“So you made a fool of her instead.”
“And it was fun,” Bailey cut in, smiling.
“It was just as entertaining to watch,” said Bree, who’d gathered around them with Elle, Luke, Deke, and Isaiah.
Elle frowned at the mamba. “I didn’t even notice you disappear, let alone shift forms.”
Bailey shrugged. “Serpents are sneaky that way.”
“Eva’s really suffering from that bite of yours,” said Bree.
“My mamba didn’t inject much venom in her. Just enough to put the bitch out of commission.” Bailey cast a brief look at Ashlynn’s unconscious cat. “Do you guys think that will be the end of it?”
“No,” Luke and Elle said at once.
The mamba grinned. “Awesome.”
When Havana and her girls announced that they were leaving, Tate insisted on escorting them to their building. His guards walked in front while Havana’s guards covered their rear.
Aspen and Bailey disappeared inside the complex, but Havana lingered near the main door; Tate could see the question in her eyes.
“No, I’m not pissed that you sort-of-fought with one of my cats,” he said. “Ashlynn started it.”
“I attacked first,” Havana pointed out.
“Because she provoked you into doing so. Don’t worry about her or her friends. I’ll make sure they don’t think to retaliate.”
“I’m not worried about them,” she said.
“I’m sorry that Ashlynn fucked with you tonight. I never wanted my past to touch you that way.”
“It wasn’t your fault, and it’s not for you to apologize. Look, I could have defused the situation—I’m pretty good at that. I’ve had to be, because Bailey stirs shit so damn easily. But I didn’t try to calm things down tonight. I wanted to take Ashlynn on. I wanted to send a message she couldn’t fail to understand. So I did. None of what happened is on you.”
“It still pisses me off that she put you in that position. There won’t be a repeat of it. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Okay,” she said, though she didn’t look so convinced that he could stop Ashlynn from … well, being Ashlynn.
“You’re sure you’re all right?” he asked and, yeah, okay he was just dragging things out now. He didn’t want to go. Didn’t want to leave her again.
“I’m certain. Night, Tate.”
He fisted his hand against the drive to reach out and touch her. She wouldn’t welcome his touch, and he had to get used to it. “Night, Havana.”
Once she was safely inside the building, Tate crossed to Luke, Farrell, and Havana’s guards. “I need to deal with Ashlynn, Eva, and Aimee. But I don’t think I could do it diplomatically right now.”
Luke nodded. “You’re too pissed on Havana’s behalf. You wouldn’t be able to speak to them as their Alpha. You’d be doing it as someone who cares for the person they targeted.”
“I recommend you give them tonight to sweat over it, Tate,” said Farrell. “Deal with them tomorrow when your head’s clearer and your cat’s calmer.”
Tate rolled back his shoulders. “I noticed Ashlynn glaring at Havana, but I didn’t call her on it because Havana didn’t seem to care, and I didn’t think that things would escalate.”
“Same here,” said Luke. “It never even occurred to me that Ashlynn would be stupid enough to confront someone who’s under your protection, let alone threaten to throw down. I think she did it in the hope that she could somehow diminish Havana in your eyes.”
Looking at Tate, Deke twisted his mouth. “Ashlynn has either underestimated Havana’s … value to you, or she’s overestimated her own value to you.”
Tate mulled over that for a moment. “It’s probably a little of both. So far, nothing I’ve said or done has convinced Ashlynn that I don’t want her back. I couldn’t have been clearer, but she’s not listening to me. She’s certain I’m just too angry to admit that I want her and that I just need time. Which makes me think she’s had it in her head for a while that she and I would reconcile eventually. Her belief is too set in stone.”
“I agree,” said Luke. “She didn’t cut contact with you when she left the pride. She tried sending you messages and letters. That tells us she never really let you go.”
“Maybe convincing herself you’d one day be hers again was the only way she could get through having been rejected by both Koby and you—two men she thought of as mates,” Farrell suggested. “You wouldn’t have rejected her if she hadn’t fucked up in the first place, I know, but it still must have been hard for her to take.”
“Whatever the case, I’m done dealing with her shit,” Tate declared. “I’ll summon her, Eva, and Aimee to my house tomorrow and speak to them individually. And I’ll do my best to drum into Ashlynn’s brain that there’ll never again be an ‘us,’ even if it means being cruel just to make her let it go.”