Bree could only snicker.
CHAPTER FOUR
“I never asked you to come here! Get out of my home! All of you!”
“We can’t do that until you get yourself under control, Devlin,” said Tate.
“We’re here to help,” Dani told him, her voice as soothing as a lullaby.
“I don’t want your damn help, bitch!” Devlin growled.
Bree winced, remaining outside the open door of her pride mate’s apartment as she tried to get a feel for what was going on inside. She’d been sitting in her pjs on the sofa, fighting to keep her eyes open as she watched a movie, when she’d received a call from Devlin’s neighbor. The old woman hadn’t said much more than that she’d taken his mate and children into her apartment because he’d “lost his damn mind.”
“You don’t give a shit how I’m feeling, Dani!” he accused. “You just want to calm my ass down with your omega voodoo.”
“Your children are frightened,” said Dani, still calm. “Your mate is worried for you.”
“See? For you, it’s all about how they feel, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not. I’m just trying to remind you that although you had a hard hit today, you still have a lot to be grateful for. Your family needs you.”
“I let them down,” Devlin said, bitter as tart. “Why would they need me? Tate will tell you all about what a bad enforcer I’d make—after all, he’s the one who told me I didn’t pass the training.”
And now Bree understood. Devlin’s older brothers and father were all enforcers. This was the third time he had failed to make the cut, and it had to hurt like a motherfucker. His pride was probably in tatters. Devlin wasn’t a guy who’d respond well to someone trying to baby him—it would just prick his pride more. Dani should know that.
Feeling bad for the guy, Bree strolled into the apartment and followed the sounds of voices into the kitchen. All heads turned as she entered. Devlin was standing near the sink with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. Tate, Dani, and Luke were at the other side of the room, giving him space, ensuring he didn’t feel crowded or trapped—that would only send his inner cat into a frenzy.
Keeping her expression bored, Bree folded her arms as she looked at Devlin. “So … what the fuck crawled up your ass and died?”
Dani gasped and made a move toward Bree, but Tate held her back.
“Oh, you didn’t hear?” asked Devlin, a fake grin on his face. “I didn’t make enforcer. Again.”
Bree blinked. “That’s it?”
He paused with the bottle halfway to his mouth. “That’s it?” he echoed.
“Don’t get me wrong, I get that that sucks mega balls. My dad failed the training, too, you know. He didn’t try again. It hurt his pride too much, I think. So I respect you for not giving up. I’m not blowing smoke up your ass here, I’m being honest. Many dominant males would give up.”
Devlin slowly lowered the bottle but didn’t speak.
“I remember the night my dad was turned down for the position. He came home pissed. I’ve never seen him that angry. He got drunk. Smashed a bottle against the wall. My mom freaked. She told him to get out and not come back until he made his peace with one simple thing.”
Devlin frowned. “What?”
“See, she felt that he’d only failed the training because his heart wasn’t in it; that the sole reason he’d trained to be an enforcer was that it was expected of him by his family.”
Devlin’s eyes briefly slid to the side.
“Maybe it’s not what you really want for yourself and so it’s subconsciously holding you back during training. Or maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know. If it is truly what you want, there’s no actual sense in you giving up. But, of course, you can drown in alcohol, whine like a girl, and lose the respect of your family. That’s always an option. Or you can build a fucking bridge and get over it. Ask Tate what it is that you failed at, work on it, and then begin training again. I’ll leave you to decide.” She turned to leave. “It’ll be interesting to see what you do.” She only made it three steps when she heard his voice.
“Bree?”
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Yes?”
Devlin rubbed at his nape. “Would you go talk to my family? I upset them.”
“No,” she said. “But I’ll go if you come with me.”
He grimaced. “I’m not in a fit state right now.”
“So let me help with that. Let me help clear your mind so you can figure out what you really want. You can’t do it like this, and it’ll only distress your mate if she feels helpless while you suffer. So if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for her and your kids.”
He sighed, staring at the bottle in his hand as if he wasn’t sure where it came from.
“I’ve got shit to do, Devlin. If we’re gonna do this, it needs to be now.”
Sighing again, he set the bottle on the counter. “All right,” he mumbled.
Bree turned to face him as he approached. She put her hand on his arm. “I have your consent?”
He gave a curt nod. “Yes.”
She dropped her shields. Anger. Shame. Bitterness. Guilt. Self-condemnation. The feelings slammed into her chest. She gritted her teeth as she rode out the heartburn-like pain while his thoughts invaded her mind.
… let them all down …
… should have tried harder …
… no clue what to do next …
Just as the heartburn sensations faded away, she slammed up her shields. Bree watched as he took a shaky breath. “I can give you a sense of peace,” she offered.
His brows drew together. “I don’t deserve that after what I just did.”
“The fact that you’d say that shows that you do, but it’s your choice. If you change your mind, you know where to find me.” Knowing that right then wasn’t the time to push him on what he truly wanted regarding the enforcer position, she said, “Now let’s go see your mate and kids.”
“Perhaps I can help,” suggested Dani, her expression oddly blank. “Bree’s done enough for tonight.”
“Or we could go together,” Bree proposed. To her total surprise, Dani agreed.
All three of them headed to Devlin’s neighbor’s apartment. Inside, they talked a little with his family and worked to put them at ease. It was another hour before the females left the building. By then, Bree’s head was pounding. She’d need to earth when she got home for sure, but there’d be no guaranteeing that the pain would leave. Extracting negative emotions from people never failed to give her a headache.
As she descended the stairwell, her limbs heavy and her shoulders drooping, it struck Bree that she and Dani had worked well together—her straightforwardness had complemented Dani’s softness in a way she’d bet neither of them would have expected. They’d made a good team.
“You did well tonight, helping Delvin,” said Dani as they stood in the parking lot.
“Thanks. So did you.” Eager to go home, take some pain meds, and fall into bed, Bree went to bid her goodnight, but then Dani spoke again.