Gentry (Wolves of Winter's Edge Book 1)(24)

"I never understood why he didn't ask Asher," Roman said. "I mean, I get  why he didn't ask me. I would hate being an alpha, but Asher's the  oldest, the biggest, the most dominant. He always was. He wanted it. He  was trainable, coachable. He worked to please Dad-"

"Enough," Asher demanded. "He didn't ask because he didn't ask. Drop it."

Roman stared at Asher a few moments too long, then huffed a disgusted  breath. "Fine. We'll act just like we did when we were kids then. Nobody  talk about anything serious, just keep everything fucking buried until  it festers and ruins us all."

"That's not how I remember it when we were kids," Gentry said, holding  Blaire's hips tighter. He had his chin tucked to his chest, but he was  meeting Asher's challenging gaze.

Asher crossed his arms over his chest, bulging out his biceps as his eyes filled with fury. "Your memories aren't real, Gentry."

"Bullshit. You mean they don't count."

"That, too! You were favored. You were king. I was nothing. Dad wouldn't  even look at me. Do you know how it feels to devote your life to  pleasing a man who finds you completely and utterly fucking invisible?  He didn't see Roman either, but Roman didn't need to be seen by him."

"That's not true," Roman warned.

"You didn't! You made a joke of everything. You always had a smile on  your face, always made people laugh, were always happy like you didn't  give a single shit about what was happening in our fucking house. You  and I were in the corner in the darkest shadow the entire first eighteen  years of our life. You want to talk about something real, Roman? How  about you didn't give a shit when we were kicked out of the pack, and I  still hate you for not being angry."

"I was angry-"

"You weren't-"

"I was and I still am, Asher! I just don't deal with anger the way you  do! Fuck! I hate this place," Roman yelled, gripping the back of his  hair. "I didn't want to come back. I didn't want to do this. I hate that  I hate my brothers, and I hate that you both hate me. I wanted normal!  That's all I ever fuckin' wanted."

"Well, blame that one," Asher gritted out, jerking his chin to Gentry.

"Oh, you think I wanted to be the favored?" Gentry asked. "Really? I was  left out of everything with you two. You banded together. You talk  about being in the shadows, but you put me there, too, on the opposite  side of the room as you two. Always talking about me like I was this  spoiled little shit, like I wanted the extra attention from Dad. Like I  wanted the pack! Asher, I thought you would take it. I looked up to you.  I thought if I was quiet enough, you would just come in there and take  it and save me from all the shit I didn't want to do. From all the  pressure. I wasn't some prodigal son. Dad built me up that way, and so  did the pack, but I wasn't feeding it. I wasn't reveling in it. It  wasn't some warm place to bask in. It was fucking cold and lonely. I  hated it because it separated me from the two of you. I wanted to be  with you. Three amigos. You wanted normal, Roman? Well, so did I! Why do  you think I left when you two got kicked out of the pack? Huh? It  wasn't to chase some easy life. I went through hell when I left here.  Guilt hell. Poverty hell. Lonely hell. But for me it was worth it  because I was pissed that you weren't going to be a part of the pack.  And if you weren't there, I didn't want anything to do with it. I still  don't. Everyone preached about how it was my destiny to take over, but  it isn't. I would rather stay rogue the rest of my life than make the  two of you hate me even more. As long as you two stay rogue … I stay  rogue."                       
       
           



       

Asher was shaking his head, staring at the wall, teeth gritted so hard  his jaw clenched. "Not that I care about you-at all-but you need to  leave town, Gentry. You and Blaire both. Now. Tonight."

"What? No, I still have loose ends to tie up. Dad's ashes still need to  be spread. This place isn't going to clean up itself, and you assholes  have been zero help."

"We'll do it," Roman said, but he was looking at Blaire with some warning look she didn't understand.

Was she supposed to talk now? This felt like family business.

"Okay, spread the old man's ashes." Asher strode for the urn and hooked  an arm around it as he passed, didn't slow at all and headed straight  for the back door.

"What are you doing?" Gentry yelled as he bolted after him. He and Roman  nearly got stuck in the door trying to get to Asher, but that could be  blamed on their shoulders, which were roughly the width of a broad side  of a barn.

"Get off me," Gentry growled, shoving Roman.

Blaire sprinted after them, but Asher was doing something really bad. He  was standing ten yards into the woods and had jerked the lid off the  urn.

Gentry bolted for him. "Wait, he wanted to be buried by the river."

"He loved this place more than his family, so … " Asher began to dump a  cloud of light silver ashes into the snow just as Gentry and Roman  reached him.

"Fuck, Asher, stop!" Gentry yelled, grabbing for the urn. "We're supposed to say something nice and invite Odine."

Asher wrestled out of Gentry and Roman's grip, spewing clouds of ash from the ceramic container.

"Oh my God," Roman said, dropping to his knees and coughing as he  speed-crawled away. "I've got Dad in my throat." He gagged and started  shoveling snow into his mouth and scrubbing his tongue.

"Goddammit, Asher, this isn't the way we were supposed to do it!" Gentry yelled.

"Funerals are for the living," Asher said, chucking the urn at a tree  like a football. It exploded into a cloud of leftover ashes and shards  of ceramics. "Dad would just be happy we were all here to witness it."

"Odine wasn't here," Gentry yelled, stripping out of his ash-smattered  jacket like it was on fire. "And she was his big secret, I don't  know … favorite fuck or something. He would've wanted her here!"

Wait, Odine was their late father's … mate? He was the wolf she'd talked about losing?

Asher spat in the snow. "Well, Dad's favorite fuck outed Blaire in front  of the pack in town today. You want to scoop some of these ashes up and  call her over? I don't. Fuck her. She just killed the both of you.  Unless you run."

"What?" Gentry asked, scrubbing snow on his hands, washing away ashes. He turned a blazing green gaze on Blaire. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but your step-monster is a lunatic. She talked about stirring  up the hive and making you step up, making your brothers stop being  evil."

"Again, we're not evil!" Asher clipped out, his eyes so silver they were almost white.

"Well, you just dumped your dad's ashes all over your brothers, so I guess we can just agree to disagree," Blaire muttered.

"Well … at least I'm not banging outside of my species!" Asher yelled.

"She's a human, not a hamster. Fuck you," Gentry said to Asher as he kicked his dirty jacket toward Winter's Edge.

"Fuck you, too!" Asher said.

"Fuck you both," Roman said from where he was still scrubbing his mouth with snow.

"You three are a disaster," Blaire murmured tiredly as she stared at the ashes that painted the snow.

Roman spat in the snow and leaned back on his folded legs. "Well, now we  can all survive if we just get out of town in time to avoid the  Bone-Ripper Pack."

That sounded terrifying. "Bone-Rippers?" Blaire asked in a much smaller voice than she'd intended.

"I'm leaving," Asher muttered as he walked past. "See you idiots at the next funeral."

Gentry was staring at Blaire, his eyes sparking like green fire. He  exhaled deeply through clenched teeth. "I'm not leaving." He'd said it  at normal volume, but it sounded loud in the silence of the evening  woods.

"What?" Asher said, turning a furious gaze on his brother.

"If you saw the pack, you would understand. I'm not running. I can't."  He looked at his brothers. "You two know as well as I do that Rhett will  drive the people here into the ground. Not just the pack either, but  the humans in this town. So they found out about me and Blaire. I made  the decision already that I wouldn't be able to hide her. Wolf won't let  me shove her in a den. He's proud of her. I'm proud of her. So, she's  human … " Gentry shrugged one shoulder up and arched his eyebrow in an  I-don't-give-a-single-fuck expression.                       
       
           



       

"Rules, Gentry," Asher barked out.

"Rules are for packs, Asher. I like her. I want her. Wolf won't have  anyone else. She's human. Sucks. I wish she was a wolf, but she isn't."