What We Left Unsaid

“Seriously though, has anyone considered that maybe this whole thing is some elaborate joke?”

“Yeah, because those two totally have it in them to team up together just for the sake of a few laughs. Get real, Johnny.”

“Hey, I’m just saying. After all, they apparently had it in them to team up and fuck together, so--”

“Shut the fuck up, Johnny!”

Quickly, the entire room silenced, three pairs of eyes snapping over to the pissed man who was standing in the archway, chocolate eyes narrowed into a very angry glare and body tensed with the silent warning that anyone who didn’t shut the fuck up was going to be met with violence.

“Brian, rela--”

“Don’t tell me to fucking ‘relax’, Matt!” he warned before the Berry brother even had a chance to finish speaking. “All of you should have some more respect for Ava right now, or you can be done calling her your friend, and get your ass out of this territory until you find some. She had to mate with that son of a bitch because if she didn’t, she’d have been raped and murdered by Alaric. Now someone, please tell me what the fuck is so funny about that, that makes you assholes think its okay to make jokes about?”

As expected, not a single one of the three werewolves said a thing. Instead, they all glanced down at their laps with guilty expressions, in the same way they always did whenever Kat managed to guilt trip them about their manners or something else.

“Yeah, I didn’t fucking think so.”

“You’re right, man; I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me,” the shortest of the three said, nodding softly in silent agreement as he looked up at the longer-haired man. “I didn’t mean anything by it; I just still can’t believe that all of this is happening.”

Relaxing his muscles a bit, the lead guitarist only nodded absently in agreement, before making his way deeper into the room and dropping into the open seat beside Jason. Honestly, he was tired of discussing the matter in the first place, and he was so goddamn tired of having to think about the fact that the two of them were mated now. But that didn’t mean that the others where anywhere near done discussing the matter, even if they did recognize that they probably shouldn’t continue doing so with Brian in the room.

Fortunately, the sound of a slamming glass door interrupted the silence of the room before any of its inhabitants had to attempt to awkwardly start up a new conversation. Once again, everyone in the room’s attention snapped in the direction of the doorway, looking up just in time to take in the angry form of the new beta as he quickly stormed down the hall.

“Ohp! Zee looks mad; Ava won!” Johnny quickly declared as the sound of the door sliding open again reached all of their ears. Then, the sound of the distinctively feminine snort of a laugh made its way to them, right before the angry beta reappeared in the doorway, strutting into the room with an unamused expression on his face.

“Oh, she most certainly--”

“Wait, what the fuck is on your neck?”

Jason’s interruption of a question seemed to trigger something in the standing man’s memory, for he instantly stopped what ever objection he had been planning on making, one of his hands quickly flying upwards to cover the are in question. His expression darkening considerably, he sent a glare over his shoulder in the doorway’s direction.

Brian’s gaze followed that of his fellow guitarist’s, his eyes trailing over to the entryway and landing on his blonde friend as she leaned against the entryway. Her arms were crossed in front of her breasts, exposing a deep purple bruise on the side of her torso that he quickly recognized as the sign of a broken rib. But rather than an expression of pain, she wore a smug smirk and a tauntingly raised eyebrow, another snort slipping out as she looked right back at the glaring Italian.

For a moment, Brian was sure that the look on her face meant that she definitely had won whatever fight had broken out between her and the equally temperamental man, but when he remembered the question that had just been asked, his gaze quickly snapped back to the standing man, his eyes glancing over the man’s posture and narrowing at the sight of the hand pressed tightly to the man’s neck.

“The bitch managed to get one good bite in,” the rhythm guitarist said as he pulled his fingers away from his neck only far enough to glance down at them as if checking for blood, but not far enough for any of the watching men to be able to get another look at this bite. And after a quick glance, his hand was pressed back against the marking again, shielding it completely from view all while managing to look as if he was simply applying pressure to a wound. “But I’ll have all of you know that I won. She submitted to me.”

“Oh, woah there!” the woman was quick to object, her hands crossing over her chest as she shook her head angrily. “It was most definitely not a submission!”

“Whatever you say, Princess,” the Italian chided tauntingly, a smirk spreading over his lips that Brian instantly decided meant something more was going on than a simple argument over whether Ava submitted or not -- which Brian was fairly sure was not the case, of course. Still, Zacky’s comment earned a few snickers from the other onlookers in the room, which only seemed to fuel the new beta as he rolled on his heels to turn toward the blonde, his movements slow, confident, and fluid as he crossed the room, hand still on his neck. “But I’m going to go disinfect this now. I wouldn’t want to get anything you have.”

And with that, the man quickly went to make his exit. Only, he didn’t get more than parallel to the female before a large figure blocked his path.

“Woah, woah, woah, Baker! Where’re you running off to?” the alpha asked, head tilted a bit in curiosity as he used his free hand to push the smaller man back into the room. He used his other arm to guide his mate into the room with him, sending a quick glance in the blonde woman’s direction. Eyes narrowing and brow furrowing a bit, he sent his mate toward the couch and moved after the man in question, his expression growing even more speculative when the smaller man quickly backed away from him. “What’s going on, Zacky? Why are you holding your neck?”

“Just... trying to stop the bleeding.”

The frown that had been on the blonde’s lips only a moment before had switched back into a wide smirk as she watched the scene unfolding before everyone. And, when Matt turned to cast a questioning glance back over his shoulder at her, she arched an eyebrow and shook her head softly. The action instantly gave Brian a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, knowing that there certainly was more to this story than a simple bite. And, it appeared he wasn’t the only one to realize this.

“Let me see, Baker,” Matt told more than suggested to his new beta, reaching forward and grabbing the man’s wrist even as he tried to step out of reach. With a pointed look of warning, the hazel-eyed man tugged the Italian’s hand away from his neck, instantly revealing the red mark that was clearly more than just a simple bite wound, and very obviously not bleeding.

Brian sucked in a breath, his attention narrowing completely in on the exposed mark.

“What the fuck is that?!”

“Holy fuck; that’s a mating mark!”

His heart tightened as he realized the very same thing. Sending a sharp glance in the blonde’s direction, he frowned at the smug smirk on her lips, before turning right back to the mark again, even as everyone in the group continued to shout out.

“Oh my god! That is!”

“No, it’s just a bite that--”

“Give it up,” the alpha interrupted his new beta with loud laugh, finally releasing the man’s wrist as he used the hand instead to cover the growing grin on his face. With an amused shake of his head, the larger man laughed again. “Ava marked you!”

“Who exactly is the bitch in your relationship, Zacky?”

“I always knew there was something girly about him, bro! I told you!”

As the group of friends continued to send different insults and exclamations in the new beta’s direction, the lead guitarist could only frown and stare at it, the red coloring standing out against the pale man’s skin as if it was specifically there to mock Brian. But, rather than angering him, it just caused that painful tightening of his heart. Exactly how much had he overlooked that he hadn’t seen this coming?

“Dude his name even sounds girly! Zacky! It couldn’t just be Zach? Zach’s a manly name.”

“So do you take orders from her now, bro? Sis? I don’t even--”

“Of course he does! We already know the whole thing was her idea, not his!”

When Brian glanced back up at the absolutely pissed expression on his fellow guitarist’s face, he couldn’t help but set his own jaw in irritation. And when the Italian went ahead and sent a look of dark hatred in the blonde’s direction, his face a product of quiet fury, Brian couldn’t help but follow his gaze once again and take in the expression on Ava’s face. She smiled sweetly in response to her mate’s glare and smirked smugly, but the second he looked away, the second she thought no one else was looking, the smug expression dropped from her face quicker than he could blink, and she turned her back to the room, quietly taking her leave.

Without a word, Brian pushed up off of the couch and followed after her, ignoring the curious glance his alpha sent in his direction when he brushed passed the larger man. He caught up to her before she made it even halfway across the adjacent room, tossing an arm over her still-bare shoulders and pulling her into his side just far enough for him to be able to lean down and nudge the side of her head affectionately with his nose.

She didn’t need to look up at him to know who he was. “You’re not going to stay and mock Baker? Are you feeling alright?”

Though she was clearly trying to lighten the mood, he only allowed his lips to twitch into a small, sad smile. “I could ask you the same thing, but you and I both know that this whole thing isn’t nearly as funny as those idiots in there seem to think it is,” he told her, waiting until she turned to look up at him before continuing. He wanted to take a moment to try and convey everything he was feeling through his gaze, in which he figured he was at least partially successful, for she quickly looked away again. “You’re secret’s safe with me, Ava.”

She didn’t verbally answer him, only giving her head a soft nod as she continued to stare off at the opposite wall of the room. At this point, he was leading her as they continued slowly through the house, but he didn’t really have a set destination in mind. He was too busy thinking over how tensed her shoulders felt beneath his arm. He’d known her long enough to know that she must have been struggling with the urge to flinch away from him, undoubtedly understanding he was upset and hating to be part of the reason for it, and with the urge to punch him for making her so tense in the first place. He was half amazed she hadn’t already punched him.

“Bri?” she started after a long moment, pausing until he met her gaze. “We need to talk.”

He almost snorted at the obviousness of her statement, and he would have made fun of her for it any other time, but the mood between them was too horribly serious for any jokes. Instead, he heaved out a heavy sigh before nodding his head once in agreement. “Yeah, Ava, we do. Come on, though; let’s get you dressed first, since we don’t know when our Council... friends will arrive. I’m personally hoping for never.”

Unlike him, she snorted at his comment, her lips twitching into a small smirk as she arched a teasing eyebrow at him. When he only returned her look with a weak smile in return, her expression faltered and she sighed in exchange. “The quicker they get here, the quicker they leave.”

“And the quicker they leave, the quicker Drake, Chase, and Devan hear about it,” he countered with a pointed look, earning a frown in consideration.

As they moved into her room, neither of them bothered to continue the conversation, nor did either of them bother to start the one they both knew was about to take place. Neither of them wanted to have this conversation, and that was evident by the way Brian turned and focused on shutting and locking the door behind them, then moving over to the couch and taking a good few minutes to observe the decor in the room, while Ava quickly grabbed some clothing and busied herself with dressing. It wasn’t until several minutes later that the silence was broken.

“I’m sorry,” Ava told him slowly, clearly uncomfortable with the words even though she was only telling the to her lifelong friend. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what was going on.”

Chocolate eyes blinked closed as a humorless smile graced the guitarist’s lips. “No, you’re not,” he countered, sighing once more as he looked back up at her. “I know you, Ava,” he stressed, “and I know why you didn’t ask for help. I get it. Yeah, I wish you had told me -- or even Matt, for that matter -- but I understand why you didn’t. It’s okay.”

“The hell it is!” the blonde snapped in response, glaring over at him as she crossed her arms across her now-covered chest. “You’re clearly pissed about it, Haner, and I don’t have a fucking clue why!”

“The hell you don’t, Rinaldi,” he returned angrily, eyes narrowing into a glare as he stared straight ahead at her, expression unforgiving. As his nostrils flared with each exhale, he deliberately forced himself to relax the muscles that had tensed in anger, shaking his head slowly as the anger faded into sadness. “Like I said, I get why you wouldn’t ask us for help. But why the hell did you ask Zacky?”

“He needed a mate, Brian! I didn’t go up to and randomly tell him my life’s story and ask him to be my goddamn knight in shining armor. Which, come to think of it, would be an all-around terrible idea regardless of who it was, since we’re allergic to silver and all...”

Brian couldn’t help the way his lips twitched upwards, his head shaking softly this time in amusement as he eyed his lifelong friend. “Suits of armor weren’t made of silver, babe,” he informed her with a roll of his eyes. “That’d be steel or iron.”

“Same difference,” she dismissed, eyes twinkling a bit in amusement when she saw him open his mouth to object, but she didn’t let them get that far off topic. “But the point I was trying to make was that he needed a mate, and I needed one too, so it just seemed like the perfect option for--”

“Bullshit!” the guitarist objected angrily. “The perfect option would have been for you to just join our pack, and you know it!”

“It’s not that simple, believe me, or I would have done--”

“It is that simple,” he continued to protest, shaking his head when she went to open her mouth and continue again. “You could have just joined the fucking pack and that would have been that. We would have protected you, whether or not you even chose to fill us in on the whole situation.”

“And Chase and Devan would have tracked me down and started a war to get me back, and you know it. As long as I was unmated, they weren’t going to give up on the chance of selling me off for that huge payday. Do you really think you guys could have survived that war? Do you think I care so little about you all that I would ever even consider risking your lives like that?”

For just a moment, the black-haired man’s anger deflated, the weight of his friend’s words really hitting him. No, he knew she wouldn’t ever risk any of their lives no matter how desperate her own situation was, just like none of the rest of them would ever risk the others’ lives.

“I had to get a mate, Brian.”

“But it didn’t have to be Zacky!” he suddenly found himself shouting at her, emotions clear on his face as he looked at her. “Why him, Ava?”

“Why does it matter?” she questioned, throwing her hands into the air as she tried to figure out what the magic words he was looking for were. “Why are you acting like it’s the end of the world? He’s your friend, your packmate!”

“And your enemy!”

“Sucks to be me then, Brian. I’m sure I’ll get over it,” she deadpanned. “Why does it matter to you though? That’s something he and I have to deal with, not you. Are you just mad that I helped him secure the beta position? You know he would have just found someone else had I not offered the alternative, right?”

He chose to ignore her arguments completely, not willing to let his point die just yet. “But you could have chosen someone else, Ava. You didn’t have to let that smug bastard--”

“Like who, Brian? Fucking who?” she interrupted with an irritated shout, her blue eyes narrowed in exasperation. “Johnny? That’s hilarious. We both know he couldn’t handle me. Jason or Matt? They’re practically family -- the awkward cousins I sometimes choose to pretend I don’t know kind of family. You? Come on, we both know he was the only choice.”

Once again, the guitarist found himself unable to properly respond to her points. Sighing one more time, he lifted a palm and rubbed over his face. Of course, he knew her argument was bulletproof, but that didn’t make it any easier to handle. “You marked him.”

The blonde didn’t appear phased by his soft, solemn commentary. “I did,” she agreed just as softly, her eyes practically daring him go ahead and comment on the decision, to say anything about it. But the dark-haired man only gave his head a single shake, not willing to go down that road, and the woman finally allowed herself to relax, letting out the breath she had been holding in.

“Look, Ava,” the brown-eyed man started up after a good moment, “I can’t say I’m happy with the decision you made, but I get it now, alright? You know I’ll always support you no matter what. And I still think he’s a bastard for taking advantage of you -- whether you acknowledge it or not -- but I’ll stop getting pissy over it, okay? But I make no guarantees about being able to stop myself from punching the smug smirk off of his face if he does anything disrespectful.”

Cracking a smile, the blonde nodded. “I think I can live with that.”

“You’d better be able to, because I’m not letting you end up in a different pack than me ever again. Now come here, give me a hug.”