“I can’t hear you sticking up for a man-eater because I’m too busy Googling video footage that you must not have seen of him tossing a gorilla into the air like a goldfish snack and catching it in his mouth and eating it,” she rushed out as she clicked on the video link. Why on God’s green and blue planet was this still available to watch?
She shoved the phone at Nox, but he only rolled his eyes. “I know what happened. I was there.”
“What?” she yelled.
With a sigh, Nox yanked the phone out of her hand, fast forwarded the video, and then shoved it back at her. “Look familiar?” He jammed a finger at a mass of gorillas and lions brawling with a green-eyed silverback and a…yep, that was a silver-eyed grizzly bear. Horror flooded her. “You were fighting?”
“Well, it was that or the Red Havoc crew was going to be murdered. We weren’t just fighting for the hell of it, Nevada. I know that’s how the humans spin it—that we were all just mindlessly at war? But that’s not actually what happened. The Dunn lions teamed up with not just one family group of gorilla shifters, but all of them. It was a massive pride and the gorillas against one small crew of mostly panther shifters. And some of my people were in there.”
“Who?”
“People from Damon’s Mountains who didn’t do anything wrong. That crew had cubs, Nevada. Torren’s sister was in that crew and she— Fuck! What was I supposed to do? Damon called on us all to go help Red Havoc. We were supposed to wait in the woods so the humans wouldn’t see the war, but Torren’s sister, Genevieve, was being torn to shreds by the lions, and Torren charged before Damon gave the signal. And I don’t give a fuck about anyone, Nevada! Before you? I cared for my parents and…fuck! I cared for my parents and for Torren because I’d always wanted to be his friend. He was going to die if he charged in there to save his sister alone. So I went with him. And yeah, Vyr lit up the town. But he helped save Red Havoc. Those cubs have their crew still because we made quick decisions.”
Nevada shook her head, completely shocked. “That’s not how the story is told at all,” she murmured.
“The humans control the press, which is why that video is still available for anyone to see. Because in that video, it shows Vyr as a monster man-eater, not that he’s saving a crew. Human law enforcement took all our statements after the battle, and they deemed it self-defense because there was so much proof that the Dunns and gorillas came in to wipe out Red Havoc. But the press still spins the story however they want to. Everyone kept out of shifter prison. Except Vyr, apparently. I’m supposed to bring him in. No humans were hurt, just the assholes who were killing Genevieve’s crew. But the Red Dragon will be made an example of.”
“And he’s hiding out here?”
Nox dipped his chin to his chest once.
“Geez. Why you? Why are you supposed to bring him in?”
“Because I’m good at my job, but I’m also expendable to Damon Daye.”
“Fuck that!” she cried, uncaring about her foul mouth. “You aren’t expendable to me!” She wanted to cry she was so angry. “Tell Damon no. Tell him you don’t want to do this.”
“I tried. Damon’s not a man you say no to. He’ll eat me with no regrets if I push him. He’s already pissed that we didn’t wait for the signal in Covington. I think he blames me and Torren for Vyr being in the position he’s in. If we wouldn’t have broken that line and charged the fight? Vyr would’ve stayed human behind the trees. There would be no video of him going bitey bitey chomp chomp on everyone. Vyr and Torren are friends though, and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Torren, or to Genevieve. And by the way, just because I’m explaining his actions, doesn’t mean I still don’t fucking hate him. Dragons are all scaly fire dicks. Can’t be trusted. I won’t miss him when he’s in shifter prison.”
“Lie,” she called him out.
Nox made an angry tick sound behind his teeth and pushed up off the couch. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“Because you care about them.”
“I don’t care about anyone but you.”
“And your parents. And Torren. And Vyr.”
“Fuck Vyr,” Nox snarled as he strode for the door.
“You’re running, and you said you wouldn’t do that.”
Nox slapped the side of his head and rounded on her. He stood there like a bull getting ready to destroy a china shop, eyes the color of churning mercury. “You know how many times I tried to be friends with those assholes? Huh? It was always Torren and Vyr, and fuck everyone else. Fuck me!”
“Why them? Why did you choose them to be friends with?”
“Because they’re just as fucked up as me! I could’ve felt…”
“Could’ve felt what?”
“Normal! Okay? I could’ve felt normal if I could’ve just made one or two stupid friends. But I couldn’t. They had each other, and I’m just the asshole hermit shifter in Damon’s Mountains who can’t connect with anyone. Who can’t stop fighting other males. The crazy one. The cursed one. The one who screws everything up!”
“Because you speak a different language, remember?”
“Fuck languages. I never adapted.” Nox’s shoulders sagged, and he rested his back against the door. In a softer voice, he repeated, “I never adapted. And now I have to bring Vyr in, and Torren will hate me even more.” His eyes went vacant as he stared at something over her head. “Everything’s fine.”
He was throwing his real feelings away. With those last two words and the forced, empty smile on his face as he opened the door, he was throwing away his feelings because he didn’t like to show what he perceived as weakness. Even with her.
As the door clicked closed, her heart broke for him. Her chest physically ached. He’d picked his friends as a child and had watched them from a distance because he couldn’t figure out a way to fit into their lives.
There was chronic tragedy in that.
Chapter Twelve
Nox was so angry.
So full of rage.
Fury.
Blood boiling like water on a stove.
Like lava was blazing through his veins.
Not at Nevada, never at her.
She should be able to say what she wanted, and she saw him.
Maybe she saw too much, he didn’t know. Letting anyone in was fucking terrifying, and now she was dredging up these feelings of not being enough in his youth, and it was Torren’s fault. No…it was Vyr’s fault for taking Torren under his ugly, tattered, blood-red wings and shielding him from ever making friends with anyone else. Nox had never stood a chance because of that stupid dragon. His fault. His fault. Fucking Vyr’s fault.
Nox slid in behind the wheel and slammed the door beside him so hard the truck rocked.
He needed a fight. Yeah, a fight would settle the beast in his middle. Already the grizzly was snarling in agreement. And the only ones who could match him were the two assholes sitting up in that mansion in the mountains.
Can’t think straight, can’t think.