Page 37 of Same One
“Bay,” Tru warned. “Easy.”
“You’re filling her head,” Bay growled. “Pretending you’re worth a damn when you know you aren’t. What’s your angle?”
Tabian shook his head. “No angle, boy.”
Bayen narrowed his glowing gold eyes and paced a few steps to the side, a wolf tactic to maneuver prey.
Tabian hid an empty smile. “I wouldn’t,” he warned him.
“Or what?” Bayen’s voice didn’t sound human.
This is what had been living in Tru’s house. Driving her car, going to public school with other humans. No wonder she was stressed.
“It won’t go the way you think it will go,” Tabian murmured, trying to control the growl in his voice. He didn’t want to fight the kid and especially not in front of Tru. She wouldn’t understand dominance or rank in a Pack territory. Bay did on some instinctual level, but Tru was human.
“Not in front of your mom.”
“She’s not my mom!” Bayen barked.
Tabian put his hands in the air, palm up and backed up a step. “She doesn’t need to see it. Take care of your stepmom.”
“Like you promise to take care of her? What’s your problem?” he yelled, his voice echoing through the woods.
Tabian’s wolf was wide awake now. He had decent control, but this was getting to be too much. “Boy, you’re old enough to hear truth. I have no angle with Tru. I just care for her.”
“So you can take advantage of her. Drain her. We don’t have any money, asshole. We have nothing for you.”
Tabian gestured to his home. “I don’t need your money.” He gestured to his fully done truck. “I have my own.” This kid was pissing him off.
“I’m so sorry,” Tru said softly.
“Why are you apologizing to this guy?” Bayen barked.
“Don’t be sorry,” Tabian said, holding his hand out. “Don’t apologize.”
“Don’t tell her what to do—”
“Is this how you are?” Tabian snapped, stepping forward. “That’s enough. Are you like this with her all the time?” Oh, hecould feel the pissed-off in him growing. “She brought you out here to meet me and you come out of that car guns blazing? You were probably heavy on her the entire drive here, and why? What for? Look at her,” he said, pointing to Tru. “Can you feel her? She’s scared.”
Bay cast a gold-eyed glance at her, and then back to Tabian. “That’s just how humans are—”
“No! That’s how they are if you train them to be scared. You are causing that. You have control over that!”
“Fuck you!” And before the last word was even out of his mouth, Bayen charged.
And what happened next, Tabian would never forget for the rest of his life.
Chapter Ten
Tru saw it coming. She could see it in Bay’s demeanor. He hadn’t had control over the animal at all on the way over here, and she didn’t understand. She’d asked him to turn around and take them home a couple of times, but she’d made the mistake of letting him drive. He had the address on his maps function on his phone, and he wasn’t going to be deterred.
And now they were here, with Bay getting angrier and angrier for no reason. Tabian was surprised but had seemed like he was trying to stay calm. He’d even turned his chin to the side just slightly, signaling that he meant no harm to Bay, but her stepson was riled up for reasons she couldn’t fathom.
This behavior was between him and his wolf.
Tabian had snapped about the way Bayen was talking to her, and she’d seen the buildup. She’d seen Bay stalking toward him and then trying to back his wolf off unsuccessfully.
It was the grit to his voice when Bay yelled, “Fuck you,” at Tabian, and everything happened so fast.
