“That’s awesome! I’m so glad he was willing to hear you and fix it. You’ll have to let me know when he is thinking of moving in.”
“Absolutely!” I reply, “Have you thought more about moving in, too? I know it’s tricky with Si.”
Vic grunts, “Hopefully soon, I might at least pick a day or two per week to stay there to start. I, uh, I don’t want to leave Si right now, but I don’t want to be away from you either.”
“What’s up with Si?” I ask, frowning at the tone of his voice.
Vic hesitates for a moment before responding, “He… he went into rut and while he’s out of it, he’s feeling pretty shitty about it.”
“Is he there now?” Panic starts to settle in at the idea of Si suffering.
Vic hesitates, “Yeah, he took a couple of days off.”
“I’m coming over,” I tell him, hanging up before he can respond.
Jesse looks at me with concern, “Everything okay?”
I gather my phone and purse before sliding my shoes on.
“Si went into rut, and Vic said he’s fine, but Vic sounded off, and I need to see him.”
“Do you want me to come?” Jesse offers.
I shake my head, “No, I don’t want to set him off more with another Alpha present. It means a lot, though, that you’re willing to come help.”
“May I hug you?” he asks, coming closer.
I hold my arms out, and he sweeps me up in his arms and we nuzzle each other for a moment before letting go. We’re both smiling as we let go, and Jesse reaches up to caress my cheek.
“Good luck, call me if you need me, okay? Even if you just need something sugary to eat,” he says.
My smile is stuck in place as I reply, “I will, promise.”
Part of the reason I had Henry drop me off is so I can retrieve my own car. My keys are already in my purse, so I hop in the driver’s seat and take off for Vic and Simon’s house as quickly as I can. There’s a distinct possibility that I push past the speed limit, but I admit to nothing. Quicker than usual, I pull into their driveway and park.
I want to just barge in and see what the hell is making Vic so nervous and on edge, but I pull the desire back and knock instead. Nobody answers in the first five seconds, so of course, I knock a second time, and harder than the first. The door opens, and my eyes land on Vic’s face.
He looks like shit, a bruise showing on his cheekbone, one eye is black, and his lip is split and swollen. His eyes meet mine, sheepishly.
“Hey,” he greets me.
“Vic! You said he went into rut not that he beat the shit out of you!” I cry, “Let me in.”
He steps aside, hesitantly, and I glare at him, daring him to prevent me from checking on one of my Alphas. Is he officially my Alpha? Well, no, and I’m supposed to be mad at him. I’m still claiming him for the moment, though, until one of us formally rejects the other. My nostrils flare wide as I try to scent where he is, but I find him as soon as I turn the corner.
Simon is sitting on the couch, leaning forward with his head in his hands. I stride over to him and sink down to my knees in front of him. I need to see how bad off he is. He was the one in rut, but I’m sure Vic held his own. He would have wanted to end the fight as quickly as he could. Simon stays in his position, head down, hands covering his face. I can tell by the deep inhalation he takes that he’s well aware I’m the one who rang the doorbell.
“Let me see,” I say gently, grabbing his wrists.
He refuses to move, “No, I did this to myself, it’s not your problem to deal with.”
Nowthatpisses me off.
“Are youfuckingkidding me, right now?” I seethe at him.
He tenses but doesn’t move or speak.
“You know what, Simon? Fuck you. Fuck you for introducing yourself to me, fuck you for showing me your soft side, fuck you for making me think that you could be rational and discuss things with me, andfuck you for loving Vic,” the amount of venom in my voice surprises me, and I realizethisis the anger that Ray was talking about.
