Chapter 36

Victor smiled as Meagan leapt at Maverick, immediately snuggling into his chest. In response, David lay his cheek against her hair, arm tightening around her waist.

The air was suddenly split by a low pitched beeping and Victor growled softly. That particular ringtone meant only one thing – Betsy. Grabbing his phone out of his pocket, he muttered, "Probably need to make my breakfast to go." Glancing around, he cursed. There was no terrace to escape to and discussions in hotel bathrooms hurt his ears—too much echoing.

Sighing, he stepped out into motioning Meagan to stay and closing the door before she could follow. Sighing, Victor pressed the accept button. "Hey, Bets."

"Where are you?" Her voice was artic ice.

The hairs on Victor's neck and arms rose with his ire and his lips curled up to expose sharp fangs. She was his mate, not his master. He didn't bother to keep the growl out of his voice. "I'm running an errand."

"What errand?" The hiss in her voice would have done a snake proud.

"Watch your tone, Bets, I'm not a fucking servant or pet."

"Watch my tone?"

Victor yanked the phone from his ear to protect his sensitive hearing from the outraged voice. Damn it, why couldn't he have found himself a nice quiet woman without such a fucked up family and nasty temper.

An image flickered through his mind of his mate, amethyst eyes flashing, body tense and ready, strong and sleek. Yeah, that would be why. He couldn't stand a woman that couldn't hold her own against him and his own temper. His mouth turned up into a grin, the image helping him to cool his anger. Still… "Bets, I am NOT getting' into this over the phone. I'll head home soon." Hitting disconnect, he turned back toward the hotel room and groaned.

Standing inside the open doorway was Meagan, her eyes wide and glazed with tears. Her hair was limp over her shoulders and as lifeless as her pale drawn skin. No one would ever think this half dead looking woman was his vivacious little sister. David stood right behind her, his arms wrapped around her upper arms and body, trapping her against his body as he softly nuzzled her ear, placing light kisses against her hair and skin. Though his reassurances were whispered, Victor heard them and almost purred in approval.

Meagan pressed back against David, her eyes searching Victor's face. "Brother…I'm so sorry."

Victor reached out and affectionately scrumbled her hair, careful not to catch Maverick with his claws. "Not your fault, pup. I'm the one that pissed her off."

"But, it is as I said. I…did not go—"

"They don't own you." Maverick's words cut across hers. "Meagan. You are an adult. You belong to you. Your time belongs to you. They have no right to you or your time and they have no right to be angry."

"He's right, baby sister. You're a grown woman. Ya got the right to stay out late as ya want, be with who ya want. You have the right to yo'r own wants, yo'r own life."

Meagan swallowed several times, her voice cracked, "How…how many times will you tell me this? How long before you get tired of telling me the same thing?"

"Never!" The men growled the word in unison and Meagan's body shook then sagged.

David's body rocked back as he took her full weight and Victor's hands hovered over her, ready to help, to keep her suddenly weak body from falling.

Tears streamed down her face, filling the hallway with a salty tang.

They stayed like that forever, Victor's full attention on the woman, awkwardly stroking her head, wishing he could infuse her with his own confidence.

Without warning, her back straightened and she stopped leaning back on Maverick. Her eyes were still downcast but her voice was even though soft. "We have to head back. They are angry and Betsy will be angrier you have stayed, brother."

"You don' gotta go back yet if ya don' wanna, pup."

She smelled of a storm, confusing, strange, but her hair was no longer lifeless. It was taking on the same sheen it had earlier. "No, brother, I will not let you face their anger alone. It is for me."

"It's not yo'r fault. I make my own decisions."

She nodded, still unwilling to lift her gaze. "But…you made them for me. You have trouble because of me. I would not want to be me if I did not stand by my brother."

"This is what you want?" Maverick's voice was soft, his arms still wrapped around her.

"Yes, David. I want to stand by my brother." Her head lifted an inch but she ducked her gaze back down before Victor could read her expression. "I want you to stand with us, David. Will you?"

"Yes."

There was nothing else said while they gathered the forgotten breakfast and clothes then set out to where Maverick had parked Victor's car the previous night.

There was an awkward pause as the men looked at each other, silently asking who would drive and who would sit with Meagan. She solved the stand off by silently crawling into the back seat and curling up, staring out the window.

To give her space, the two men took the front seats with Maverick driving.

The silence lasted for most of the ride home, Victor's ears monitoring Meagan's breathing, wishing he knew what was going on in her head.

Suddenly, her voice came from the back seat, too loud. "Brother, are you a gentleman?"

Maverick stifled a laugh as Victor's head jerked back toward her, "Huh? Hell, no."

"Why not?"

Victor shrugged. "I don' wanna be. It's not who I am 'nd it's not who I wanna be. Fancy restaurants and damn ties so tight they choke me are hell."

"Does Betsy know you are not a gentleman and never will be?"

"Course she does." The questions and line of conversation made no sense to Victor but that didn't matter. It was obvious Meagan was working something out.

"David, are you a gentleman?"

Maverick stared out the windshield several moments before answering. "I don't mind dressing up and going nice places and I try to be considerate and polite. So…I don't know. I like to think I'm a gentleman because of how I act but I'm not huge on appearances."

"I don't understand."

"Some gentlemen are all about appearances. They dress and act formal but it's all about how they appear. To me a gentleman should be more how you act not how you look."

Victor nodded. "Yeah, you got to be a man before you're a true gentleman and most of those dressed up assholes don't qualify."

"You are both what you want to be. Everyone I know is who they want to be." Her tone made it clear she wasn't asking a question.

The two men shared a glance, unsure what to say. Silence resumed as Maverick turned the car up the long driveway to the lighthouse.

Author's Note:

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and answers to some of the recent ones:

Angeles372 – Thank you. Hope you like the newest chapter.

Vanessa Masters – I figured people would either hate the last chapter or really enjoy it because of its harshness but I did think it needed to be said (which I guess is obvious since I wouldn't have written it otherwise, lol)

Jadewoe – I have nothing against Jubilee and Wolvie and, in fact, created a child for them in an AU that I never actually wrote. However, at 15, yeah, I just don't feel she's ready to take on Wolvie's issues and life. Once she grows up…sure but not as a teen. As for Creed helping her out…Unfortunately, I don't think Victor can really relate to her. With Meagan, they're both coming from childhoods full of abuse and neglect. But who knows, my characters often hijack the stories in directions I wasn't expecting (glancing over at my Maverick muse who was never going to be a part of this story until the Best Man question came up).

Cew1088 – Oh Victor and Logan will NEVER be able to be friends. In my opinion, it's not just their histories. They are both feral mutants which means they have animal instincts as well as human. The animals they share instincts with are both alpha predators with major territorial attitudes. So, the two of them are always going to have issues because both of them have to be the alpha male and neither one will back down from that fight…at least that's how I always viewed it. :D