Silas:Popi was upset. I got upset. Simple as that, you asshole.
Kodi:Those tears had fuck all to do with Popi. So don’t go blamin’ him. You’re as bad as Taylin. Only you haven’t been daft enough to mate Ziggy, so there is that.
Dad:Are you saying I was daft to mate with your popi?
Silas:Sits back with the popcorn and pats the damn fucking seat in the peanut gallery!
Kodi:I wasn’t talkin’ ‘bout you and Popi, Dad. Jeez, I was just making a generalisation.
Laken:I’d stop digging now if I were you, Kodi.
Rue:Come on, Silas lost his shit and was cryin’ louder than Emmy. I mean doesn’t he deserve a little ribbing for that, Dad? We’re brothers, it’s our job to keep it real.
Dad:Just remember all this when the shoe is on the other foot. The kicking back will be your own fault.
Rue:Ain’t gonna happen.
Silas:I said the same, and so did Booker. Love is a sneaky fucker and captures you better than a lasso you didn’t see coming. Once it’s around your heart, there ain’t nothing that removes it.
Dad:I couldn’t have put it better myself, Silas.
Rue:Then I better get eyes in the back of my head, cause if it turns grown alphas into crybabies, I want no part in it!
Jupiter:Preaching to the converted.
Dad:There is nothing wrong with tears. They aren’t weakness. They show strength of character and your Popi has cried with all of you. For you. Think on this, do you believe him to be weak or strong?
Kodi:Ah fuck, Dad.
Silas:You’re cryin’ aren’t you…
Laken shook his head as he closed the alphahole group chat he had with his brothers, trudging back towards the cabins on the back of Silas’s ranch. It was hard to ignore the aches and pains of manual labor and his run in with one of Ethan’s, the ranch manager, wild stallions. Ethan had a side hustle on the ranch, taking in ill-treated horses. Fear and instinct made them dangerous to be around—as Laken had found out. It was an honorable thing that Ethan was doing, and he could handle the bad-tempered beasts. Why he thought Laken had signed up for that shit was beyond him. It wiped away any facsimile of amusement he might have had about how pissed Booker was that Silas, his eldest brother, had told him first about Ziggy being in a relationship.
Laken’s legs and back ached something fierce from the strenuous activity of chasing the stallion whilst avoiding being kicked. Unfortunately, he wasn’t all that fast. He was lucky the kick to his shin was only a glancing blow, but it was definitely going to leave an impressive bruise. Now all he wanted wasa large enough tub to soak away the pains, but that wasn’t happening anytime soon.
“Fuck this shit,” he ground out between his teeth at the lack of tub. He should have taken a leaf out of Jupiter’s book and gone up to the big house. Problem with that was that he wasn’t in the mood to witness or hear Jupiter doing whatever it was he was doing with Ethan. That meant he had to suck it up and tolerate the tiny shower cubicle, which he could barely turn around in, for one more day.
And the tiny devil.
Not thinking about that.
He searched the skyline for something to focus on that wasn’t going to cause him any more confusion. Breathing in the warm, scented air was decidedly pleasant for the time of year. The sun was setting over the pastures and highlighted the different shades of green as the breeze moved it. The sky’s bold red and orange color blazoned over the distant mountains' majestic peaks. Despite this not being something he wanted for himself, Laken could appreciate the beauty surrounding him. The ranch was never quiet, regardless of them being in the middle of nowhere. He’d known nothing but city life, and being here he’d expected quiet. Yes, there was a stillness that allowed his mind to settle but there was also the constant sound of animals serenading them in the background, even at night. It was… reassuring that in this place, no one was ever alone.
Like most things in his life since he’d been adopted, Laken had done his best to get as much out of the experience as possible, even if it was all supposed to be about ‘team building’ or so Dad had said. He supposed he was right to insist they do something to find some unity. They’d done nothing but bicker and complain since they’d all ended up back in Hazardville, under the same roof. They were all acting like teenagers, though it was galling to confess. That being said, Laken suspected thestatus quo would change once more now Silas was engaged to Ziggy, Jupiter’s PA.
Christ, Kodi was right, this romantic shitwascatching. First Taylin, which wasn’t a shock since he’d had a hankering after Hollis since the day he started working at the company, though that was something Hollis hadn’t appeared to notice. This seemed to put Taylin off his game as he’d gone at a snail's pace to catch what he wanted.
You don’t even move in any direction.
Ain’t about me.
It wasn’t.
Then didn’t Booker follow suit straight after? And now Silas had toppled off the single perch. Fuck, if Laken wasn’t convinced that Rue seemed to have been hit with romantic shit, too. Laken wasn’t blind to his brother’s nightly disappearing act into town with Monty, his PA. Rue wasn’t talking about it, so Laken didn’t push. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he’d seen the way Kari was acting around Bowie. He hadn’t figured out what was happening there, and Kari was the protective sort, making it hard to assess after Bowie’s ex being a real dick.
Not my business.
They’re our family,his animal reminded him, and not for the first time.