Shifting emotions confused him, making him see things both ways.
His growl deepened as he stared Diskant in the eye. “Don’t mess with my head.”
“I’m not,” Diskant snapped in return, eyes going from green to gold. “If you want to go it’s not my place to stop you. I can’t say I blame you for being pissed. I’d want to rattle a few heads if I were in your shoes. But I won’t let you look back on this and blame me for making you leave. If you go it’s on your conscience.”
“I wouldn’t.” No way. Diskant had done everything he could to help. “I can’t blame you.”
“Then you have to understand something.” With a step to the side, Diskant placed an arm around Ava’s shoulders. She leaned into him, wrapping both arms around his hips. “What I told the pack applies to you as well. Leave this city and you’d better not ever try to come back. If you do I’m not reaching out to help you. The mess you leave won’t be easy to clean. You’re on your own.”
“S’okay.”
The heavy weight of dread lifted and Trey tuned Diskant out, placing all of his concentration on Sadie. She’d finally woken up. He wasn’t sure how hurt she was since she’d communicated with him telepathically. Perhaps the wounds were deeper than he’d thought. A few had scored through her flesh down to the bone but he hadn’t noticed more than that.
He gazed down at her face, begging her silently to open her eyes and look at him.
Her lashes fluttered, thick wisps beautiful against her fair skin. She blinked a couple of times, like she was fighting sleep, then he was peering into her beautiful blue eyes, the color so magnificent it challenged the bright colors of the ocean.
Someone nudged him and he almost lashed out.
His gaze drifted to Ava who had one had on her stomach and another covering her mouth. The teensy female had tears in her eyes—eyes that were shifting colors. The trait of a human mated to an Omega. She’d never change forms but slivers of Diskant’s beasts resided in the fragile female. Usually Ava didn’t give off emotion. She’d always been strong when it came to such things, keeping herself apart in a small way from the pack. Now he could feel how grateful she was to Sadie, how much she wanted to repay the favor.
“Thank you.” Ava choked out the words, pulling in a soft breath as she tried not to cry.
Sadie’s eyes flittered to Ava.
She studied the woman for several seconds and then she gave her a small smile and nod. The motion caused her to wince and Trey inserted himself in front of Ava, crowding Sadie’s body. She needed time to rest. Werewolves healed during sleep. More than likely his female would do the same.
“Talk to me,” he pleaded, reaching out to her.
“What do you want me to say?”
Hell yes. There was humor in the question. That meant she was going to be fine. “Tell me what to do.”
He couldn’t rationalize clearly, worried only for her. The man in him wanted to get the fuck out of town. The wolf wanted to stay. He was fighting an inner battle he wasn’t sure he could win. He felt torn right down the center. As much as he wanted to get into a car, drive away and never look back the idea haunted him.
“Don’t run.” She closed her eyes but kept the line of communication open. “I never wanted or expected that from you.”
“I don’t want to see you hurt.” Her well-being was more important. His pride be damned. “Not ever again.”
“Then be the man I fell in love with. Don’t turn your back on what you love. Don’t cut and run when things get tough. You found me, didn’t you? Even when you thought it was impossible you didn’t give up. You kept going. And you saved me. Without you I wouldn’t be here now.” Her thoughts became broken, a messy, convoluted tumble. “I need to rest. If I were at the caverns I’d have been ordered to sleep by now.”
He wanted to ask what the caverns were. Then he knew she’d picked up on his curiosity. She was too tired to respond so he thought back to her, suffusing the words with all the feeling inside him. “Then sleep. I’ll watch over you. I’ll be here when you open those beautiful blue eyes.”
“Don’t you dare run.” The order was weak. “Be fierce.”
Her chest rose as she drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. She returned to sleep as quickly as she’d ripped herself away from it. His skin prickled, frustration eager to find an outlet. She’d told him to stay. He wasn’t sure if he could. The pack wanted to ask questions but he didn’t know what answers to give them.
“If you go there’s a chance she won’t find Leigh again,” Ava said. She hadn’t moved, standing slightly behind him. “Diskant can keep her informed. She doesn’t have to stay in the dark.”
Damn it. He’d forgotten about Leigh and Nathan.
Sadie would want to know about her friend. She wouldn’t allow them to push her out of Leigh’s life.
“We’re not going to be able to keep any secrets.” It was hard to find words. He wasn’t sure how to phrase things. “If you’re going to give them answers they deserve to know everything. But packs have a tendency to gossip. We have to make sure they stay quiet.”
“We can weed out the deserters,” Diskant offered, shrugging his large shoulders. “Sort out who’s going and who’s staying.” His deep, threatening growl filled the room. The grim upturning of his lips and the glimpse of his fangs screamed vengeance. “Ava and I can take care of Brandi and Andrea. If their friends decide they want to leave we’ll make sure they don’t remember much about what went down.”
Trey had never known how the couple manipulated people’s thoughts. Honestly, as long as it didn’t involve him, he’d normally never cared. There was more on the line now. The slightest slip and they’d all be fucked.
He pondered the future, working out the angles.
Sadie had told him not to run.
If that’s what she wanted he’d stand down hell itself.
“Do it.” A part of him remained with Sadie as he moved from her side. The connection kept growing, bringing them closer together. “Take care of the bitches first. Then I’ll talk to the pack. But I need to speak to Zach first. We have to be up to speed.”
“I figured you would. He’s in the living room.”
The smugness in Diskant’s voice was almost too much to take. The male had known Trey wouldn’t go. He’d been banking on the Alpha standing his ground. Trey faced his friend, trying not to lunge at him and unleash the fucking fury he’d held inside for too fucking long.
Son of a bitch. “You knew I’d stay.”
“Call it a gut feeling.”
Gut feeling my ass. “How did you know?”
“Ava is my life,” Diskant answered with a heavy dose of gravity. “I’d die without her. But your life and living are two different things. You have to choose what’s most important to you and work everything else out around it. You’ll find your way. For now everything is new.”
“And you want me to lead?” He couldn’t understand how Diskant could fathom such a thing. “You think I’m capable?”
Diskant didn’t respond. Not right away. After a pause, he closed the distance between them. The Omega stopped inches away, looking at Trey, his eyes brimming with respect and admiration. Trey remembered when the Omega had been born. The moment he’d arrived everyone in the pack had felt the newborn’s power. They’d known what he’d eventually become. Trey had taken Diskant Black under his wing, guiding the young man to maturity, much like an older brother would a sibling.