Chapter 22

Ellie leaned her head on my shoulder as we stood on the steps of the mansion watching everyone leaving, the staff helping to pack the cars. “I love all of them, but I won’t lie, it’ll be nice to have a break. Don’t tell them.”

I laughed. “I won’t.”

The bridal party would be back closer to the wedding. For the bachelor and bachelorette parties. I had no idea what we were doing for those, but I would worry about that later.

The guys were using the gym here in the house and going about a more normal routine now that we had a few down days. There was something nice about them doing normal things here. It felt settled, even if I didn’t.

I woke up between Cade and Rowan, and it might be the best sleep I’d ever had. They made me feel safe on a level I didn’t even understand, and I wasn’t fully ready to examine that. So I slipped out from between them and fled, finding breakfast and my sister before they told me they were using the gym.

A clattering sound made Ellie and I turn. Angela pulled her suitcase out of the door roughly, in high heels despite it being ten in the morning. She looked furious. “Doesn’t the staff normally help with the bags?” I asked Ellie under my breath.

“Usually. Maybe I left their room off the list for that and only put it down for cleaning.”

I tried not to laugh and failed.

“Something funny?” Angela snapped, glaring at me. The giant diamond on her finger sparkled in the morning light, so big I was surprised she kept her balance in the heels.

“Ellie told me an excellent joke.”

She left the suitcase where it was and stalked toward me. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do showing up here with that pack and trying to make Beau jealous, but you’ll never get him back.”

I stared at her. “I have no interest in having him back. He’s all yours. As for showing up here, hi, I don’t know if you’ve met my sister. You know, the one who’s getting married? I would be here anyway, no matter who came with me.”

Angela rolled her eyes. “Just stay away from him.”

“My pleasure.”

She stomped off, and I sighed, looking at Ellie. “You realize that you’re going to see her for the rest of your life, right?”

“Shit.” She grimaced. “I don’t love that. But I do love Warren, and he’s worth it. Besides, maybe Beau will pull the same shit with her.”

As much as I disliked her, I didn’t wish that on anyone. For now, it didn’t matter. We’d have a blissful time without both of them here. “Want to go to CD later?”

“Hell yes I do. Just us girls? Or everyone?”

“Either way is fine. But if we take the guys…” I kept forgetting they were from here. So they probably already knew about the best ice cream shop in Clarity Coast, with the absolutely horrendous name that made it famous.

The Cream Dream put crack in their ice cream. Or that’s what it felt like, because it was so good you could never get enough. In the evening, they turned into an adults-only store with treats shaped like dicks and vaginas, leaning into the pun on the word cream. It drew people from all over, and if you lived here, you just went with it.

“Iz?” Ellie waved a hand in front of my face. “Where did you go?”

“Sorry. I’m just not used to thinking about the fact that they’re from here. They already know all about the name.”

“Something tells me it won’t stop them from using it to their advantage.”

She was absolutely right, and I remembered Rowan’s comment from the other morning. “I’ll ask them if they want to go. Besides, I already know they love waffles.”

Ellie turned to wave to one of her friends pulling out of the drive, and I headed inside. A hand snagged my wrist and pulled me into the coat closet. Lemon and eucalyptus tickled my nose. I whirled and shoved Beau backward. “Get your hands off me.”

He held them up and stepped back, blocking the door. “I need to talk to you, and your guard dogs haven’t let me.”

“Because I told them not to. I have nothing to say to you, Beau.”

“Will you just listen for once in your life?”

I blinked and took a step back. The words felt like a slap. “For once in my life? I listened to you for four years. I’ve listened to everything and you took that for granted. I’ve listened enough. Now get out of the way.”

“I looked for you,” he said, looking down at the floor and slipping his hands into his pockets. “No one would tell me where you were, and you had me blocked on everything. I… wanted to apologize. And talk things out.”

“Did you fall down and hit your head? Broken up or not, I know you, Beau, and you have tells. You’re lying. And I want to be clear about this. I don’t care.” I sighed. “We’re done. You’re with Angela, I’m with my pack. We can coexist, but I’d prefer to do that separately.”

I went to step around him, and he grabbed me by the arms, pinning me to the door frame. “Men like that can’t make you happy. I’m just looking out for you. You know better than to get involved with people like them.”

“Like what?”

“Not like us. They can’t give you everything you need. I don’t want to see you living some small life.”

A laugh burst out of me. “Are you serious right now? You’re trying to tell me they’re not good enough because they don’t have enough money? You gave up every right to have an opinion on my life when you kicked me out of your house.”

“Yeah,” he snarled. “But I didn’t actually expect you to leave.”

The words took the wind out of my sails. “What?”

Beau sighed, stepping back to run his hands through his hair. “I never actually meant for you to leave. I thought you’d cry and beg me not to do it. I thought over that week we’d figure it out, and things would get better. I wasn’t happy, and nothing was changing. So I did something to force us to change.”

I stared at him, mouth falling open. “Do you know how insane that sounds? If you weren’t happy, there’s an easier solution than burning a relationship to the ground. It’s called talking.”

“I just told you I tried.” His voice rose, echoing off the walls and masking the sound of the front door closing. We both froze, but heard nothing. “I wanted to explain, but you had evaporated like a fucking ghost.”

Shaking my head, I tried to wrap my head around it. Frankly, this didn’t make what he’d done hurt less. If anything, it made it hurt more because he hadn’t trusted me enough to think I’d be fine with changing things up.

“Well, you certainly moved on quickly for someone who claims they wanted to save our relationship.”

“I was lonely and grieving. Angela was kind, and… you didn’t come back.”

I nodded. “You’re right. Thank you for telling me, I guess. Angela is waiting for you.”

“We’re not done.”

“What else could you possibly have to say to me?”

He gripped my arms again. “I still care about you, Izzy-bear. Trust me. They’re not good for you. But I am. I can fix this. I can make it right.”

“Said the man with his ring on another woman’s finger. You’re just going to toss her aside like you did me? No. We are done.” I grit my teeth. “Let. Me. Go.”

“No. Not until you listen. Not until you give me another chance. You and I were made for each other. Blueberry muffins, right?”

I tried to move, but he was holding me too tightly. Panic clawed at my insides. “Beau, stop.”

A hand landed in the center of Beau’s chest, shoving him backward into the other side of the door frame. Hawk, still sweaty from the gym, towered over him. “She told you to let her go.”

I slipped out of the closet, finding Ellie there with wide eyes. It clicked. She was the one who came inside the front door and heard us, then went to get the guys. Thank you, I mouthed.

“Get your hands off me,” Beau snapped.

“Funny.” I let the sarcasm drip before I turned back to face them. “That’s what I said. You didn’t listen. Why should he?”

Hawk looked over at me, dark eyes filled with fury. His head turned slowly back toward Beau. No one in the world wanted to be on the end of that look. “You were warned to stay away until she wanted to talk to you. The next time you touch my Omega without her consent, you will get a lot more than a hand to the chest. Do you understand me?”

Beau looked over at me, eyes unsure, seeing if I was going to intervene. Like hell.

“Do you understand me?” Hawk’s voice cracked through the air like thunder.

My ex rose to the challenge. “You think you deserve her? You and your tattoos? She was mine first, so enjoy that. Everything you get, I’ve already had. You really think she could want you when she’s had me?”

Hawk didn’t rise to the bait, standing there and glaring at Beau. There was no comparison. The bite in Beau’s words told me the truth—he didn’t care about me. Not really. He’d gambled with our relationship and lost, and now that I was back with a pack who showered me with attention, his ego couldn’t handle it.

Beau’s face twisted into a smirk. “Enjoy watching her fall for me all over again, Elliot.”

“I’m not a chew toy.” Words I couldn’t hold back. Tears rose even though I hated them. “You don’t get to put me down and pick me up whenever you feel like it. And I don’t care what your intention was, you broke me. Don’t you get that?”

He opened his mouth, and I spoke before he could, the tears spilling over. “You don’t get to have both. You don’t get to cut me out of your life like I was a tumor you wanted to get rid of, and then have any say in what I do. And you certainly don’t get to say shit like that about me because you’re pissed I’m happy, and it’s not with you. If you wanted us, you shouldn’t have gambled with four years of our lives. Your fiancée is waiting for you outside. Get the fuck out of this house.”

Anger flared in his eyes, and confusion. I wasn’t the Isolde he knew. Who I became was a direct result of his actions. He threw me off a cliff and was pissed that I’d managed to climb back up. Like me having a life after him was a hit to his ego and I should live in some perpetual state of grief, pining for him for the rest of my days.

Like he could set me on a shelf and pick me back up whenever he liked.

My chest ached, pain pulsing there like a burning coal that wouldn’t fucking fade. I wanted to cut it out of myself, but there was no way to do it. “The only reason I’m glad it happened this way is because I know now how much better life is without you. But truly? I wish I’d never met you.”

Beau shoved Hawk away and stalked past me. “You’ll never have as good as me, Isolde. I’ll prove it to you. These men will never have enough or be enough. I was the best you’ll ever have. You will crawl back to me, and when you do, we’ll both enjoy it.”

Hawk’s growl split the air. “Step the fuck away from her or I will lay you out.”

The front door opened, and Warren stepped inside. He looked at the four of us, sensing the tone in the room and seeing my tears. “Beau, your car is packed and Angela is already inside. Ready to go?”

He smiled. For a brief moment, I saw the Beau I thought I knew. The charming face he had for everyone until he didn’t get his way. That was the thing about Beau. He always got his way and thought it would be the same now.

Not this time.

“Yeah. I’m ready.” Beau clapped Warren on the shoulder. “See you soon, man.”

Warren waved before looking back at us. “What the hell happened?”

“You and I are going to have a talk about him is what’s about to happen,” Ellie said, turning sharply and disappearing deeper into the house.

With one more glance at me, he followed after her. “Wait, El. Hold on.”

Their voices faded into a blur down the hall. I stumbled back a step, the weight of the entire interaction crashing down on me. Horror and anger and regret. Tears flooded my eyes faster now. I swiped them away angrily. He’d already caused me too many tears.

Warmth and sweetness wrapped around me. Hawk pulled me to his chest and held me tight. I tried to stop the tears, and I couldn’t. The pain in my chest made it hard to breathe—that intangible ache that only came with grief.

Hawk held me against him. “It’s okay, baby girl. I’m sorry he was anywhere near you.”

“It’s not your fault.” I sniffed and tried to make myself sound normal. “You couldn’t have stopped it.”

“I could have tried.”

He tilted my face up to his, brushing away the tears with his thumbs. Closing the distance between us, he kissed me. Softly. Delicately. With all the gentleness and care Beau had never shown me. And for the moment, I didn’t question it. I didn’t care that it wasn’t real. All I wanted was to feel seen, loved, and understood.

Hawk’s lips on mine gave me all of it and more.

Without breaking the kiss, he bent his knees and lifted me off the ground, wrapping my legs around his waist. I leaned my head on his shoulder while he carried me back to the suite, just breathing in the scent of sugar and frosting.

Turns out people were right when they said sugar could fix anything.

“Where is everyone?” I whispered.

“I was the one who could leave the fastest with Ellie. They should be back here now. Don’t think for a second they didn’t want to follow me, but Vaughn’s face is too pretty to get fucked up because he fell off a treadmill.”

A laugh slipped out in spite of myself.

His hands tightened on my spine. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I did, and I didn’t. Beau didn’t deserve more of my energy, and yet it was eating me up inside. All I wanted to do was turn my brain off for a while. Leaning up, I kissed Hawk’s cheek. “Not yet. But I need to ask Rowan something.”

Bumping his head into mine, he paused to open the door. “Then let’s go find him, baby girl.”