Finale

Finale
VINCE

Leo gave another frustrated sigh that got Richard guffawing like a maniac and got me fighting hard to hold down my chuckle.

“What's so funny you two?” Leo grunted out, bending to take another shot with his cue stick.

We’re in my clubhouse, unwinding with drinks and games. It's a random Saturday evening. We thought a good bro-time out here in my clubhouse would be therapeutic. However, so far it has been messy.

Leo's in a losing snooker game with Richard. Actually, he's always losing in these games against Richard or me. And then I lose to Richard most of the time. Richard's the genius when it comes to games.

“I'm just thinking you might wanna swallow your pride and forfeit. He's already whooped your ass enough.” I was taunting Leo.

“Yeah, right.” Leo rolled his eyes. Richard was having another good laugh. You could tell he was really enjoying this. He's actually a fucking humble dude. If I had half his game skills, I'd never shut up about it. I'll gloat in Leo's face every fucking day.

“You know I'm nice. All you gotta do is admit that I'm better than you at this and that you'd never challenge me again.” Richard said.

Leo gave him the middle finger. He came over to where I was seated, grabbed my glass of bourbon, and gulped down the whole thing. Like that's gonna give him some superhuman ability.

“You're still gonna lose. This changes nothing.” I said with a grin, taking the empty glass from him.

He was gonna give me the middle finger. But I showed him my fist, and he dropped his hand.

He went back to get his ass kicked. “How about you help me, Vince? He kicks both our asses. It'd be nice if we formed a team against him.”

“Sure, but I could never go against him. He's kinda like my father-in-law, if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I am.” Richard supported smugly. Leo rolled his eyes again, and we both couldn't hold back our laughs.

They went back to playing their game while I watched. I wasn't just watching. I was taking everything in. The room. The ambiance. The mood. Them.

The two guys I've shared my life with for more than two decades. We've always been together since we connected as teenage Alphas. It's the first time I've ever seriously considered going far away from them. It's for the right reasons but there's no denying that I'm gonna miss them. I'm gonna miss the bickering. I'm gonna miss everything about them.

We've been through so much together that I know for certain that the distance wouldn't affect our bond. Still, I'm not delusional enough to think we're gonna have the same fever for each other once I move a thousand miles away.

Richard and Leo are gonna grow closer, for sure. And I'm gonna be the third-wheel friend. The distant friend. The thought of that hurts. Going from being the center friend to the third wheel friend is gonna crush me badly.

Leo was throwing another tantrum. This time, he threw the stick away and came to sit on a stool next to me. He poured himself a drink from the minibar in the room.

Richard was laughing too hard, I feared he might burst into tears.

“Beating him is actually the easiest thing to do. He's got no game tactics.” Richard explained, taking a seat on the stool at my other hand, and pouring himself a drink too.

I wish I could laugh as heartily as he was doing. But I already soaked myself in melancholy and it's succeeded in changing my mood.

They realized that too and everyone became quiet and melancholic as I was.

“So you guys are really leaving tomorrow, huh?” Leo began, breaking the suspenseful silence.

“Yup.”

He sighed, drinking up the contents in his glass. Maybe it wasn't the game frustrating him. Maybe it was the fact that I was leaving. I mean, he has every reason to feel frustrated. We became overly close lately. I'm gonna miss him so much. Our messy, chaotic bond is definitely one for the books.

“Have you selected someone from your council to act as proxy until your Pack elects a new Alpha?” Richard asked.

“About that,” I reached for the files on the counter. There were two of them. I handed one to Richard and the other to Leo.

They took their time to go through it. Richard was the first to react. He had a teary, bewildered look on his face as he looked up.

“Are you fucking with me?”

“I wouldn't dare.” I chuckled, but that came out croaky and sad. “It’s impossible to hand over my Pack to anyone else besides you. I don't know. I just feel it'll be too much of a task for them. With you, it'll be just perfect. You're a great leader. I'm sure you'll figure out how to run both packs.”

“This is crazy!”

“Yes, it is. But yeah, it's also real. Just think of it as my way of showing gratitude and my sincerest apology. For literally everything.”

He was way too stunned to speak even further.

The silent sobs beside me got me turning my head sharply. Oh, hell no. Leo's being dramatic.

“Giving me this much fortune is understandable. But giving just the same to Cheryl and Bryan? To Bryan? Really Vince?”

“Well, your Pack literally hit rock bottom. You'll need all the wealth in the world to build it back. And Cheryl's a darling. I'd give her the world if I could. As for Bryan, it's for his future. So don't you dare mess with it. When he's old enough, he'll decide what to do with it.”

He shut the file and was gonna hug me.

“Don't do that. Just don't. Let's just drink to it.” I suggested instead, grabbing my glass.

He laughed and grabbed his glass. Richard did too.

“What are we toasting to?” Leo asked.

“To friendship…” Richard said.

“To all the pain we endured…” I added.

“And to a future filled with happiness.” Leo completed.

“Cheers!”