4 - Claws Out, Balls Out

~Gemma~

Tyson patiently waited for my rant to conclude.

“He is so arrogant. I mean, sure, he works under immense pressure every day. Stress doesn’t give anybody permission to be a dick. Am I right?” I hoped Tyson felt the weight of my displeasure. I deemed him guilty by association and let my wrath fall freely upon him.

“I assume we are eventually going to address my issues.” He glanced at his watch with a serene expression. “You have blown twenty minutes talking about your problems.”

“Somebody should to listen to my complaints and he is your brother!”

“Turn the drama down a notch, love. Put away the claws.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Please accept the fact he will never allow you to escape his control.”

“Claws out. Balls out.” My favorite expression lacked any conviction as I blinked away tears. “Why can’t he take a second to consider my wishes for once? The office is perfect, in the heart of downtown next to my favorite coffee shop.”

“Shit! Is that all? You want coffee? I’ll fetch you a cup from the kitchen.”

I wasted the perfect opportunity to slip in a dog joke. “It is not the same. We don’t have an espresso machine or sugar free vanilla creamer. Come to think of it, we never have anything I prefer.”

“Gems, you are exaggerating.”

“I so am not exaggerating! We never have stock of sugar alternatives. And what about almond or cashew milk? Recurring news flash! Some of us cannot deal with cow milk. Okay?”

“Okay, princess. Point well made. I will talk to Heather.”

“Save your breath. I already attempted that conversation.” I tucked a wayward strand of hair away from my face. “Nothing will pierce the bubble she calls brain.” I knew it was a rude comment. Sorry not sorry. My demons needed exorcising. It was time to gather my chick squad for a night of binge drinking and debauchery.

“Heather will hear me and listen. Calm your pretty but a tad psycho head.”

I crossed my arms. “Wow. Since when did the duties of beta stretch to babysitting the office girls?” Again, I blamed my demons.

“As our alpha’s right-hand man and his trusted younger brother, keeping his wayward human happy is at the top of my priorities.”

“Yeah? Then how can I convey the level of happiness I will experience having a downtown location away from the compound?”

He rubbed his chin. “Love, listen and focus on what I am saying with purpose and clarity. This dream of yours is never going to happen. Devlin will always want to keep you close to him.”

“Will you at least discuss it with him?”

Tyson’s gaze narrowed on me. “Kiss the downtown office goodbye.”

“Coward.” With no options left, I threw a pillow at him. Of course he blocked it. No strain involved.

“Your magnetism is irresistible. No wonder our alpha is still head over heels after all this time.”

“Liar! Take that back!”

“I will not because I speak the truth.”

“Tyson Chase! You are so mean!”

He cracked a smile, showing off his boyish charm. “Gemma and Devlin sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

I launched myself at him. He sat on the couch across from me. I didn’t have far to fly. He had two choices, hurt the human or accept a thrashing.

“Ow! You are very abusive today.”

“I will gladly show you the meaning of ow!” Hands grabbed me from behind, lifting me off Tyson. F-U-C-K.

“Is this your idea of therapy?” Alpha Devlin set me on my feet.

“First of all, stop casting judgment on my methods of emotional expression. Second, I do not offer therapy. My only degree is from the school of hard knocks. I am a Relationship Mentor. Big difference.” Alpha Devlin scowled at me and then at his brother. One scowl down, numerous more to go.

“Did you bite me?” Tyson rubbed his shoulder. “She did! The little witch bit me!”

Alpha Devlin rushed to examine the ‘wound’. “Did she break skin?”

I snickered at Alpha Devlin’s absurd fit. “Oh, no! This makes twice now! Once more and Tyson is bound to me for life!”

“This shit is not funny, Gemma! You have to be careful.”

“I apologize, Alpha Devlin. I did not break skin nor did I accidentally give him the mating mark.” I looked at Tyson and shrugged. Humans weren’t susceptible to werewolf mating rituals. They both knew that. Oh, werewolves often took human mates, it just wasn’t a binding connection or mystical bullshit for the human.

“It is still mystical bullshit for the werewolf.” Alpha Devlin said in his pissed off tone.

“Rude, sir. Stop invading my internal struggles.” I smoothed my hair back into place. “I am in the middle of Tyson’s session. He has thirty minutes left.”

The corner of his mouth twitched in not quite a frown or smile. “Please continue. I will sit at your desk and play referee.”

“I’m afraid that is impossible. These sessions are private.”

“Tyson and I have no secrets.” Alpha Devlin’s smug tone grated.

“Really? So you are aware of our movie date the other day? It was an all nighter.” I winked. Though totally innocent, it was fun to let him believe otherwise.

“Tyson? The fuck?”Alpha Devlin hit his brother with a pillow.

“Hey! Only I can use the props on my clients.” I wagged my finger in a ‘oh no you didn’t’ gesture.

Tyson shrugged, “Devlin can stay.”

“Whatever.” There were days I hated werewolves. I grabbed my notepad and reclaimed my seat. “Has Taylor returned home?”

“She remains at her mother’s house.”

“And how does that make you feel?” I chewed on the cap of my pen and felt very smart.

He sighed. “I want her to come home.”

“Have you told her so?”

“Why? She knows I want her home.”

I rolled my eyes. “If you do not tell her, how does she know? Women are not mind readers.”

Tyson lifted an eyebrow.

“Okay! Most women are not mind readers. They like to express their thoughts and feelings vocally. So pick up the phone. Call her. Tell her you want her to come home.” At his blank stare, I pressed onward. “At least do the man-thing and text it all to her. Use emojis if you must. We love that shit.”

He shifted his weight, showing a tiny indication of unease.

“Wait. Where were you last night?” I asked.

Tyson shrugged. “I went with some friends to a nightclub.”

“Mmm. More precisely, you went to a vampire strip club in the Red District. Classy.”

“I was bored and you were busy.”

“I had a real date.” I peeked at the grumpy alpha. “Contrary to the vicious rumors, I am allowed to have a life outside of the pack.”

“I needed you.”

Be warned. Werewolves were a clingy bunch. “Let us focus on the issue at hand. Instead of nutting up and calling Taylor, you let a vampire bimbo feed from you.”

“I did nothing wrong. Taylor is keeping her distance. I do not know what she is doing or who she is doing it with.”

“So you would be jiggy with Taylor going to a strip club? Ooh! I bet at the sight of all those sexy male vampires, her eyes would turn wolfie too.” I tried to picture sweet Taylor in such a predicament. I laughed.

“What is it? Did you have a vision?” Tyson demanded.

I blinked and he was on me, shaking me by the shoulders.

“Tell me! Is Taylor seeing someone else?”

“No! Jeez. Let me go and mind your damn claws.” Razor sharp points poked me through the fabric of my blazer. Fan-flipping-tastic. Another collateral clothing item to add to my pile.

“Tyson.” A single warning spoken in a rumbling timbre came from Alpha Devlin.

He released me. “Please, tell me she is not cheating on me.”

“No! You big dummy. I’m making a point. If Taylor spent her nights stuffing bills down the thongs of male eye-candy, you would paint the town red.”

“I would kill each and every one of them.”

“And when you inform Taylor of your new hobby, how will she react?”

He wiped a hand down his face. “You are sworn to secrecy! You will keep your big mouth shut!”

“Of course my mouth will remain shut, drama llama. Take this experience and learn from it. Dude, the math is simple. Swallow your stupid pride and call her. I can’t have you crashing on my couch every night. My poor kitty is terrified you are going to eat him. And let’s face it. At some point your brother will act pissy about the sleepovers.”

“Will she come home?” He stared down at me as if my answer alone would solve his wrecked love life.

I crossed my arms. How did my traitorous heart melt under their puppy-dog eyes every stinking time? So not fair!