“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. Everything he had ever done, he had always done his best to put his heart and soul into it. 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. 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 Leon was standing, his blue eyes flashing menacingly.
“I don’t think you have any say over what I do,” Leon said, grinning at Max. Max prickled. He and Leon 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 Leon belonged to. Those kids ended up looking to Max as if he were the only alpha there, even though it was obvious Leon had always coveted the role as the leader of the group. Still, as their leader, Max had been fair, and Leon 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, Leon did not hesitate to strike. Everybody wanted to know that Max was fully committed to his role as the alpha, and 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, and 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, and he found himself feeling extremely bitter about the arrangement and the Council’s interpretation of him in general. He did not give 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 Leon’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. Leon 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 Leon 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 Leon.
But, regardless of the fact, Leon 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 consider doing. It was sort of sad, in a way. Leon 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 I do with her makes her feel. 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 in 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 Leon 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,” Leon 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 Leon could stand up and brush himself off. Leon fixed a cocky grin on Max, and he realized, suddenly, that he had made 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. This will never be your home. And even if you think it could, you’re going to find out otherwise.”
Leon 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?