by Leela Ash
For a woman as selfish and difficult as her mother was, sometimes it took Sadie by surprise when she showed any sort of understanding of the way Sadie’s mind actually worked. It was nice, in a way, almost like she could pretend that her mother was actually able to care about her.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m fine. I guess Max being in town just kind of threw me for a loop. I’m sure you understand.”
It was strange for them to be talking candidly like this about Max. Normally, she didn’t speak his name, especially to her mother, who never had a good word to say about him. But now, she was almost wishing for someone who would say the things about him that she was starting to think. She hadn’t wanted to believe he was selfish and arrogant, not after all these years of pining after him. But it was obvious now that they had broken up for a reason and things would never be the way she wanted them to be with him. No matter how hard they tried.
“Yes, his presence here is not entirely wanted. And I don’t mean just by us.”
The way she said it gave Sadie goosebumps.
“What do you mean, Mom?” Sadie asked. “Is someone after Max again?”
“Well, some people think the leaders of the group that drove him out in the first place ended up infiltrating his original pack. They see his presence here as a threat. I’m sure that between them and the other reasons not to stay, he will probably be out of our hair soon enough. It’s only a matter of time, honey. Don’t get yourself all worked up about it. But if you feel like you need to rearrange your furniture to cope with this, then by all means, do what needs done.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’ll just do that then.”
“Good. Now, would you mind coming over here? I have some things I need to tend to, but I’m a little bit worried about Rascal.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Sadie asked. She couldn’t help but let the bitter edge in her voice come out. Rascal was her mother’s pride and joy. He was a show dog that she had been head over heels in love with for the past five years. She had shown that dog more affection than she had ever shown Sadie.
And some part of Sadie was very jealous of him and the relationship they shared, no matter how ridiculous it might have seemed to an outsider looking in. Still, she couldn’t help but care about the dog as if he was a part of the family. With the way her mother acted about him, he might as well have been born a sibling to her.
“Well, he hasn’t been wanting to eat anything, which you know is very strange. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with him, but I have some errands to run and I’m worried about leaving him alone. Would you mind watching him for a little while?”
“Sure,” Sadie said, sighing softly to herself. “I guess I can do that. I don’t have to work today.”
“Perfect!” her mother exclaimed. “The sooner you can get here, the better. I have to prepare for a dinner party tonight and it just didn’t seem right to leave him here by himself. If anything does go wrong, you know the vet’s number, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course,” Sadie said. They had actually dated for a little while, back in the summertime after Max had taken off and she had finally started coming to terms with it. Her mother had been hoping she would end up settling down with him, but he wasn’t really her type. He had been really pushy with her in the bedroom, and it was something she didn’t really appreciate. And why should she?
Of course, that wasn’t something she could explain simply to her mother, so every time they spoke for the next month and a half after she had broken up with him, it was all about how she shouldn’t have been so selective when it came to the men she dated. Because Roger was a perfectly fine young man who clearly had a heart of gold, considering he had always treated animals with great dignity and respect. It made Sadie kind of furious, but what else was she supposed to do about it?
“Great, thank you, honey. I’ll see you soon.”
Sadie hung up with her mother and inhaled deeply, her thoughts circling back to the dinner she had shared with Max. Thank God her mother wasn’t a shifter, or else she would probably be able to tell exactly what had gone on between them. That would’ve been embarrassing. Fortunately, everything was going to be all right. She would just have to do her best to keep the conversation away from Max, unless she wanted someone else to contribute to her raging inner monologue about what a piece of crap he was.
Seriously, who acted like that right after having sex? And not only that, but the best she could remember having since the last time they had been together? She couldn’t believe him, and yet, she knew just how typical it really was. No matter what happened between them, things would always be the same. He had never changed. He probably never would. She was just going to have to get the thought out of her head that things could get better. All she was doing was hurting herself by holding onto the false hope that, one day, she and Max would be together and everything was going to be fine.
14.
“Well, look who’s here,” a deep, grating voice said from behind Max as he began to take inventory. He was just about ready to open the store and had been stressing out about getting all the orders perfect. Max had always done his best to put his heart and soul into everything he had ever done. Most people, like Sadie’s mother, tended to assume he was a slacker. They didn’t seem to realize he always tried his best and he was very motivated to succeed.
The issue had always been that he wasn’t motivated to succeed in the way that everybody else seemed to think he should be. He was an independent man, with his own thoughts and feelings and goals. Why would he want to abide by somebody else’s rules when nobody really understood what it was he was trying to accomplish? It made no sense.
“You can’t be in here,” Max said, turning around and frowning at the doorway where Milo was standing, his blue eyes flashing menacingly.
“I don’t think you have any say over what I do,” Milo said, grinning at Max. Max prickled. He and Milo had known each other for a long time, and their relationship had been less than stellar. The two of them had actually been at each other’s throats for the majority of their lives. It had only been when Max had finally left his parents’ house that things had gotten a little bit better between them.
At first, Max didn’t have anywhere to go, but soon, he was welcomed into the same pack of street kids Milo belonged to. Those kids ended up looking to Max as if he were the only alpha there, even though it was obvious Milo had always coveted the role as the leader of the group. Still, as their leader, Max had been fair, and Milo didn’t have much of a choice but to accept the turn of events as they were. Sure, he had probably been better about it the entire time, but he had played nice while things were going well.
And yet, the second things seemed to be amiss, Milo did not hesitate to strike. Everybody wanted to know that Max was fully committed to his role as the alpha. Even the Council seemed invested in the outcome of this arrangement. Maybe they believed he was going to learn something from this position of power, perhaps transcend the upbringing that he had been subjected to in his parents’ household. Or maybe, they thought he was going to become a menace and threaten the peaceful community of Stonybrooke.
Whatever they seemed to believe, it was something Max wanted nothing to do with. He found himself feeling extremely bitter about the arrangement and the Council’s interpretation of him in general. He didn’tgive a shit if he was going to impress them or make them prepare for the worst. What he needed was somebody who believed in him and wanted to know exactly what it was he wanted to do. And nobody ever seemed to care about that, not ever. Not until he had met Sadie.
“I’m serious, if you don’t get out of here, you are going to have some trouble. I hope you are willing to face that on your own, without a pack of dumbasses to back you up.”
Max held Milo’s gaze, almost positive he had come alone. The two of them had a score to settle. And it had nothing to do with the arrival of the rival outsider wolf shifters that had attempted to drive Max out in the first place. This one was personal.
“I saw you go there last night, man. I would’ve let it go, but you know what kind of look she had on her face when she left the house this morning?”
Max cringed. “Why are you standing outside her house at all hours?”
But he already knew. Milo had been after Sadie for years. His attraction to her was obsessive and frightening, and the two of them had come to blows more than once over it. Sadie had never wanted anything to do with him, and it was awful for Milo to continue to try and push the fact. He seemed to think she was going to change her mind somehow. But as of so far, that hadn’t happened, and it probably never would. Even if she didn’t want to be with Max, he knew for certain she would never want to be with someone like Milo.
But, regardless of the fact, Milo still seemed to think he had a claim on her. Even though they had parted on bad terms, Max was ready to fight. He didn’t want anybody else to look at Sadie in the same way he did, but especially not if it was somebody who was going to be selfish and creepy about it. Stalking Sadie outside her home at all hours went far beyond anything he had ever done, or even considered doing. It was sort of sad, in a way. Milo had also had a difficult family life and bad situation to deal with, but that did not excuse him for acting like a total piece of shit around Sadie.
“It’s none of your business what I do with her, or how what I do with her makes her feel,” Max stated. “If she wanted you to know about it, she would tell you herself. You need to just start minding your own business and stay the hell away from her before things get serious.”
“Things have been serious for a long time, Max. You have no idea what she has been through. And maybe if you hadn’t talked so much shit about me, she would’ve given me another chance once you were out of the picture. You had to go and fill her head with all those lies about how I’m obsessed with her. I’m not obsessed. I just care about her, is all. Why do you have to go and fuck everything up all the time? Is it because your mommy and daddy didn’t want you, so you don’t want anybody else to either?”
Max glowered, unable to hold back his anger any longer. He lunged forward, knocking Milo through the doors of his store. They landed on the sidewalk, with Max on top of him, gripping the lapel of his obnoxious blazer and gritting his teeth. “If you ever go near her again, I’m going to tear your fucking throat out.”
“You don’t know who the hell you’re messing with, man,” Milo spat. “It isn’t just me anymore. Everybody is pissed at you. Nobody wants you here. You and your stupid store. I bet your business is going to fail in Stonybrooke and it’s going to be your own fucking fault. We’re all going to rally against you and make sure nobody here supports you. Your stupid fucking business is going to go under and it will be nobody’s fault but your own.”
A deep growl began to form in the back of Max’s throat, and suddenly, he felt strong hands on his shoulders pushing him backward. Two shifter men were standing on either side of him, getting him to his feet so that Milo could stand up and brush himself off. Milo fixed a cocky grin on Max, and he realized, suddenly, that he had made a mistake. A mistake that, were they not in town, probably could have proven to be fatal. He had underestimated his enemy. If they were fighting to the death, that would’ve been the end for Max.
“I know you don’t believe that anybody in this place has any good ideas except you, and that nobody could ever care about anybody else except you, but I think you should know that everybody here wants to see you gone,” Milo continued. “This will never be your home. And even if you think it could be again, you’re going to find out otherwise.”
Milo sneered, and Max watched as he summoned the two strong men and they began walking down the street. Max’s heart sank as he recognized the faces of the two men. They were brothers, the leaders of the group that had infiltrated his pack before everything had started going to hell. It had been their fault that Max had gotten on bad terms with the rivals that were new to Stonybrooke. They had never been anything but trouble, and Max went back into his shop, with his mind spinning.
Something was going on, and for some reason, although the majority of the danger he was in had diminished, he was still going to have to look out for himself. At least he wasn’t going to have Sadie to worry about. Things between them had been impossibly difficult, and there was no attempting to fix it this time. He was just going to have to admit that there was nothing left to salvage of their relationship and focus on himself now. What more could he possibly do?
15.
“Max! What the hell are you doing here?”
Sadie was secretly elated to see Max standing outside her house, but at the same time, considering the way they had parted ways the last time they had been together, she was tempted to turn him away and make him leave.
Then again, she already knew from past experience that it was impossible to make Max do anything he didn’t want to do. He would make sure he had communicated his message before leaving, whether she liked it or not. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear anything he had to say. Not after their last chat.
“What I’m doing here is making sure Milo doesn’t come back. Did you know he has been watching you? He knows I came over the other night. He knows everything. Do you have any idea how creepy that is? Why haven’t you gone to the Council about him yet? They won’t do anything unless you complain. I can talk until I’m blue in the face and they won’t fucking do a thing about it.”
“What do you care, Max?” Sadie asked. “Didn’t you tell me you were better off without me, anyway? So, maybe Milo will take care of that for you. He wouldn’t be any worse than the other men I’ve dated over the years. Maybe I should just go out and see what he wants to do. What the hell, right?”
Even just the thought of it made her shrivel inside, and she felt guilty for betraying the truth in her heart. She knew she loved Max, and him alone. And yet, he had proven to her the last time he had been with her that he had been incapable of changing. She had set her hopes too high with him. Just because he was a successful man now didn’t mean he had grown at all. It was the hard truth.
“Maybe you should just shut your mouth before you say something you really regret,” Max said, stepping toward her menacingly. “You know you don’t mean that. So why don’t you just shut up and we can talk about this like rational people.”
A hot bolt of anger sprang to Sadie’s chest and she stepped toward Max, just as menacingly. He hesitated, unsure of how to take this turn of events. She hadn’t ever realized just how much power she held over him until this moment, but now she saw that he actually did respect her and could be affected by her moods and her presence. It was a strange revelation. Especially to have in the heat of the moment like this.
“You need to watch the way you speak to me, Max,” Sadie exclaimed.
“I really just wish you would take care of this Milo situation, all right? Do you know how dangerous that little bastard is now? He has some kind of tie to the assholes who put me in this position in the first place. And you and I both already know how he feels about you. Why do you think it’s okay? It’s not okay. It will never be okay.”
“I know, but I don’t think that you intruding on my life like this is okay either. How am I going to be able to explain all of this when I’m asking myself where my self-respect has gone? I don’t want to be subjected to the way you make me feel if you’re never even going to be serious about me. None of this is what I want.”
Max gaped at her and she pushed past him, shaking her head in misery. Why was it that he never seemed to really understand how she was feeling? Even though he was a shifter and he was supposed to be able to hone in on her emotions, he still seemed to be completely lost the majority of the time. Was she doing something wrong? Or was he just that stupid? Either way, she couldn’t believe the situation she had gotten herself into. It was unbelievable.
“So, what is it that you do want?” Max called after her. He seemed genuinely confused, and that only served to make her angrier with him. Still, if he
didn’t already know, then the only way for him to find out would be to ask. But she was definitely not in the mood to be answering questions right now. She had enough on her mind without having to try to explain her entire thought process to Max. Especially not when he was the one who was getting her all confused and flustered in the first place. She needed some space.
“I want you to leave me alone for right now, okay? Maybe we can talk about this later. But, right now, this is just too much for me.”
“But you’re pushing me away!”
Sadie shook her head and closed the screen door, letting it latch itself shut as she pushed the heavy oak door closed and leaned against it, taking a deep breath. So he still cared about her. Even though he had made it sound like he didn’t want anything to do with her now and never would again. Still, somehow, he had managed to summon up the emotional capacity to try to warn her about Milo and ask her what it was she wanted from him. Somehow, it felt like a step in the right direction, even though her entire body was exhausted by such a simple conversation.
What she needed to do was get some rest so she was able to actually function the next day. Most people thought working at the post office was a breeze, but the truth was, sometimes, it was grueling work. And it was made much harder when she had things on her mind like Max and his unrealistic expectations of her. There was no way she would ever be able to measure up to what he wanted her to be. And there was probably no way he would ever measure up to her expectations either.
They were better off without each other, and the sooner she came to trust that reality, the better it would be for both of them.
16.
“I asked you this then, and I will ask you again. Please, talk to Milo about this. There’s something going on. And it doesn’t just affect me. Isn’t it Council business when shifter activities are going to affect the human? Don’t you think she deserves a chance to protect herself too? Who knows what will happen if he goes to the extreme? I don’t trust those guys that he’s been hanging out with. You can’t possibly tell me you do, do you?”