#Chapter 208 – Hard Lines

When Victor and Evelyn come down the stairs ten minutes later, Rafe is sitting at the kitchen table looking down at his folded hands. Evelyn doesn’t say a word, barely glances at him as she instead goes to her boys, who are standing by the open front door.

“Mama!” Ian says, breathless with excitement. “Did you see it!?”

“See what, baby?” Evelyn says, coming to put a hand on his back between his shoulder blades and see what the excitement is about.

“The house,” Alvin says, leaning against the door and looking up at her with wide eyes. “The car house!”

“Oh,” Evelyn says laughing and looking at the driveway. “It’s called an RV, boys – a Recreational Vehicle. Apparently,” she smirks and looks over her shoulder at Victor, who pulls out a chair to sit across from Rafe, “your dad buys the newest model every year. Just in case.”

“It’s awesome,” Ian says, his wide eyes eager. “Can we go travel in it?”

“Can we go live in it?!” Alvin shouts, clasping his hands beneath his chin in excitement.

“You’d want that?!” Evelyn asks, laughing and gesturing towards it. It really is beautiful but…live in it!? “You’d want to live in that thing, like living in a can of sardines?”

“Well, our other house did burn down,” Ian says, pouting, “we should get a new one and this one is already here.” Evelyn can’t stop the laugh that starts to spill from her at his earnest kid logic.

“Yeah,” Alvin says, as if it’s obvious. “And we can take this one to the beach.”

“Okay, okay,” Evelyn says, reaching for the coat hanging on the peg by the door. “Let’s go explore it, and then we’ll decide whether or not we should move in.”

The boys run out the door, happy with this deal, and Evelyn looks over her shoulder at Victor before following them. Victor gives her a deep nod as Burton hands him a fresh cup of coffee.

Thank you, Victor says into her mind, for distracting them. I’ll handle this in here.

Anytime, Evelyn replies with a wink. Then, she pulls the door shut behind her, following her sons to the RV.

When the house is quiet again, Victor turns his attention to Rafe. “Evelyn told me what she knows,” he says, his deep voice rumbling with disappointment. Hearing his tone, Burton quickly makes himself scarce.

is gone, Rafe lifts his eyes to meet

his head fall a little to the side, giving Rafe a look that suggests

come on. Evelyn already yelled at me last night,” Rafe says ruefully. “I get it. It’s not like I don’t already know that what I did

it that you’re afraid of here, Rafe?” Victor asks, starting to get genuinely confused as he sits down at the table. “That I’m going to repeat back to you your actions in the past

looks at

that to Evelyn – she’ll be more than happy to go through the details and pin you to the wall for each one. I’ll skip right to telling you what a rotten piece of work

at the thought, but Victor continues, cutting to the chase. “What the f**k is wrong with you, Rafe?” Victor growls, leaning across the table and glaring at his brother. “That is a good woman, who by all appearances loves you – or loved you, at least. How could you treat her like that? What, genuinely, went through your mind to

up in it, Victor,” he says, his voice muffled against his palms. “In all the s**t after the wedding – in all of the s**t before the wedding. You weren’t there – you didn’t hear everything Dad was

your excuse?” Victor says, sitting back in his chair, a little further disgusted. “That

it. I’m man enough to take

his hands as Rafe

“…nothing, in my life, seemed more important to me than ripping this pack from you and taking it for myself.

Victor sits quietly, listening.

you, to Evelyn, to Bridgette – I realized that…dad was just using me, as

fine, encouraged, even, to just take whatever the hell you want, and shape the world into the

chair, studying his brother. “How did you get out of it, Victor?” he asks. “How did you…not

not sure I did escape it,” Victor murmurs, holding his coffee

says, leaning forward in his chair, a little disbelieving. “Seriously? One woman

treated her, Rafe, at the start of all of this. I have trouble even thinking about the things I said to her. But I was

then?” Rafe

person. Not as a Luna, or as a surrogate, or as my kids’ mom. But as a full person, who loves and fights and speaks and breathes. And the way she loves,” he shakes his head, still bowled over

laughs a little at that. “You certainly blew up your

and a little mad that his brother would laugh. Rafe holds up his hands, though, apologizing, and Victor forces

how I have to change? I have to

leaning forward, the disgust back in his voice. “Are you seriously looking for a woman to make you treat her well? Bridgette is also a person, if perhaps less strong-willed than Evelyn. But Bridgette didn’t have the resources that Evelyn had, the upbringing in an Alpha household that told her her entire life that she deserves more. Are you going to use that as an excuse for why you

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