Crimson Mist ✔️

31: Jeremy versus Tristan.

Jeremy gets up, and grabs my hand.

"You don't have to," I tell him, before glaring over at my brother.

He raises an eyebrow at me, but walk back out into the cold without another word. He's probably waiting patiently to break Jeremy's nose.

"I do have to," Jeremy answers, and pulls my hand up to his lips. He kisses my knuckles, and smiles softly down at me. "He's your Alpha, and if we want him to accept me into your pack one of these days, I need to show him respect."

His breath against my skin while he talks sends shivers through my body, and what he says makes sense. Butterflies start flying around in my whole body as he talks about joining my pack, honoring his earlier words to stay here forever.

I smile back at him, and he lets go of my hand. His eyes never leaves mine as he walks towards the door, except for once, when they flicker down to a jacket hanging on the wall. I nod, understanding that he wants me to wear it if I go outside to watch.

I don't know if I want to watch, to be honest, but the second he disappears from my view again, I'm nervous, and nauseous, and full of worry. I know he's strong, and really, really fast, but Tristan isn't that much worse.

"You must have huge balls coming here, like this," I hear Tristan growl, and that makes me jump up from my chair.

If something's going to happen, I have to be there so I can help whoever goes down first. I'm sure the other would understand, whoever it ends up being.

I grab the jacket off the wall, and it smells so much like him, I'm calmed down instantly as I pull it on. I step outside to see the whole parking lot has been plowed, and the two men are standing awfully close to one another in the middle of it, locked in a staring contest.

A hand lands on my shoulder, and Michael smiles at me from the side.

"They're at least not killing each other," he whispers.

"Yet," Tyler shoots in from the other side of my cousin, and gives us a cheeky smile.

"I came because I made a mistake, and I told her I was sorry," Jeremy says calmly. "We're fine, now. We'll probably just spend some time working through it, but we're fine."

Tristan scoffs, and looks at me for a short second.

"Where were you when she was chained to the wall during the full moon? Where were you when she cried herself to sleep every night after you left her? When she was silent the whole trip here, or when she broke down in the snow, and screamed in pain from the stupid shit you made her say?"

My brother now has a finger buried in my mate's chest, spitting every consonant into his face. They look like night and day, standing there like that. They're basically the same height, the messy hair on top of Jeremy's head making him seem just a centimeter or two taller. Tristan's face is cleanly shaved, while Jeremy still has his sexy, short beard. Their clothes are totally different, too, Tristan in all black, and Jeremy with a band shirt and distressed jeans.

I bite my lip as I watch. I don't even know how I want it to end, or if I want anything to start in the first place. On one hand, I think Jeremy deserves just a little bit of consequence for his actions, but I can't imagine seeing him hurt. I don't even know if Petra knows how to make that blue healing-water, if any of them get hurt.

"I was on my way," Jeremy replies, just as calm as before. "I know I fucked up, and she knows it, and we're working through it, as I said, but I'll take whatever you think I deserve for hurting a member of your pack, and your family."

I can't watch. As soon as those words are out of his mouth, I cover my eyes and hide against Michael's chest. His arms wrap around me protectively, and his cheek rests against the top of my head.