Chapter 5 - Part 2

Zach stood up and downed the last of his half pint then shrugged into his jacket, pulling the collar up to protect his neck from the cold rain. He left some cash on the bar to pay for the drinks and made a move towards Kay.

He didn't want a repeat of last week so tried a different approach. He leaned in to the bar and sidled up next to Kay, speaking low enough that only he could hear. "Let's walk."

Kay ignored him and continued to smile at the bar maid who had fallen into the trap and was smiling back while pouring his pint.

"Walk with me now or I will drag you out by your perfectly mussed hair." His voice was low and held its note of quiet authority, only ever reserved for those who needed reminding who was in charge.

Kay sighed dramatically and raised his hands up in defeat, backing away towards the exit. The bar maid looked up, obviously upset that he was leaving. Kay blew her a kiss, winked and turned to leave, Zach following close behind him.

"If you're looking for permission to shag my sister," he said as they stepped into the pouring rain, "you've got my blessing."

Zach ignored him and continued straight past his car and onto the street. Like his sister, the best way to deal with Kay was to ignore him.

Kay jogged to catch up and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Speaking of which, I was hoping for a nice shag myself before our little meet-up tonight. The bar maid was looking well put-out when we left." He had to raise his voice over the heavy rain.

"Why do you do it Kay?"

"Do what? You'll have to be a little more specific." He smiled.

"That. Oh woe me. The drinking. The endless stream of women. Shay's worried about you, mate. And what you said to her in there? I don't know what that was about but you didn't half piss her off. Or hurt her feelings." He added.

There was silence before Kay finally responded. "Shay's fine. She's a good, strong girl like her mammy. If she's that worried, she'll talk to me herself. Not send her lapdog."

Zach's eye twitched three or four times continuously and he sighed in frustration, looking to the sky as if it held the answers he was looking for. He blinked away the droplets of rain and turned back to Kay. "Shay won't talk to you because she doesn't want to. You spend your days hurting her but still expect her to be there for you. She's tired of your selfishness."

Kay stopped suddenly and turned to face Zach head on, wrapping long, white knuckles around his throat. He was a good few inches taller than him and his steely grey eyes mirrored his sisters. His hair seemed to stand on end a little more and his body tensed. "Don't stand there and presume to know my own twin better than me." He growled. "I know exactly how she feels. I know exactly what's going through her head because whatever that is, I feel and think it too. So why don't you mind your own fucking business and keep out of it."

Zach's breathe hitched and he could feel Kay's grip tightening slightly. Kay's temper was famously unstable and when his eyes glittered as they did now, dilating and changing to his wolf; it was a sign to back off and let him cool down. If his human side was unstable, then his wolf form was severely unhinged and deadly. He stayed as still as possible, never taking his eyes from Kay's.

Kay was always trying to intimidate him but it had never worked in the past and it wouldn't work today either. Zach was pack leader and knew better than to give in to someone as volatile as Kay.

After what felt like an eternity staring each other down, Kay finally backed off and took a few steps backwards. "I'll see you at 10. I've got a date with the bar maid."

Zach gulped down a deep and sudden breathe. He watched him through the pouring rain, saunter off back towards the pub they'd just left. Well, at least if he was with a girl, he was likely to burn off any excess tension and stay out of trouble. Maybe. He rubbed at his throat tenderly, invisible fingers still grasping at his skin.

His sisters' earlier words came back to him then. I don't entirely understand why you let him stay.

For Shay.

Keeping someone as unstable as Kay in their pack was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off at any moment. Zach himself didn't trust easily but he trusted Shay almost more than his own sister. And if she said he was worth keeping in the pack, then he believed her.

But sometimes, on nights like this, where alcohol and women were involved, it was more than obvious Kay couldn't always be relied upon to help them when they needed it most. The last time Shay so kindly reminded him of, was proof enough of that. And so were tonight's actions.

He looked at his watch and saw he still had an hour before meeting the group. He pushed the ugly memory from his mind and stalked back towards the pub. He grabbed the car and decided to check in on Lis before she left for Charles's place for the night. He would deal with Kay later.