Violet Ashes: The Blood Ridge Alpha - Chapter 45: Chapter 45

After a hot shower, I come downstairs to find Barnes sitting on the couch with Roman. The two of them are talking as if they've known each other for years. Roman has that effect on people once they get past the whole Rogue Prince shit. He's always been very good at fitting in.
I don't know why he doesn't apply it to his pack training. The fact that he's here and not gooning with the other new recruits tells me he was never serious about the converstion. He just wanted Ramona out of harms way.
"Finally. I gotta meet Jordan and Lillies in Nova. Don't wait up," Roman says as soon as he spots me.
"Are you taking, Ramona?" I ask.
"Nah, she's out with the girls in the dorms. Your sister is with her. I gave them some extra cash. Told her to call you if she needed anything."
"Thanks. And don't be giving my sister money. She's spoiled enough as it is." I warn him. He laughs and stampedes down to the garage.
"Foods on the counter." Barnes smiles gently.
"I'm upset with you."
"Okay," he nods. "Why? And what can I do to fix it?"
"You didn't come here that morning to get to know me better. You came to interrogate me. Why didn't you tell me how bad it was between you and my brother?"
He sighs and sits back, making himself comfortable.
"I needed to know how much you knew."
"You accused me of testing you. You made me feel like and asshole and usually I wouldn't mind because that is literally what I do for a living, but that's fucked, Arsenial. He's upset."
"You told him?"
"Of course, I did. It would be nothing to let it go and just have a good night with you tonight, but I have to meet with him later. My sister is coming home tonight and she's brought a few recruits with her. I want to help him get them all sorted."
"What happened at work?" he stands.
"I got fired or I quit. I don't know. I have get my team of lawyers ready for a long fucking fight that is going to cost me a shit ton of money. I let fucking Riley borrow my car and now one of my collectibles is missing and it's really important doll."
My stomach almost falls out of my ass when he reaches into his jacket and holds up the doll for me. Instinctively, I step forward and take it to feel inside it's little body for the USB.
"You took it?"
"I did. The night we met. I wanted to know what they were, and I got you some cool ones, my dealer guaranteed me they were very rare," he points at the table where the food is. "I'm sorry."
"Ugh." I groan, dropping my arms. "How am I supposed to stay mad at you when you literally just saved my ass." Without thinking, I step forward and wrap my arms around his waist. I feel him tense up for a moment before he relaxes and pats my head. "Thank you. The Lycan Queen would have my soul if I had lost this."
"It's just a toy." he chuckles. I open the back to show him the USB.
"It's my favorite and it's worth a few hundred paw coins from Lycan Tech."
"Holy shit," he glares at me. "You just ride around with that thing on your dashboard. You deserve that fucking scare you just went through. What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"I don't know. I've never been evaluated before. I'm sure there are plenty of things wrong. Between you and me, psychiatry is a bunch of bullshit designed to domesticate us and keep us complacent. Never let them tell you there's something wrong. There is not a single person on this earth who isn't sick in their head."
"You feel very strongly about that," he laughs.
"I do." I go over to the kitchen island to see the Popmart bags and the food. I take them all so I can go up to my bedroom. "I have some things I need to work on upstairs, and I am exhausted. Come with me. If you stay down here long enough, your scent will linger, and I do not want to explain that to my brother. He'll never go into my room. He's a traditionalist. He says bloomers."
"He seems like that kind of guy who says bloomers," he nods. I turn the AC up, and we both go upstairs to my room. I set everything down on my sketch table and reach for the food first. I am starving. "We need to talk about how we're going to move forward."
"I can't just do whatever I want here, Arsen. The pack isn't mine, and my brother's word is final. He made it very clear where the two of you stand. You killed his boyfriends. I read the report about what happened to your chosen. I am very sorry about that. I know what it's like to lose someone you love that much."
"Do you?" he looks up at me with a glare.
"Don't do that. We're both adults, and in the very least, I never got knocked up, and it ended just as gruesome as your romance did."
"It's true then. You were fucking around with the Rogue King before he met his mate."
"Not the current one." I roll my eyes. "He's more like my brother. But I was young, and the former Lycan King was crazy hot. We spent a lot of time together, and one thing led to another. It was more accelerating because we both knew that if anyone found out we were both fucked. And then I was given an order I couldn't refuse, and now he's dead."
"You never fucked around with Knightly?" he sneers. Oh, yeah. I remember those rumors. Wow, he dove deep for information.
"Fuck no. Knight is all fucked in his head. He's like a female version of Perry." I take the food over to where I set up my entertainment system near the bathroom. This room is enormous. It's going to be a while before it looks filled.
He looks at the golden canopy frame over and chuckles as he walks past it to take a seat beside me. I added the soft pink, glittery curtains. They match the rest of the decor. Black and pink. I turn the TV on. He growls when Millie wiggles out from under the bed.
"Hey, that's my baby. She's old and doesn't need your shit."
"You own a cat?" he asks. She jumps up between us and immediately starts to purr. "This thing is huge."
"It's her breed. She's a maincoon." I scratch the top of her head.
"Does it bite?"
"She's a menace if she feels threatened. Just be nice to her. Give her snacks and she'll love you forever."
Millie meows as if she understood. I take half a slice of pizza and rip it up for her. She knows because she jumps down and patiently waits for me to set it down for her. She does the little slow blinking she does every time I give her some of my food.
"That's cute," he comments when she makes happy snack time noises as she eats. "I'm grasping at straws here, Moonlight. How is this going to work?"
"You can't just be showing up here unannounced. Rome and Baby aren't going to say anything, but Pepper is going to be staying with me soon."
"This shouldn't be this difficult."
"It should definitely be fun." I counter. He reaches for the food and slides down to the floor, fitting his legs under the coffee table.
"So, you want to keep me under the table. You're filthy little secret, so your idiot brother doesn't find out?"
"Is that a lot to ask?"
"Yeah," he laughs, reaching for our drinks. He opens a can of boba tea and holds it over his head for me. "It is actually."
"Hmm," I take it.
"What is that? What is hmm?"
"Nothing. I guess I thought keeping secrets from my brother would be our thing. I'll just do this on my own, then." I slurp out of the can as loudly as I can.
"Oh, you are going to test the fuck out of my patience, aren't you, Moonlight?"
"I most certainly am going to do my best, sir." I laugh. "If you're in, you're welcome to stay. If you're not, I hope you have a great evening."