Chapter 26
Elowen's POV
The race began with a thunderous roar of engines that reverberated through my chest like a second heartbeat. Cassian took an early lead, his black car with the striking red lightning bolt design streaking ahead of the pack. The red Ferrari driven by Randall Ashford stayed dangerously close, challenging Cassian at every turn with an aggression that made my stomach clench.
"He's good," Casper admitted grudgingly, his eyes never leaving the track. "Too aggressive though."
I nodded, completely absorbed in watching Cassian navigate a particularly tight turn when I felt someone tap my shoulder with surprising force. Turning around, I found Cindy standing there, her usual bright smile plastered on her face, but something cold lurked behind those blue eyes.
"Hey, El," she said, her voice cheerful but strained. "Can I steal you for a minute? Girl talk."
I glanced at Casper, who barely registered our exchange, completely fixated on his brother's race.
"I'll be right back," I told him, though I doubted he even heard me over the roaring engines and cheering crowd.
Cindy led me away from the stands, her stride purposeful, shoulders tense. We walked in uncomfortable silence until we reached a relatively secluded area behind the concession stands. Her smile dropped the instant we were alone, like a mask being torn off.
"Listen, I can't keep pretending everything's normal anymore," she began, her voice trembling with emotion. "This whole morning I've been making jokes, acting like it's all fine, but it's not. It's really fucking not, El."
My stomach dropped. "What are you talking about?"
"Are you serious right now?" Her eyes widened in disbelief. "I had to find out my best friend is sleeping with BOTH my brothers by walking in on you all cuddled up together! Do you have any idea how that felt?"
The raw hurt in her voice hit me like a physical blow.
"Cindy, I—"
"No!" She cut me off, holding up her hand. "You don't get to speak yet. For years, I've told you everything. EVERYTHING. Every crush, every mistake, every embarrassing moment. But you couldn't give me a heads-up that you were getting involved with my brothers? Not even a text message?"
Shame washed over me. She was right. In all the chaos of discovering my feelings for Casper and then Cassian, I'd completely failed to consider how Cindy would feel being left in the dark.
"And it's not just that," she continued, pacing now. "It's that you're living this fantasy that I've watched crash and burn for other women. Do you know how many girls have tried to get close to one of them, let alone both? They're my brothers and I love them, but they're damaged, El. They destroy relationships for sport."
"That's not fair," I defended, feeling protective of both men despite the awkward circumstances. "What we have is different."
Cindy laughed bitterly. "Of course you think that. Every girl does."
"I wasn't planning any of this," I said, my voice small. "After what happened with Drake—"
"Oh, don't even get me started on Drake," she snapped. "You jumped from one toxic situation right into another. At least Drake was just one asshole to deal with."
That stung. "That's not the same and you know it."
"Do I?" She crossed her arms. "Because from where I'm standing, you've gone from being controlled by one man to being passed between two."
"That's not what's happening!" I felt my face flush with anger and embarrassment. "You know what? Maybe I didn't tell you because I knew you'd react like this. Like I'm some naive idiot who can't make her own decisions!"
"Well, your track record isn't great, is it?" she fired back. "I've spent years watching you make yourself smaller for men who don't deserve you. And now you're with my brothers, and I'm terrified they'll break you or you'll break them and then where does that leave me?"
I hadn't considered that angle—that she was caught in the middle of this arrangement whether she wanted to be or not.
"I've always envied you, you know," I admitted quietly, changing tactics. "You've had everything I never did—a loving family, wealth, security. The perfect Alpha daughter with the perfect life. I never felt good enough to be in your world, and telling you about Casper... about both of them... I was scared you'd think I was trying to take something else that belonged to you."
Cindy's expression softened slightly. "Is that what you think? That my life is perfect?"
"Isn't it?" I challenged. "Alpha's daughter, beautiful, confident, mated to a wonderful guy. Meanwhile, I'm the Beta's unwanted daughter whose own mother can barely look at her without disappointment. Now the only good thing in my life is this connection with Casper and Cassian, and I was afraid you'd take that away too."
She stared at me for a long moment, her anger visibly deflating. "El, I've never seen you as less than me. Ever. You're the sister I never had."
"Then understand that I need this," I pleaded. "I need them. For the first time in my life, I feel like I belong somewhere. With someone—or someones, I guess."
A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "God, it's so weird hearing you talk about my brothers like that."
"I know," I acknowledged, seeing an opening. "And I should have told you myself. That was cowardly, and I'm sorry. But I was still figuring it out myself. This isn't... normal. I know that. But it feels right, Cindy. For the first time, something in my life feels right."
She studied my face for a long moment. "You really care about them both, don't you? This isn't just some rebellion against pack norms or a way to get back at Drake?"
"Drake has nothing to do with this," I said firmly. "What I feel for your brothers is completely separate from any pain or anger about him."
Cindy sighed heavily. "I'm still mad at you."
"I know."
"But I also love you, and apparently, so do they." She shook her head in disbelief. "If you'd told me a month ago that my twin brothers would be sharing anything willingly, let alone a woman, I'd have laughed in your face."
Relief washed over me. "So we're okay?"
"We will be," she said carefully. "Once you promise to never keep anything this significant from me again. Best friends don't leave each other out of life-changing decisions, El. Especially when those decisions involve family."
"I promise," I said sincerely. "No more secrets."
She nodded, then surprised me by pulling me into a tight hug. "If they hurt you," she whispered fiercely in my ear, "I will personally rip their throats out, brothers or not."
I laughed, blinking back unexpected tears. "And if I hurt them?"
She pulled back, her expression serious. "Then I'd have to kill you. But I'd cry about it afterward."
"Fair enough," I agreed, linking my arm through hers. "Now, let's get back before we miss the end of the race."