21. Braun’s Boys

21

Braun’s Boys

“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Cian muttered as they headed into the hall to set up for their fourth meet-and-greet.

They had been on tour for a little over three weeks now, and with the exception of Teak ordering alcohol to their accommodations and passing out most nights, things were going well. They were performance-ready for their first and second songs, and Cian had begun cutting together a music video for their first song, “Twisted,” from all the footage taken of them learning the choreography.

Thanks to his editing, it was cute and fun, cut with flashes of serious and dramatic choreography. It perfectly showcased their chemistry and relationships—Kalen and Mikel stalking the sidelines of everything, cutting in to direct and coach them. It was very kind to Isobel, who was also shown coaching them through the dance, laughing with Theodore, and resting against Elijah, her head on his broad shoulder. The sweet moments were cut with flashes of her dancing, her expression intense and focussed. It meandered through scenes of Niko practising moves flawlessly on his own and Oscar and Moses sneaking away to try and escape being roped into extra dance practices and grumbling and groaning as they were forced back into the group. It lingered over Theodore, showing him singing constantly . It revealed him singing while they were dancing, stretching, and taking breaks. It zoomed in close to Kilian’s face on one of their more serious practises, showing his pale, intense eyes and sweat-slicked hair, his shirt flying up as he did a high kick, revealing a stack of pale, porcelain abs. It showed Cian, Niko, Elijah, and Gabriel spinning to the front of the formation after the chorus, hair stuck to their faces, small smirks breaking free as they moved in perfect synchronicity. It wasn’t an easy dance by any measure, but they made it look like effortless, sexy fun.

Things were going very well.

It almost felt like puzzle pieces falling perfectly into formation.

She hated to admit it, but a small part of her had been waiting for this moment. Cian’s words and the way his face twisted with worry had her stomach sinking, but it wasn’t a surprise. This was how it worked.

They took two steps forward and a giant’s foot appeared out of nowhere above them, threatening to squash them and sending them scrambling to haul up defences.

“If you’ve got a bad feeling, it’s probably because of me,” Niko said quietly, glancing toward the door of the hall. This was his settlement, and unlike Theodore, Moses, Kilian, and Oscar, he didn’t seem excited to be moments away from seeing his family. “I haven’t been calling them as much as I should have. They just … kept demanding to know what happened to me, saying I was different. I didn’t know how to answer them.”

Oh, shit .

“Are they coming today?” Mikel asked as everyone sat at the table. Niko had been moved to Isobel’s other side now that Oscar had been freed from her left elbow. Moses was still on her right side, still receiving her little jabs whenever he was impolite.

“Don’t know,” Niko grumbled, falling into his chair, big hands pushing the dark waves of his hair from his face. He was tense but deliberately keeping his body slouched and loose.

Isobel struggled to relax as the people began to file in, and it seemed the others were also on edge, waiting for the inevitable confrontation. When the final person got up from the table and Cooper stepped forward to announce the end of the meet-and-greet and thank everyone for coming, Niko seemed to deflate, sinking several inches further into his seat.

She could feel his devastation, and it made her breath wobble as she tried to think of how to comfort him. Everyone else’s families had come, even though the Alphas had asked them not to—so this was a slap in the face for Niko.

As the hall began to clear, Isobel noticed a group of people huddled in the corner, staring at Isobel and the Alphas as they began to pack up their things and stretch out their sore muscles.

It looked like a large family, the grandparents still young. The two younger couples would have been around five years older than Isobel, and two little kids were sitting on the floor, playing with colouring books. Niko perked up as soon as he saw them.

“Hey,” he called, jogging over to them, the rest of his words lost in the low shuffling noise of people leaving the hall.

“Uncle Niko!” the kids yelled, jumping up and hugging his legs.

“The meet-and-greet is over. Please make your way out of the hall,” Cooper boomed into his microphone, clearly looking at the group Niko was speaking to.

“It’s his family,” Kalen snapped.

Cooper glared at him and then at Niko’s family. “They have ten minutes,” he declared.

Braun looked at his phone. “Ah, the first van is here early, Cooper. Let’s head off. How do you feel about steak tonight? My treat.”

Her father was getting remarkably good at wrangling Cooper. Isobel was sure he didn’t know about what Cooper had done, but it was painfully apparent that the entire group had become extremely hostile to Cooper. There was no missing it. The Alphas had set aside their fake respect and deference, and they now bit his head off with their snarled responses and derision. They may not have tried to kill him, but they weren’t playing nice anymore. Not even close.

As Braun managed to distract Cooper and get him out of the hall, Isobel sidled up to Theodore.

“She’s staring at me,” she whispered, stepping partially behind him.

The older woman of the group was glaring daggers at her across the hall while she spoke to Niko. The discussion seemed heated. They had hugged briefly, but now it seemed things were taking a quick downturn.

“That’s his mom,” Theodore whispered back. “Maybe we should get out of here and give them some privacy.”

“Let’s just ignore them,” Gabriel suggested, nodding toward the catering table at the back of the hall. “Give them some space, but still be here if he needs us.”

They relocated to the back of the hall, pretending to be busy organising and dividing up the remaining energy drinks, water, and snacks, except for Kalen and Mikel, who shared a look and then nodded at each other, pushing off the table and striding over to Niko and his family, who had begun shouting.

“You changed when she moved in!” Niko’s mother loudly declared, her accented voice taut with emotion.

Isobel’s hand shook as she tried to uncap a water. Elijah took it out of her hands, removed the lid, and passed it back to her, his hand softly rubbing her shoulder.

Theodore settled his grip around her hip, squeezing gently. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Illy.”

“I know.” Her voice held no conviction.

She didn’t do it, but it was because of her.

“Shit,” Kilian muttered. “He’s coming back.”

“Let’s go,” Niko snarled, grabbing Isobel’s hand and making her squeak. He marched her across the hall, his grip like iron as he interlocked their fingers.

He didn’t say a word as they waited by the van, but as soon as Kalen and Mikel caught up to them, he suddenly spoke, his hand tightening on Isobel’s.

“Apparently, some website said I was surrogating for Isobel, and they think that’s why I changed. They want me to drop out of Ironside.”

“What?” Kilian looked shocked.

“They said they would disown me if I didn’t drop out.”

“They didn’t mean that,” Kalen said gently. “You know they didn’t. They’re just trying to protect you, and they’re resorting to drastic measures.”

“This is how I am now,” Niko snarled, thumping his chest. “This is me. Forcing me to come home won’t change that. Forcing me away from Isobel won’t change that. They need to accept things for how they are. I wasn’t forced into this. I made my decision that day, when I decided to bond my mate. It was my decision to make, and I don’t fucking regret it. They can’t force me to regret it. They might not know the details or that she’s my mate, but they can’t force me to rewind fucking time.”

The others were silent, absorbing his outburst.

“You’re right.” Isobel spoke softly as she stared at the ground. “People change. You can’t stop them from changing; you can’t force them to go back to how they were. That’s not how relationships work.”

He looked at her, his eyes blazing, a little spark of gratefulness visible behind all the turmoil. “I’m not staying here tonight.”

“You don’t have to.” Mikel gripped his shoulder, squeezing it. “You’ve got us, all right? We’re not saying you should abandon them, but until they’re ready to accept you for who you are and the choices you made—which we’re proud of you for, by the way—then don’t for a second feel like you’re left alone. We’re a family too.”

Mikel’s gaze flickered quickly to Isobel before resettling on Niko.

“All right?” he demanded.

Niko nodded, looking like he was struggling for words. “Thanks, guys.”

“Of course.” Theodore reached around Isobel to pat his other shoulder. “We’ve got your back. Always.”

This was her group. Her family. She could have been bonded to anybody—or several anybodies—but she was given these incredible, talented, complex, protective, caring men. Yes, they were sometimes violent. Yes, there were a few skeletons in their closets. Yes, they sometimes punched each other and sometimes made other girls cry … but they were also her role models. She didn’t just think they were hot. This wasn’t a crush. She respected the hell out of them.

After their fifth stop on the tour, they headed to Rock River Valley. Teak was sober for the first day, but Braun seemed to walk in on her doing something in the kitchen the morning of their sixth meet-and-greet, and they got into a whispered fight that had her angrily filling a flask with the welcome wine they had received. She drank the entire drive to the settlement and parked herself in the back of the hall, snapping at anyone who came near her.

Isobel watched her nervously for a little while before raiding the catering table and bringing her some crackers and a water.

“Thanks.” Teak’s eyes were glassy, her pupils blown out. She wasn’t just drinking. Maybe that explained the fight in the kitchen.

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” Isobel said, but Teak just waved her off, as she always did.

Isobel helplessly returned to the table, packing away her frustration and fear for the other woman. She plopped down between Niko and Moses, mentally steeling herself for another day of trying to be half as charming as Theodore.

The doors to the hall opened and a boy a few years younger than Isobel burst inside, running straight up to the table and ignoring the assistants who rushed forward, trying to usher him into a line.

Cian grinned, pointing to where one of the assistants waited. “Line up, Logan, you idiot.”

The boy rolled his bright blue eyes, jogging back to the correct place and bouncing on his feet until the assistant waved him into the first seat. He shifted around anxiously until he got to Cian, and they hugged over the table before sitting down to chat. When he got to Isobel, he leaned forward and grinned at her like he knew a secret she didn’t.

“You’re even prettier than you were last year,” he said, winking at her.

“Oh wow.” She tried to bite back her laugh. “You must be Cian’s brother.”

“Bet you wish you could trade.” He let out a dramatic sigh. “Don’t worry, you’ll still have me as a brother-in-law. I’ve always wanted a sister?—”

“Getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren’t you, Logan?” Moses leaned into Isobel’s space, turning away from the woman across from him.

“Um, no?” Logan grinned at them both before quickly grabbing Isobel’s hands. “You’ll come visit us when you?—”

Niko and Moses both gripped one of his wrists, lifting his hands away from Isobel, who slid her arms beneath the table because the last thing they needed was for Niko and Moses to beat up Cian’s adorable little brother.

“No touching,” Niko warned him seriously before dropping his wrist.

Logan was undeterred, still smiling brightly. “Anyway, Mom and Dad are here too.” He pointed to a couple now at the front of the waiting line, who waved enthusiastically back. “They can’t wait to meet you.”

“What about us?” Moses groaned. “We exist too.”

“Oh, yeah, of course. You guys as well.” Logan grinned at Isobel. “Anyway, nice to meet you!”

A small laugh spilled out of her. “Nice to meet you.”

Cian’s father was more reserved, keeping things polite and paying her the same friendly attention he did the Alphas, but his mother tried to surreptitiously slip her a little gift.

“It was my mother’s,” she whispered nervously. “I didn’t tell Cian, I?—”

“Oo, what’s that.” Moses leaned over her and snatched up the little pouch.

“It just a … a gift,” the woman, who had introduced herself as Hannah, said. She was blushing. “Just something that’s been passed down through the women of our family.”

Moses shook a ring out onto his palm. It was a thin, slightly tarnished gold band with three tiny blue stones. Either this was a precious family heirloom, or those stones weren’t real since surely they would have sold something that valuable to afford a few more luxuries within the settlement.

Moses ducked down, catching her eye. “Tell me straight, Carter. When did you and Cian get engaged?”

Isobel snatched the ring off him. “Last night, if you must know.”

“My congratulations to the happy couple,” Niko drawled sarcastically from her other side.

“Ignore them.” Isobel turned back to Hannah, holding the ring like it was made of glass. “And thank you … but are you sure you want to give this to me?”

“You didn’t say that when Kili’s mom gave you a four-thousand-dollar painting,” Moses drawled, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his lips. “Are you playing parental favourites?”

Cian’s dad—who had called himself Hanale—was ping-ponging his eyes between Isobel and Moses from his position across the table from Moses.

“I’m not,” Isobel grumbled.

“Please keep it.” Hannah reached out, capturing her hand and closing her fingers around the ring. “And keep him safe, okay?”

“I will,” Isobel promised, heat staining her cheeks.

She slipped the ring onto her finger, and Cian seemed to notice, leaning forward to eye their little group.

“That was weird, right?” she whispered under her breath to Moses as Cian’s parents moved down the table. “Why are they acting like me and Cian are a done deal?”

“Maybe they heard you screaming down the lodge in Piney Woods,” Moses whispered back.

“How do you know that was Cian making me scream?” She lowered her voice even further as a girl settled into the chair across from her.

He leaned closer, his lips brushing her ear. “You have a different scream for each of them, Sigma.”

She coughed as he drew away, attempting to focus on the girl, who thankfully handed over a dozen pictures for her to sign so she had an excuse to have momentarily lost her voice. The rest of the meet-and-greet flew by without incident, and Cian pulled her chair back as soon as Cooper announced that it was over, tilting it on the back legs so that she squealed in shock and reached up to grip his arms.

“What do you have there?” he asked huskily, his sapphire eyes glittering like the stones on the ring he stared at. “Did my stepmother propose to you?”

“Actually, it was an engagement gift,” Moses said, shoving back his chair and standing to stretch. “They want to know if you guys will honeymoon here in the settlement or somewhere a little more exotic like here in the settlement, but down the road.”

Niko chuckled, also standing.

Cian ignored them, lowering her chair back down. “You better watch yourselves, or you’ll be uninvited from the wedding.”

Nothing was going to get him down tonight. He was too happy seeing his family. It made her so warm to see the unfailing grin on his lips, but also sad to see the way Niko had eyed Cian’s parents like he would do anything for that level of excitement and devotion.

She slipped her arm through Niko’s on the way out to the van, sticking by his side all afternoon as they got ready for the afterparty and did their mandatory live video. That night, she dragged Kilian with her and slipped into Niko’s room. This wasn’t something they usually did, so it was a little awkward. They walked in just as Niko was getting into bed, and he stared at them in question, like they had come in to give him some kind of news.

“Can we sleep here?” Isobel asked.

Niko wordlessly moved to the other side of his bed, pulling the covers back. Isobel gave Kilian a relieved look, but he only smirked back at her—he had told her Niko would want this.

She quickly slipped into the middle of Niko’s bed, wiggling close to him as Kilian got in the other side and flicked off the lights. Niko wasn’t the type who liked to talk things over, but he flipped her around to face Kilian and dragged her into the curve of his body, his thick arm wrapping her waist. She reached out, her fingers tangling with Kilian’s.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

Niko tightened his grip on her, dropping a quick kiss to the line of hearts climbing up her neck. They had been so close before they bonded, but then he was torn away from her and himself, and they had been forced to rebuild everything again from the start.

She felt like they were almost back to that place after all this time, the space between them warming, simmering with heat, comfort, and familiarity. Their connection had always been based on their friendship, so it had taken time to build that up again with the new version of Niko.

Maybe one day, he would call her mate again.

Maybe he would kiss her again.

Maybe they could find their way back to that day by the stream, where his beautiful hazel eyes looked down at her like she was a miracle and the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Until then, she would just be grateful that she was getting her friend back.

After a week of working on their third song in Rock River Valley, they boarded the plane to detour back to Arkansas. Despite how thoroughly they had combed over the plan, she was still nervous about getting Lily out. The rest of the Alphas weren’t allowed to leave the plane, but Kilian turned invisible and slipped out with Isobel and Braun.

They had done what they could to minimise the chance that someone would notice him missing. Braun had offered Cooper the private bedroom to catch up on sleep, while he put his team to work in the conference room. They only needed the plan to hold for a couple of hours.

When they got to the Ozark Settlement, the guards allowed them to drive the car into the settlement along the main road, which was just wide enough. They had to park and walk the rest of the way, but since it was nearing midnight, it wasn’t an issue.

The officials had instructed them to keep their visit under ten minutes and between the hours of ten and midnight to “minimise disruption,” but that worked in their favour because the medical centre was empty when they arrived.

Oscar opened the door for them. “Hey.” He stepped aside. “She’s out cold.”

He waved them through but caught Isobel’s wrist, holding her back as Braun strode into the other room, Kilian turning visible again as he followed.

“Is this your secret mission outfit?” he asked, plucking at the collar of her tweed, designer coat. “Were you out of black hoodies?”

“I’m too fashionable for hoodies.”

“Rabbit.” He ducked his head, fixing her with a stare. “You live in tights and borrowed shirts.”

She grinned.

He yanked her into his arms, lifting her up so that he could steal her lips in a hard kiss before he set her down again. “Let’s do this.”

Her father reappeared in the doorway, a bright, false smile on his face. “Oscar, my boy!” he declared like he had only just walked into the medical centre. “Ready to rejoin the tour?”

Oscar ground his jaw as Isobel groaned, scraping a hand down her face.

“Yes,” Oscar finally forced out, because he couldn’t exactly be rude to the man helping to save his sister’s life.

They returned to the car, Kilian staying quiet and invisible as he carried Lily. The guards shone lights through the car and did a quick search of the boot before waving them through. Lily woke up on the drive back to the airport, but Oscar had already told her the plan, and she kept quiet as they drove onto the private airfield.

They boarded the plane again, and Braun extracted Cooper from the bedroom, explaining in a low voice that Oscar was on the verge of a breakdown and needed to be separated from everyone else. Oscar helped the narrative along by glaring at Cooper with such a menacing expression that Cooper decided to go and supervise the crew as Oscar claimed the back bedroom.

It was a nerve-wracking flight, even though the door to the bedroom was locked, and an even more nerve-wracking drive as they once again hoped nobody would notice that Kilian had suddenly disappeared. Luckily, Braun had organised another lodge to separate the humans from the rest of the group, so they were able to leave Lily hiding in the back seat of the van as they checked in with the police, who cleared out after a quick headcount.

As Braun and Teak retired to the guest cabin, Isobel, Gabriel, and Elijah stared after the two of them. Isobel couldn’t help her puzzled frown.

“He doesn’t strike me as the sleazy predator type,” Gabriel commented as Braun and Teak disappeared into the cabin with their luggage. “Narcissistic asshole with an opportunist streak a mile long, yes, but not a sleaze.”

“Some of the best predators don’t look like predators,” Elijah argued.

“I’m with Gabe on this one.” Isobel shook her head. “He seems annoyed with her more than anything. She’s the one always following him around.”

“Are we making bets on whether Braun and Teak are fucking again?” Cian dropped his luggage as he joined their group and stared over at the cabin. “Because my vote is no. I think he’s barely tolerating her.”

“That’s just how he is with everyone,” Elijah insisted, still playing devil’s advocate.

Moses joined in the conversation, picking up on what they were talking about. “Except ‘his boys.’”

Isobel groaned, striding away from them to find her bedroom.

There were eight bedrooms, so she put her luggage into Cian’s room before slipping back downstairs to plant herself in the foyer, nervously waiting for her father to reappear. He did, and he strode over to the van that Lily was hiding in, getting into the driver’s seat. It was a three-hour drive to the hospital, and they had all agreed he should get her there as soon as possible.

Oscar strode back outside, acting like he was checking the van for any luggage left behind just in case Teak was watching from one of the windows. He climbed into the van for a few moments, then stepped out again, closing the door. He seemed unwilling to let it go, even when Braun turned the engine over.

He moved to the passenger window as it slid down, and they exchanged a few words, and then Braun drove off.

This felt like the biggest risk she had taken with her father.

It was hard to trust him this much.

A little girl’s life was at risk, and if he betrayed her in any way, it was done between them. She would never speak to him again. But if this worked, if he saved Lily, she might just think about forgiving him one day.

Maybe even “his boys” would forgive him one day.

Or maybe not.

He could save all the little girls in the world, and none of it would matter if he ever laid a hand on Isobel again.