a bit.

Standing so close to him means I can smell the rancid, alcoholic breath coming from his mouth, and it also means I can look at those dark eyes that are no longer enraged.

“I’ll leave,” a defeated sigh escapes his lips, but then he adds, “If you leave… with me.”

“Deacon.”

“Come… with me.”

Maybe it’s the plea in his eyes, or maybe it’s that wounded look on his face, the one he wears like a badge he wants me to see, all I know is, I can’t let this man go home in this state all by himself.

What if something happens to him?

What if he decides to do something crazy if I don’t leave with him?

I shouldn’t care about him right now after what he pulled, but my wolf? She cares a lot. She’s worried about him more than ever.

I turn to Kieran, the man I’d actually forgotten was here in the first place.

“I’ll just take him to his car and be right back. Wait for me?”

Kieran only nods, an unreadable expression on his face.

Getting Deacon to his car turns out to be a great feat because finding his car in the parking lot takes us at least five minutes. Getting Deacon to let go of my hand takes another six minutes, and finally, going to where I left Kieran standing takes at most three minutes.

Long gone is the man who gave me flowers almost half an hour ago. The Kieran Vega standing in front of me looks like he got run over by a car a few times and still managed to survive.

The awkwardness between us is as palpable as the tension in the air. I make an attempt to smooth over the events of what happened today, but Kieran offers me a smile before speaking first.

“I got punched in the face by your boss, and the first person you ran to was Deacon. If that isn’t indication enough that he’s the man you’ve been in love with for years, then I don’t know what is.”

I could correct Kieran that I’m not in love with Deacon, but instead, I settle for, “I’m sorry for everything. Starting with everything he did to you just now all the way to ruining whatever wonderful surprise you had prepared for me. I'm truly sorry, Kieran.”

Kieran’s golden eyes trace my face, and then, with a sigh, he asks me a question I don’t know the answer to.

“He’s the guy that snatched your heart, isn’t he?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” I correct him.

“I always knew there was a guy involved, sweetheart. I just thought you would forget him in time and realize I’m the better catch.” There is some humor in his voice, and I chuckle at his statement, agreeing with him.

“You are the best catch for any woman, Kieran. And when you find that woman, I know she’ll appreciate having you in her life.”

He’ll be a good man to his mate, more than Deacon ever was to me.

“This is you finally rejecting me, isn’t it Winter Cavanaugh? I can’t say it doesn’t sting, but I respect your decision.”

“I wish you the best, Kieran. I really do. Maybe we can be friends?”

Not that I expect this man to ever want to see me again after this.

“Friends, it is. And Winter? I looked into you because I thought I had a chance with you. The private investigator I hired looked into everything about you, and it took him almost an entire year to find out you have twin boys. If my gut isn’t wrong right now, I know those kids are Deacon’s. And I’m not trying to meddle in your life here, but Deacon wouldn’t have punched me if he didn’t care about you, Winter. Just like I cared about you to hire a private investigator so I could know more about you, so will Deacon do the same. He’s an Alpha, and he has the same resources I do or even more. It won’t take long for him to find out he has sons with you. I also have a feeling he’d be over the moon if he found out the truth about your sons. It’s not my place to tell him the truth, so I’ll leave that to you, sweetheart. Give him a second chance.”

I can’t give him a second chance. I just… I just can’t.

“Goodbye, Alpha Kieran.”

***

Deacon fell asleep as soon as he told me his home address, and I drove him home. I shouldn’t even be surprised when I find that where he’s living is some sort of modern, futuristic house with everything inside nearly costing thousands of dollars if not millions.

We stagger into the elevator together, and I almost faint when Deacon’s entire six feet of height and muscular build lean against my small frame. It should be criminal to weigh this much, but then what do I expect when it comes to an Alpha who somehow gained another two hundred pounds in seven years?

The minute our feet step out of the elevator, all the lights in his mansion turn on automatically.

Deacon continues slurring in his drunken state, and no matter how bad I want to shove him on the nearest couch and get out of here, I can’t fail to admit he’s kind of cute when he’s not being a huge asshole.

Finding his bedroom in this huge penthouse-like mansion of his almost makes me want to kneel and thank Goddess for the small miracle, but I should have known things weren’t going to be this easy.

Especially when my half-drunk boss pushes his body into mine, and together, we end up falling on his bed.

He proceeds to straddle me, and I can’t move from underneath him.

Then his forehead rests on mine, and he holds me captive.

The entire thing causes my heart to beat like an old locomotive engine. Caught in our own bubble, our eyes are drawn to each other. The same air he breathes out is the same air I breathe in, and when he leans closer to capture my lips, I turn my head to the side, avoiding it completely.

“You look so beautiful…right now. Was this for him? This sexy little dress you have on, was it all for him?”

Goddess, get me out of here.

“I owe you no explanation after what you did. Deacon, do you realize how close you were to…”

Deacon’s hand reaches out for my neck to cut me off, and I almost moan from the mere contact alone.

I’m pathetic. My wolf is pathetic.

“Close to showing him…that the only guy who gets to take you on dates is me? That I’m the only fucking guy in your life?”

Jealousy and rage bleed in his voice like he means every word.

“You are drunk.”

“I’ve never been more sober than I am right now, baby. You were… mine first. You’ll remain mine forever, and I’m aware of that. Question is, baby, are you aware of that?”

Putting my hand on his chest to push him back, I don’t bite down on the bile as I spurt words, I shouldn’t be uttering to a man who’ll forget all this tomorrow.” Aware that these are the same words you said to me seven years ago before you crushed me like I was nothing but a speck of dust to you? Yes, I’m very aware, Deacon. Now get off of me.”

“I kept tabs on you, Winter. When you left… baby, I searched for you. Every damn city, every town, every little village, I searched for you. Do you think it was easy standing there and admitting you weren’t my mate? That I wasn’t dying to make you my Luna and have a future with you? I rejected you that day because I knew how things would go, Winter.

You had gone against my father, the Alpha, in public. Your family had just died, and everyone didn’t want to get close to you for fear that they’d share the same fate. Taking you as my Luna would have meant the pack would taunt you, bully you, and eat you alive. As for my father? He would have never allowed you to be my Luna whether we were mates or not.

So, what would I have done, Winter? Kept you by my side? Caused you more harm? Or let you go in hopes that you would forgive me by the time I came back to get you?”

I shake my head disagreeing with his statement. Hot, chunky tears burn my eyelids as I whisper weakly, “You are lying.”

“I wasn’t strong enough back then to protect you from my pack and my father, so I let you go. I’m strong now. I’ve become a better man for you, baby, and if you can only get past your anger and forgive… me, you’d be able to see that I’ve changed. Forgive me, Winter.”

Deacon repeats the words “forgive me” while he holds me in his arms all night. I don’t push him off.

I don’t think I have the energy to move as I sleep in his arms, wondering just how true his words were.

The morning sun spews light across Deacon’s room without mercy. I open my eyes, wincing at the little pain that accosts me. Doing a double take of my surroundings reminds me of what happened last night and whatever escalated between me and Deacon.

Which is why I’m not surprised when I cock my head to the side and meet Deacon’s face.

His messy dark hair covers his forehead, his lashes dust the apple of his cheeks, and his lips part with every snore he lets out. I lightly chuckle because he snores, just like Adrian and Asher do.

He looks just like how his sons do when they are too deep in slumber to hear anything around them.

My eyes linger on his lips, and the thought of kissing him comes up in my mind, but I shoot it down just as fast.

I have to go.

I can’t stay here, not after everything he revealed last night.