5. Bad ideas
1297 Words
Dorian POV
Tattoos and piercings?
I kept hearing their suggestions, and the more they talked about it, the more confused I became. Why did they want us to get something like that done when we all knew exactly what our parents would say about putting things on our bodies without speaking to them first?
Mom had grown up hearing horrible stories about what vampires had done to her while she was unconscious, things she rarely spoke about but that still haunted her. And Dad… Dad had always done things the right way—after speaking with the family, after making sure everyone was on the same page.
Finishing the last of my soda, I looked directly at Trump. “Does our dad and your Alpha know about this?”
The moment the words left my mouth, I saw the irritation flash across his face.
He hated when I mentioned my father.
Trump had always carried resentment toward Mom for being turned instead of born a wolf—a secret his mother and our Beta had kept hidden for years. His mother tried to maintain peace with Mom now, mostly because Mom’s title as Luna outranked her position as Beta.
But I still remembered the day she finally snapped.
After that, Beta Anna kept her distance and focused strictly on her duties, while Grandma Kelly stepped in to help Mom with almost everything.
Even Erin, Trump’s sister, sometimes hinted that wolves who were turned were somehow beneath those who had been born.
It hadn’t always been like that.
Dad once told us the Beta family’s attitude started shifting the moment he publicly accepted Mom while she was still human. And it only got worse after she was turned.
Trump grabbed his phone instead of answering me, clearly avoiding the question. That was enough for me.
I nudged my brothers, ready to get up from the booth and leave.
Then Trump finally spoke again. “I’ll pay for them, I’ll take the damn blame if that’s what it takes to get you three to stop acting like a bunch of pussies.”
The insult hit instantly.
A low growl rose from Kelson, Thominic, and me at the exact same time.
Before things could explode, Erin leaned forward quickly.
“We’re just trying to give you guys something,” she said, her voice softer. “You don’t need to turn it into a big deal. It’s just a gift—why make it worse than it is?”
The implication in her words was clear.
And I was about to snap, but Thominic beat me to it.
“Turn?” he scoffed, his voice dark with warning. “How about we turn both of you into pudding for acting above the rules?”
He leaned forward slightly, glaring at them. “You both know we have to talk to our parents before we do anything like that. Or do you want us to end up turned like Ariel?”
Trump chuckled at that, clearly entertained that my brother had thrown their own joke back at them. Then he stood up from the table.
Erin followed him.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go do this. It’s already settled with the artist. I paid for everything.”
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “This cost me a damn fortune.”
He was clearly trying to guilt-trip us now, but I wasn’t buying it.
Things between us hadn’t been the same for a long time.
Not since we were younger.
They had changed… a lot.
Especially after Mom got pregnant.
And after their mother had to have a hysterectomy following the rogue attack last month.
That was when everything between our families truly started to fall apart.
“Trump, I’m not going,” I said firmly, refusing to move from my seat. “And I’m not sorry about it either. You know we don’t do what the Betas tell us when it goes against the rules.”
Trump didn’t say a word, but Erin did.
“It’s a f*****g birthday present!” she snapped, her voice rising. “You’re all turning of age! How about you grow a pair already?”
A growl rumbled from my chest before I could stop it.
“And it was a f*****g date I didn’t agree to go on with you!” I shot back without remorse. “You’re older than me. You’re a damn adult—start acting like it!”
The embarrassment that flashed across her face was immediate. Her cheeks turned red, and for the first time since the argument started, she looked unsure of herself.
She knew I wasn’t joking.
Beside me, I heard Thominic suck in a sharp breath of surprise.
“What in the Moon’s name, Erin?”
Kelson stayed silent, but his stare was just as sharp as mine. Trump followed our gaze, turning slowly to look at his sister.
The anger in his face was something I had never seen before.
Cold.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
And just like that, he spoke, his voice low and final. “I’m leaving.”
His eyes flicked toward us briefly. “You three can do whatever the f**k you want then.”
Then his gaze snapped back to his sister. “Erin.”
The way he said her name was enough to make her immediately move. She hurried after him as he stormed out of the restaurant, practically running behind him.
The door slammed shut behind them. For a moment, the three of us just stared at each other.
Their moods had flipped so fast it was almost dizzying.
Kelson leaned back slightly in his chair, shaking his head. “They really haven’t shed their fur coats at all, for being older werewolves compared to us.”
Honestly… I couldn’t agree more.
But it was Thominic who suddenly spoke next, making both of us turn to look at him.
“When did she ask you out?” Thominic asked suddenly. “And why didn’t you tell us?”
I glared at him while Thominic slowly raised an eyebrow while drinking his pop, clearly just as curious.
“We were still in middle school,” I answered flatly, leaning back in my chair. “She was already in high school.”
The memory still irritated me.
“I didn’t like her back then either,” I continued. “Then Ariel told me Erin was angry because I didn’t answer her fast enough. Apparently she had a guy waiting with her when I went to talk to her instead of texting back.”
Kelson frowned slightly, listening carefully.
“So I asked the guy what he was doing there,” I let out a dry breath. “He told me Erin paid him twenty bucks to throw water balloons filled with his used condoms at me if I texted yes, and showed up.”
Thominic’s face twisted in disgust.
“I wasn’t going to be stupid about it,” I finished calmly. “So I turned her down.”
Both of my brothers nodded in understanding.
But then something I had said replayed in my head.
A thought sparked.
Slowly, I lifted my gaze and looked toward the security cameras mounted near the corners of the restaurant.
And I smiled.
The more the idea formed in my mind, the more satisfying it sounded.
Kelson noticed immediately. “What are you thinking there… Dori?”
Thominic nearly choked on his drink. The pop shot out of his nose as he coughed violently, glaring at Kelson.
The stupid nickname.
Ariel had started calling me Dori when we were pups, and somehow it had stuck. Now both Thominic and Kelson used it whenever they wanted to annoy the hell out of me.
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