BE MY BRAYSHAW

by Meagan Brandy

  They don’t know how to function without order and rules and expectations. They were born into it, into this town ran by power and respect, so when it was disrupted, they panicked.

  This is Brayshaw, and it’s the head of our name they need to feel safe, that they want to look to.

  Me, my brothers, Raven—the queen they were promised.

  Rumors spread like wildfire when we first allowed Collins Graven, the next in line for the Graven empire and our family enemies, into our school this past winter, and they only got worse when he and Donley Graven disappeared not long after his estate was burnt to the ground.

  Mac told us dozens of kids flipped out and stopped showing at school, so we had to give them something, let them know we weren’t hiding, but building our strength.

  They know now the town is ours without question and the Gravens no longer have a leg to try and challenge this.

  They know Raven is both Brayshaw and Graven blood, and holds more clout here than anyone before her, and that she married my brother to fulfill a decades’ old contract made by men before our time. Not that she wouldn’t have on her own later, the contract just sped the timeline up a bit.

  But that’s it.

  They don’t know about my daughter.

  They don’t know Victoria is Raven’s sister.

  They don’t know the sudden departure of their principal was our doing—Connor Perkins, the man who helped hide Zoey’s existence from me by hiding her mother. They also don’t know he was the man who got my mother pregnant with me, giving her the son her husband couldn’t—my biological father, who I would never claim.

  Rolland is my dad, period.

  There is a lot they’re clueless about, but the shock they’ll be let in on first is what’ll be most obvious the second we step from this vehicle.

  I glance at Raven, who frowns out her window.

  “I’m a fucking statistic,” she grumbles.

  “And anyone who points that out will get their tits punched or balls chopped.” Royce glares, sitting forward in his seat.

  My eyes fall to her top, a stretchy material that forms to her frame perfectly, leaving her small bump on full display for the first time.

  She shrugs, looking to Royce. “Why, it’s the truth.”

  “Yeah, and so is the fact that Victoria here is a sneaky little snake.” I look in my mirror in time to see him point a malicious grin toward her. “But we still won’t allow others to say it to her face.”

  “I don’t need you to look out for me,” Victoria tells him in a monotone, eyeing the chaos in the parking lot with annoyance.

  She’s so used to hiding in the background, but she won’t get that anymore.

  “If you haven’t figured it out yet, VicVee, lemme break it down for ya. We don’t give a fuck what you need, not yet anyway.” He pushes his door open the second I put the vehicle in park, and steps out, quickly tucking his head back inside. A deep glower covers his face. “Or instead of ‘not yet,’ maybe I should say not anymore, huh?” He slams the door.

  She scoffs, drops her head back on the seat, and lets her gaze flick past mine.

  “Fuck it,” Raven huffs. “Let’s go.”

  Maddoc and I step out, simultaneously pulling the girls’ doors open before they have a chance to do it themselves.

  Victoria stares at me, blindly snagging her backpack off the floorboard at her feet as she climbs out.

  I allow my eyes to travel the length of her.

  She’s small compared to me. Where my shoulders are wide, hers are narrow, almost petite, as is the rest of her body, but she’s got shape, subtle curves that make it impossible not to wish for a closer look. Even more so with the way she tries to hide it, always with the least amount of skin on display as possible.

  She never openly flaunts.

  Not that she has to, she’s got a natural lure she’s aware of and, if I’m guessing right, hates.

  Her toned legs are constantly covered in cheap jeans, and she only wears tops she can tuck into the waistband. Most of the time she has a little jacket on, but it’s getting warmer, so today her flannel is tied around her hips. Still, her long sleeves hide every inch of her.

  She’s left her hair as it falls, a little messy but still full and shiny, by the end of the day it’ll be thrown in a ball on top of her head. When I’ve seen her out, she has dark shit on her eyes, deepening the brown of her gaze, but on most days, like today, she wears little to no makeup, but her high cheekbones, dark lashes, and brows make it seem otherwise. Mix that with the natural swell her lips constantly hold and the shaded rosy red they tempt me with daily and she’s too fucking much, wakes up with that pouty baby doll look.

  A legit sleeping beauty.

  I draw my eyes back to hers and her chin lifts the slightest bit.

  “Ready?” she asks, and I’m not sure if it’s a mask of bravery or stupid stride of confidence she shouldn’t hold.

  I move a step closer, lifting my knuckle to her jaw, knowing dozens are staring and telling myself that’s the only reason why I want to feel more of her.

  She’s as aware as I am others are watching, but instead of fighting, she allows me to tilt her head back farther.

  “Better question.” I trail my knuckle down her throat and her head slowly rights itself. “Are you?”

  Her eyes narrow. “Based on how you’re acting right now, I assume I’m the new pet, so I’ll ask you again.” She whispers, “You ready for this, Cap? ‘Cause you’re the one who ‘has’ to touch me today, then go home and convince yourself you didn’t want to.”

  A dark laugh leaves me, and I shuffle closer.

  “Oh, I want to,” I rasp, the honesty of my own words getting my blood pumping. “Pretty fuckin’ sure I made that clear.”

  She looks away only to come right back.

  “So, yes. I want to touch you in ways you couldn’t imagine if you tried, in places the sun’s never seen,” I admit, and her features pull. “But I have self-control.”

  I take a few steps back, allowing her out of the doorway, but grip her upper arm before she’s fully free. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

  “Like tempt you?” she throws back instantly.

  “You could try.”

  “Should I?”

  Annoyance flares inside me, and she discreetly yanks free.

  “I won’t play games, Captain. I did that for years because someone told me that was my purpose, and I’m not up for it anymore.”

  My frown is instant. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  She eyes me, but then shrugs and changes the subject. “I’m not going anywhere, so you’ll either come to understand who I am, or you won’t.”

  “Who are you, Victoria Vega... Graven?”

  Her lips smash together before a low chuckle leaves her. “Just a girl, capable of mistakes and living with regret like everyone else in the world, not that I regret all things I’d bet you want me to,” she says unapologetically, taking a small step away. “But I am human, no matter how much you try to convince yourself I’m a monster.”

  “I don’t think you’re a monster,” I tell her. “But I know you’re a liar. I can’t trust you, and that is the issue.”

  “Yet I’m sleeping down the hall, only feet away from the most precious thing in your world, and you’re allowing it. Demanded it even,” she calls me out, eyes bold and daring as she brings her body flush to mine. “Strange place for someone you can’t trust to be... don’t you think?”

  My anger boils, a heavy tug stretching across my chest. “Don’t test me, Beauty.”

  She steps back, flipping me off with both hands. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Beast.”

  Raven’s light chuckle has my eyes flying over my shoulder and narrowing.

  She gives a small smile, shrugging as Victoria walks away from me, and my eyes decide to follow.

  This weekend was a bust.

  Feelin’ out Jason was a waste, but that wasn’t the worst of it.

  I tr
ied to curb my appetite only to be forced to face what I was trying to deny—I only want her.

  I could have at least fuckin’ hid it a little better, not let her in on my inner issues, but then a punk showed up and my possessiveness bared itself without permission.

  If he thinks he can come in here and claim what he apparently believed to be his when he left, he’s wrong.

  He can’t.

  No one can.

  Maybe not even me.

  Chapter 10

  Victoria

  At the hood of the car, Raven scoots over, offering me a place beside her with a small, hard-fought grin.

  This morning when I walked by during their little powwow, I had a moment of uncertainty—to run, quick and fast, or to pause, hide and listen.

  In the end, I’m not dumb.

  I’m more than aware eavesdropping doesn’t exist in a place like this.

  If you’re standing back and trying to snoop, they know and say what they wish for you to hear. Between the four, there are no gaps to slip through, no holes left unfilled, and no way around.

  I don’t want around.

  I want inside.

  It’s been ten days since Cap moved me in, caught me peeking on Zoey and caged me against the wall.

  I kept myself locked away, hidden by some means as I could, but we all know my forced absence solved nothing.

  The air surrounding us is more power charged than ever, the tension between us growing every day.

  So far I’d say it’s in my favor, but that can change in an instant.

  If Mike sticks around, it might.

  I need to find him before he comes to find me, and I have no doubt he will.

  I sigh, glancing around the parking lot, and back at the boys.

  Today will be the most I’ve spent with them and Raven in months, and truth be told, I’ve been waiting for it.

  Forming friendships I never meant to ended up being something I had no clue I was missing. Yes, lies were buried beneath the surface, but as a person, I was never fake.

  The boys know and approve of all the stray teens they take into their group homes, and if you stay quiet they leave you alone, sometimes even offer jobs like helping out at the warehouses and things. That’s usually for the boys’ home, though, because the girls get catty, and let attention from them go to their heads.

  For three years I was silent, invisible, nothing but one of the half dozen and ever-changing girls in the group home on the front edge of their property, and because they allowed me to be, but then winter came, and Raven showed up, and everything transformed overnight. Literally.

  She gained their notice within minutes of her arrival, held it after hours, and only days later, couldn’t force them away no matter how hard she tried. And she tried like hell.

  Like me, she didn’t want their attention, but it didn’t matter, and later everyone learned she was born to hold it.

  Her arrival forced me to rethink everything, and that meant stepping from behind the shadows.

  It was subtle, at first, but then she got jumped, and since I had been following her, I was the one there to stop it, which also meant I was the only one who could get her home, back to them... with the help of Mike.

  I’ll never forget how Captain looked into my eyes with curiosity swimming in his own. Of course, there was anger there too, but still.

  He saw me that night.

  Demanded a response, and after it, he never stopped.

  I’d catch him observing me, straight on or behind his shades.

  He wasn’t shy about it, but the Brayshaws never are.

  They see what they want, and they stop at nothing until they get it.

  Raven told Chloe something not long after that and it had a positive effect on her. She later shared the conversation with me, and it’s been playing on repeat since they left me standing in the orchard the other day.

  You don’t need a Brayshaw to become one. All you have to do is earn it.

  That’s my goal.

  I glance toward Captain standing not three feet away, eyes on me.

  Before I had this group, I had nothing.

  My time as part of their fold, while short-lived, was long enough for me to grow greedy and want more.

  Becoming a Brayshaw isn’t enough, but it’s where I’ll start.

  I’ll earn their trust, prove my loyalty, and earn my token of acceptance as they all have theirs.

  After I’m one of them, truly and completely...

  I’ll earn him, too.

  Anyone who gets between me and what I want will be dealt with in true Bray fashion, because that’s who I am supposed to be. I feel it.

  Captain Brayshaw is mine. Period.

  He just doesn’t know it yet.

  A slow, dangerous smirk crosses his lips right then, and the blue in his eyes flashes a deep, midnight ocean.

  Or does he?

  Suddenly, Royce is wrapping his arm around my neck, dragging me forward as our group begins to move.

  “What—”

  “Shut that pretty little mouth, VicVee. It’s all part of the process.”

  I don’t think so.

  I dig the heels of my combat boots into the pavement, and Royce jerks to a stop, his eyes slicing my way in warning, but I’m not backing down.

  “I get it, you want me to fill the role of the new toy passed between the group, but that’s too bad.”

  “Yeah?” Royce gives a menacing growl for only me to hear, but there’s no power behind it. “And why’s that?”

  I stare into his dark eyes, allowing him to see the purpose in mine. “I have a point to make, want it clear from the start, and I can’t do that under your arm.”

  His glare holds as his head dips closer until his face is hidden in my hair and neck. He allows his smirk to spread across my skin, where no one else can see, as he whispers, “That you fuckin’ do, VicVee, but watch your step, ‘cause every other motherfucker will be after today.”

  He shifts, looks past me, and nods his chin. “Take her off my hands, yeah?”

  Royce’s arm falls, smacking my ass on the way down, and then he catches up to the others chuckling from a few steps ahead.

  I turn to Captain, who makes no move to come closer, so I do as he wants.

  I go to him.

  “My brother not good enough for you?” His gaze is sharp and angry, but I know him better than that.

  “No, he’s not,” I answer rapidly.

  Captain’s frown deepens. “You’d be lucky to have him.”

  Instant and complete support.

  I want that.

  “I’m sure you’re right, but someone else will be luckier. He’s not the one I want.”

  Frustration drives him forward. “Having these people see you as my Bray Girl, doesn’t make me yours, you get that, right?”

  “Let me handle that part.”

  At first, he just stares, a question he refuses to ask written in his eyes.

  He doesn’t blink, doesn’t speak, and he stays that way for several seconds until his arm finally drapes across my shoulders, and I’m yanked into him, his hold far more possessive than I’m betting he realizes. His spine even straightens with me tucked at his side.

  We head up the steps of Brayshaw High, the others, including Mac and Chloe, waiting near the door for us to arrive and walk inside.

  Maddoc and Raven lead, every eye around lasered in our direction, on their King and Queen and their equals at their sides but no one dares to whisper.

  They will, but later and in private.

  The boys do their little bro claps with a few others from their basketball team, and I wave at one of the girls from the group home when she nods her chin at me, but other than that, no one approaches.

  Mac and Chloe break off first, heading wherever their classes are as we stay standing dead center in the hall.

  Royce doesn’t wait around but struts right into class while Maddoc takes his time with Raven before he too walks off. She glan
ces our way, and then slips through the door, leaving only me and Captain.

  He slides his hand in my hair, bringing his lips to my ear, and I hold my breath, but no words come. His grip tightens only to fly from me in the next second as he takes a step back.

  And then he takes another, all to rush forward in the end, and slam his body into mine.

  “If this is some trick, you will lose,” he swears.

  “Didn’t I already?”

  “Is that how you feel?”

  “Yes.”

  His face twists, and he rumbles, deep and low, “Good.”

  With that, he’s gone, but I’ve got a feeling a piece of that control he mentioned earlier broke off somewhere between the parking lot and here.

  I give myself a second to breathe, walk into class, and drop into my desk.

  Sensing Raven’s eyes on me, I turn toward her, and she shifts in her seat to face me full-on.

  “I can’t trust you.” She frowns, confusion etched across her face. “So why the hell am I rooting for you?”

  My shoulders ease, and she shakes her head.

  “Fuck this up, Vee, and I can’t help you, even if I decide I want to. These boys...” She trails off, knowing she doesn’t have to say it.

  “They’re your family, Raven. I get it.” I lean toward her, quickly glancing to her stomach and back. “But so am I, and I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you choose me, too.”

  She glares before a small smile ghosts her lips and she faces forward to hide it. “You better.”

  From his seat on the other side of Raven, Royce makes sure to catch my eye.

  “Don’t forget, our bite?” A dark brow raises. “It’s much worse than our bark.”

  “I thought wolves howled?”

  “Don’t be cute.” He flashes. “Be smart.”

  In other words...

  Be Brayshaw.

  The heavy thud of the door slamming against the wall as it’s thrown open has everyone’s attention snapping toward the front of the room.

  Every muscle in my body locks, my neck likely burning a bright fucking red as Captain comes strolling in and in no particular hurry, a little glare testing across his forehead.