Page 28 of The Reluctant Alpha
"What changed?" I asked, glancing up at him.
Emery smiled. "I realized it wasn't about control. It was about fear. Phoenix was terrified of losing me before he'd even really had me."
I absorbed that, turning it over in my mind. "You think that's what this is with Bayer? Fear?"
"I think that man has spent his entire life being told he's not good enough. Not strong enough to be alpha. Not worthy enough to be respected." Emery's voice was gentle but firm. "And now he's facing a threat that's specifically targeting bears, possibly because of his father's actions, and the person that might matter the most to him just kissed him senseless."
"Matter the most?" I echoed.
"He's terrified, Danny. Terrified of failing. Terrified of not being able to protect the people who matter to him." Emery stood, offering me a hand up. "And you just confirmed his worst fear by pushing him away."
I gazed at Emery in horror, then closed my eyes in defeat. Because Emery was exactly right. I'd done it again.
Chapter ten
The Monster
Shane Jacobson was already three drinks in when the monster slid onto the barstool beside him.
The bar was dimly lit, the kind of place where secrets were shared over cheap whiskey and regrets were drowned in pitchers of beer. Perfect for his purposes. It had been easy enough to discover where the human's family lived, and even easier to find his brother.
Humans were so delightfully oblivious to danger. They couldn't smell it, couldn't sense the predator among them. This one was particularly blind, already bitter and loose-lipped.
"Rough day?" the monster asked, signaling the bartender.
Shane glanced over, his eyes unfocused. "You could say that."
"Let me buy you a drink." He kept his voice friendly, approachable. The silver-skin glamour he now proudly wore made him appear completely human—handsome even, with just enough rugged charm to seem trustworthy. "I'm new in town. Looking to meet some locals."
"Well, you've found one," Shane said, holding up his empty glass. "Jack and Coke."
The monster ordered, studying his prey. There was something in this human's posture, in the downward turn of his mouth, that spoke of deep-seated resentment. The kind he could use.
"Name's Victor," he lied smoothly.
"Shane," the human replied, accepting the fresh drink with a nod. "Thanks."
"What's got you drinking alone on a Tuesday night, Shane?"
The human snorted, taking a long swallow. "Family bullshit. Always family bullshit."
"I hear that," the monster said, feigning sympathy. "Family can be the worst. Reason I moved away."
Shane seemed to warm to this shared grievance. "Yeah? What'd yours do?"
"My brother," the monster invented, "always the golden child. Can't do anything wrong. Meanwhile, I'm the screwup no matter how hard I try to keep them all together and a roof over their heads."
Something shifted in Shane's expression—recognition, identification. The bait was set.
"Fucking brothers," Shane muttered, draining half his drink in one go. "I've got one just like that. Danny. The precious, perfect one.”
"Oh?" the monster leaned in, the picture of drunken camaraderie. "What's his deal?"
"Everything's always about Danny," Shane slurred, anger lending him animation. "Danny needs help with college, Danny needs a car, Danny's so smart, Danny's so responsible." He made a sound of disgust. "Meanwhile, I'm busting my ass trying to get a business off the ground, and all I hear is how I need to be more like my little brother. So fucking responsible he drove his car into a tree."
The monster signaled for another round. "Younger brothers," he commiserated, pretending to sip his own drink, and handing over a credit card he'd helped himself to on his way in. The idiot had never noticed. "Always stealing the spotlight."
Shane's face lit up with the validation. "Exactly! Danny gets everything handed to him. College education, teaching job, fancy friends. And now he's got some new car from somewhere, probably from that rich boyfriend of his that persuades him he’s better than all the rest of us."
