I smirked. “Careful. Just because she’s not around doesn’t mean we didn’t make that promise.”
He growled at me as though that would make me step back. If only…
I shook my head and chuckled. He was certainly feeling a bit testy. I turned my attention to Steele. “Anyway, what did you do?”
He shrugged. “I demanded that she let us go.”
“Us?” Malachi asked, sliding his phone back into his pocket. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Or just you.”
“I asked for me first, but semantics,” he said and stood a little closer, his eyes hardening to steel. “The point is, I’m never going back. So, like it or not, I’m seeing this through to the end… however messy it might end up being.”
I turned to Malachi, “When did you see take those pictures?”
“Yesterday,” he said.
I glared at him. “And we’re only now—”
He shook his head. “We were all busy doing what we had to do. The point is, I shared it. Do you really want to get into technicalities?”
“Fair enough,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender before turning toward Steele. “When did you confront our dear alpha?”
“Right before meeting up with the two of you,” he said with a nod in our direction.
“Let me guess,” I started, “she gave you an ultimatum?”
“She said I would regret this,” he said.
“She desperately needs new material,” I said and huffed. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the stone railing that enclosed the little tourist attraction.
“We need to come up with a plan,” Malachi said. “A good one.”
“Hey, we’re the best there is. Every plan we make is a great one,” I said.
Steele snorted.
“Ow,” I said. “Harsh.”
He shook his head. “None of this matters in the end. Not if it means two of us are going to be forced to live without our mate.”
“But that is the point, right?” Malachi said. “Working together to make sure Cassidy is safe, regardless of the outcome?”
He had a frown on his face. “You’re only saying that because you believe she’s going to pick you.”
I smirked. “Boys, I have a suggestion and it’s a great one.”
They turned their attention to me.
“We work together,” I said. “Get Cassidy out of the mess she’s in. And, in the end, when she decides to pick one of us, we respect her decision, but still stick around because, if we can’t be with her, the next best thing is being around her, right?”
Steele huffed and then nodded. “I would rather it not be as friends.”
Malachi narrowed his gaze on me. “What game are you playing here?”
I sighed and turned serious and stared into my other best friend’s eyes. “If I can’t be with her, the next best thing is living around her. Regardless of her choice, my heart is made up. She’s my mate, and I refuse to live without her. So, to answer your question, there isn’t a game. Only the lesser of the two evils.”
“Same,” Steele said.
Malachi nodded. “So, we are agreed? We work together to get rid of the ex and our alpha. Once everything is done over with and her decision is made, we respect the choice and devote our lives to her as friends?”