Violet Ashes: The Blood Ridge Alpha - Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Being around Arsenial Barnes is addictive. His flirting and rough attitude keep me laughing. I feel like a college girl all over again. So, naturally, the pit I feel in my stomach as I pull up to the packhouse nags at me. I feel very guilty about having to lie to my brother about this. Mainly because when he finds out, it's going to hurt.
It's not going to be enough to stop me because there is an endgame here, and it's with Arsenial by our side. It's a gift bestowed upon us by the moon goddess. I'm hoping they can stop being assholes eventually. One day, we're all going to have to sit down and talk about how we're going to move past this.
"Where have you been? Vince is pissed." Baby and Pepper rush out to me.
"Why? Did we not get any recruits?" I ask, reaching for my purse.
"We got a lot. That's not the problem. Something happened with Verona." Pepper lowers her head.
"Fuck," I growl knowing precisely what's going on. He knows about the abortion, and he's probably giving Ver a hard time about it as if her conscience isn't eating her alive already.
"Who was the father?" Vincent shouts.
They're standing in the middle of the gaming room in front of a whole lot of recruits and juveniles. This isn't the kind of issue that requires an audience. This is not going to end well.
"Vincent," I call to him. His eyes snap to me. Verona is standing there, face tight, without meeting anyone's eyes. She's on the verge of tears. "This is a private matter. Study. Both of you."
"You knew?" he demands. He turns back to grab Verona.
"Don't you fucking dare put your hand on her. In the study. Both of you." I growl. He snarls, stepping away from her to glare at me. When he sees I'm not backing down, he storms past me. "Verona,"
She swallows hard and nods. I turn my attention to the pups present to see that they look as awkward as this entire situation feels.
"Luna," one of them bows.
"If I hear anyone talking about this I will break your fucking teeth. Do you all understand me?" I snarl at them. They all bow their heads. "I will not be repeating myself. Spread the word. This is not business and should not be anyone's mouth."
I get to the study to see my sister sitting away from our dumb ass brother. I can feel his anger now, and I lower the block so he can feel my own. Now that I see how close minded and dumb as shit he is, I don't feel so guilty. In fact, I feel like punching him in the fucking face.
"You knew?" he demands.
"Yeah, I did."
"You know what she did is murder," he shouts. "You advised her to do this, didn't you? What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"The only one out of line here is you. You don't get to tell her what she can and can't do with her life. It was her choice, and she doesn't need you telling her what she already knows in her heart. You have no right."
"The only one who has no right to have advised her to do what she did is you. Is this how you've been living? Hmm? First the human, then the king, and now Barnes."
"I'm gonna stop you right there, brother, before you say something that's going to get you hurt," I warn him.
"You." he turns back to Verona. "Everytime you get close to Violetta you do something fucking dumb. She was rogue for a long fucking time and has forgotten where she comes from. You snuffed out the possibility of a wolf spirit. You-"
"Enough," I shove him when Verona starts to cry. "Enough of your fucking traditionalist bullshit, Vince."
My head whips around when his hand cracks across my face. Without thinking, I rush him. My shoulder hits his stomach. He goes flying into the shelves behind him. Verona screams. I reach for her, pulling her behind me. The doors open, and the pups rush in with a couple of guards.
"You fucking bitch." he spits as he stands.
"The only bitch I see here is you," I shout. His eyes glow bright red with anger. "Did you just hit me thinking I wasn't going to fight back? Who the fuck do you think it is you're dealing with? I did not put my fucking life on the line to come home to this shit again, Vince. The old man, I get. But you. You need to get your head out of your ass,"
"He warned me about you," he shakes his head. "Dad said that we weren't getting our Luna back. You're one of them now."
"There is no us and them. Now I know why the alphas all want you fucking dead. You're going stand there and listen to the fucking voice of an old bitter fuck who is nothing but a shell of himself now? You're not him."
"You let the rogue life break you even after you swore you could handle it," he growls at me with true intention to kill.
"No, I didn't. I am still in this for my pack and my family. Look at her." I glance back at my sister. "Feel the fucking agony she's in you motherfucker. Don't you think that she knows what she just did? God forbid you ever have to be in a situation where you have sacrifice your fucking soul for the better. That's always been your problem, Vince. It's why I knew you'd never make it out there on your own. You let the old man poison you."
"Get the fuck out of my house," he growls threateningly.
"Fuck this house and fuck you too, asshole. Figure out the new recruit shit on your own. You're not getting any help from us." I take Verona's hand. "You can stay with me. There's plenty of room." I turn around to face the pups. "For all of you. In case you need some space from this pendejo."
As soon as we get in the car, Verona breaks. I tighten my hands on the wheel and let out a heavy breath. I look into the rearview mirror to see that that fucking idiot marked up my face. I knew my dad's influence had gotten to him, but I didn't think it was this bad. I look over at my sister and place my hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry," she chokes out.
"You have nothing to be sorry about. That fucking idiot is stressed out and he needs an outlet. He'll get over it, and it's none of his business anyway. How are you feeling?"
"Like shit. I still have morning sickness, and I'm sore as hell."
"All right. Let's get you cleaned up, and you can get some rest. I'll make us dinner."
"Okay," she nods, probably happy that this isn't something she's going to deal with on her own. Not while I'm here.
"I'm coming with." Pepper jumps into the back seat. "That was fucked. I can't believe he hit you."
"Wait for me." Baby comes around to the other side. "Is Rome home? We should make him our slave for the night."
"No, he went out with Jordan. He said he wouldn't be home for a bit."
"I told you that extra money was a bribe." Pepper laughs. "I got two brothers and Violetta."