Chapter 20: Two Minds

KOL

It felt good to be back at the pack house, back in my conference room, surrounded by my inner circle. I had to give it to Jordan. He’d really held down the fort while I was gone.

Gianna and I had moved back into our house last night. First thing we did, of course, was have sex in every room of the house. Sex was always better when you didn’t have to be quiet.

I looked around at my men seated at the table. Pack meeting was in session; the alpha was back and ready. “All right, Jordan, fill me in. What did I miss?”

Jordan fumbled with his notes in front of him. “Ah, yeah, so first things first. That reporter that, um, wrote that story? Well, he, ah, showed up dead a couple of days later.”

I winced at his words and walked to the window so they couldn’t see my expression.

“How?” Even though I already knew.

“Beaten to death sir, coroner thinks the final blow to his temple is what finished him. There was some evidence of torture, though.”

I nodded quietly. “Did you notify his family?”

“Yes, sir, we also offered your condolences and apologies for not making it to the funeral. They also apologized for his actions, which we, ah, accepted on your behalf.”

I nodded again. “Anything else?”

“Yes, sir. Some members of the pack are concerned about the torture methods. They seem to think the Iron Soldier is back.”

I turned to face them. Their faces were white. “A rumor, I’m sure. What else?”

Jordan looked at his notes again.

“We also had a border breach. I, Mike, and Lewis followed the scent, but we lost it at the quarry. In the meantime, we’ve upped the number of patrols and tightened security.”

“Great. Good job, Jordan.”

He looked pleased with himself. “Thank you, Alpha.”

I opened my mouth to say something else when the doors to the conference room splintered off their hinges. Diego stood in the doorway, his eyes manic. “I need a word with you,” he growled.

I noticed a few of my men gulp and turn away. No one dared challenge him.

“I’m in the middle of something. Maybe you should calm down,” I snarled back at him, a growl rumbling deep in my chest. My men’s eyes were wide now, like I’d gone mad.

Diego took a breath and looked at me. “I need to talk to you. It’s about the other day,” he said with a bit less of a growl.

Still, though, he had to keep up his tough-guy act, I supposed, so I let it slide. I nodded at him. “We can talk in my office. Jordan, can you finish up here?”

He nodded. “Yes, Alpha, ah, sure.” He looked panicked.

I led Diego to my office and poured him a drink while he sank into a chair. “Who is she?”

“What?”

I handed him a glass of bourbon and sat across from him. “The girl who has you charging into my pack house like a madman. Who is she?”

He took the glass from me and gulped it down right away, holding it out for another.

I poured him one.

“Liv Saintclaire.”

“As in your sister’s best friend, Liv Saintclaire?”

He gulped the drink again and held it out for more. I obliged. “The one and only.”

I let out a low whistle. “Shit, how did you find out?”

He shuffled uncomfortably. “I took your advice.”

“And it led you to her?”

“To the bar she worked in, yeah.”

He poured himself another drink. I cleared my throat. “Did you tell Gia?”

He swallowed the drink down. “Yep. Called her this morning.”

“And?”

“She hung up.”

I whistled again. ~Gia is a force to be reckoned with. If she’s pissed off over Diego, I better make it home in time for dinner, or I’ll be next.~

A few minutes of silence went by before Diego spoke again.

“What if she rejects me?” he asked quietly, looking into his fifth glass of bourbon.

“What did she say when you told her?” I swallowed back my own drink and poured another.

“That she needed a few days to think it over. I feel like I’m going crazy. I can’t get her out of my head.”

“It’ll all work out, man. Gia will talk to her.”

“Did you feel like this with G?”

“No, with us it was different, we’re both a higher ranking. I’m an alpha, and she’s royalty. It was instant. Yours will take time, Gray. Liv is a common wolf.

“You know matings work differently for wolves like us.” I looked at him and continued.

“But yeah, the first few days without her after what happened at the grounds of your place, I felt like I was going crazy, not knowing if she’d accept me or even if she was okay.

“I just didn’t feel whole without her. You just have to have faith, man, that it will work out.”

He nodded and looked out the window. “What was your meeting about?”

I leaned back in my chair. “Border breach. Boys lost the scent by the quarry; was gonna go check it out. Could use your nose if you’re up for it?”

Everyone knew Diego was the best tracker; man never lost a scent. No matter where you went, he found you. No one got away from Diego.

He swallowed back his drink and stood up. “Yeah. Come on.”

I finished mine and followed him out the door.

~Who would’ve thought I’d be friends with Diego fucking Gray?~

GIANNA

My best friend had mated with my brother? When he called me, I couldn’t believe it. It had been a couple of days, he said, since it had happened. I went straight to Liv’s house.

“Hey, Mrs. Saintclaire! Is Liv home?”

“Yes, darling, she’s in her room, and it’s Milly, sweetheart.” She smiled at me from the kitchen.

I smiled as I breezed past her up to Liv’s room.

I didn’t even bother to knock. I just let myself in. She was lying in her bed, facing away from the door. I crawled in beside her. “Liv, why didn’t you tell me?”

She sniffled and turned to face me. She looked like she would burst into tears any second.

“I thought you’d be mad at me.”

“Why the hell would be mad at you?”

I snuggled closer to her so we were shoulder to shoulder. She sniffled again. “’Cause he’s your brother, G! Remember how pissed you got when you found out Emily kissed him when we were fourteen?”

I rolled my eyes at her.

“Come on, Liv. It’s Emily! I was pissed ’cause she was being a dumb tramp, and Diego only kissed her ’cause she was easy. He told me afterward that she followed him for a week.”

Liv’s eyed went wide. “Nooo way. Seriously?!”

I nodded at her. “Yep. Diego had to tell her to fuck off in front of half the school before she got the hint. Feel kinda bad for her now, obviously, but at the time, I didn’t.”

Liv giggled. “You’re really not mad at me?”

“Don’t be crazy! I’m over the moon for you guys, but I know I’m not the reason you’re lying in bed sniffling, so spill while I find something to watch.”

I started flicking through her Netflix, looking for a good series.

“It’s just—it’s Diego, Gia. Everyone knows his reputation as a player. What if I’m just another notch for his bedpost?”

“You’re not.”

“How do you know?” She was cuddling her teddy and looking ahead of her at the TV.

“’Cause Mom called me this morning and said she’s worried about him. He’s been smashing furniture in his room, and Kol texted me on my way here to say that Diego stormed the pack house to talk to him.

“Seems pretty head over heels to me, to be honest, and very unlike the Diego we all know and love.” I tried to hold back the smile forming on my lips. I could see her openmouthed expression.

“Really? He’s really doing all that? For me?”

I turned to face her “Look, I know my brother, and believe me, if he just wanted sex out of you, he’d have gotten it by now. What did you say to him when he told you?”

“That I needed a couple of days to think about it; he said I could take all the time I’d need. He’d wait for me.” Her face was on fire, she was blushing so hard.

“It’s been two days, Liv. Maybe you should call him? Or better yet, I’m having the family over for dinner tonight. Why don’t you join us?

“By the sounds of it, he’s dying to see you, ’cause guess what? Diego doesn’t wait for anyone.”

“I dunno, Gia. I mean, I guess I could.” she clutched her teddy to her chest. Her face was almost the same shade of pink as a highlighter.

“Liv?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re coming.”

“Okay, then.”

“Good. Now come on. Let’s watch something.”

We snuggled down into the bed until we were cosy. Her mom brought us hot chocolates. I looked at her while she was watching TV.

~She’s perfect for him.~