I felt tears bloom, knowing people were watching us now. The party was ruined by his acting like this. Jay and Henrik quickly appeared next to us. “What the hell is going on?” Jay asked, looking at Justin. I couldn't tell if he was angry at Frank or Justin.
“He punched me,” Justin said, wiping at his jacket, but it wouldn't help. He was completely covered in punch now, and his shirt had a rip in it.
“You punched him?” Jay asked with a little irritation in his voice. He glared at Frank, looking like an Alpha.
Frank straightened his back and stared at Jay with just as much power. “He disrespected Nina. He is not innocent.”
Jay looked at me and then at Justin. “Is that true?”
Justin fell silent, and Jay's eyes darkened. He walked over towards Justin and leaned in close. I wasn't sure what he said, but I watched as Justin's eyes widened in fear. Jay must have said something that frightened him.
“I think we can safely say this party is over,” Henrik said, offering me a sympathetic expression. “This is a bit of a mess, and everyone saw. The mood is ruined.”
I agreed. I couldn't even look at everyone because I would see the pity in their eyes.
Everyone started to head home, and Frank and the guys tried to clean up. Katie and Sam offered me hugs, but the night was ruined. I just wanted to go home and sit in the greenhouse alone. I wanted to stay there for who knew how long until the world seemed nicer.
We left the party, and the car ride was as quiet. Anger had taken the place of the awkwardness. I was so angry that Frank had intervened again, but not in a good way. He always came in hot-headed, and things got out of hand. Why couldn't he be calmer like the other Alpha? Why did he jump to violence like it was the answer?
As soon as he parked, I jumped out of the car as quickly as I could. I headed inside, tossing my shoes aside. I could hear Frank hot on my tail, shutting the door behind him. “Nina, would you stop for a moment?”
I didn't. I kept walking, going straight for the greenhouse. As soon as I was inside, I shut the door and flipped the lock. Iwalked over to my couch, and I could hear Frank at the door. “Nina, open this door. This is my house.”
“This may be your house, but this is my space!” I snapped back angrily, feeling all the anger bubbling to the surface. “And you ruined my party! It was a beautiful party, and you ruined it.”
I glanced at him through the glass, and Frank stood there with his arms crossed. He shook his head. “I was standing up for you at the party! I didn't plan to ruin it. But I wasn't going to stand by and listen to him speak to you like that.”
“You didn't have to punch him!” I yelled. “You could have remained calm. You didn’t have to make a scene like that! You ruined my party because you overreacted!”
“I would have done a lot worse if you hadn't stopped me,” he growled, his eyes darkening. And I believed him. If I hadn't stepped in, I was sure Justin would have left bloody and battered.
I turned away, looking out the other windows. I closed my eyes, wishing the confusion and anger away.
“Jesus, Nina. I can see you. Just unlock the door.”
“No, I don't want you near me.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I heard him growl again, and then the space went quiet for a second. I could hear him pacing and muttering under his breath. “Why is it so easy for you to argue with me, to yell at me, yet anytime anyone else says anything even remotely sinister to you, you just take it? Explain that to me?”
“I don't need to explain anything,” I said softly, feeling my stomach dip down.
“Well, I'm not leaving until you start explaining. I don't get it. I don't get you.”
I shook my head, hating to think about all the years of abuse and ridicule. I hated how I just took it, how I accepted it. The constant reminder that I was less and would never be anything. Anything I wanted was ripped away. No one would give me a loan when I wanted to buy a house. When I wanted a new job, I had to fight tooth and nail for it, and even that wasn't enough sometimes. When I wanted friends, it was hard. No one would accept me. And if someone did, word traveled quickly, and it was gone. I always feared I would lose Sam and Katie. It was only a matter of time before someone told them something about me.
“Just leave me alone, Frank.”
“No, I'm your husband, and you need to tell me why you have such a hard time standing up for yourself. I want to understand.”
Anger burst at his words, and I got off the couch. I turned to him. “Husband? Really? You wanna say your husband now? After days of silence?”
Frank didn't move from the glass door.
I stepped forward. “Fine, Frank. Do you want to know why I have difficulty standing up for myself? And why do I do so with you? Well, for starters, I didn't live with any of them and had everything ripped from me when I was thrown into this sham of a marriage. And I did stand up for myself, but that only ever made it worse. It was always better to just duck down and be quiet.”
Frank fell silent, his shoulder dropping slightly.
“You think I was treated any differently here than I was in Jay's pack? No, I was treated like a damn insect until Sam and Jay happened. But even that didn't stop everything. I still got a constant reminder that I would never be anything great. I wasjust a human whose life wouldn't amount to much. Which you have no problem pointing out!”
