Lahat ng Kabanata ng Beta - The Bayou Boys : Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

VIVIANA I can't help but grin when I glance at Phin's laptop, perched on the desk in our shared bedroom. I got an idea during the movie we watched last night. I had seen this cute, romantic gesture...A woman had changed her partner's screensaver to something sweet, a little love note. It made me think of the inscription Phin wanted on our rings. It was a small thing, but surprising him like that felt like a fun way to show him how much I appreciated the little things. He was always doing little things like that for me.But technology was still foreign to me. I was in my late thirties and had never used a computer, let alone Phin's laptop. I needed help, and Cassy was always my go-to for things like this. She'd practically grown up with gadgets in her hand, and I knew she'd know how to navigate Phin's computer without any trouble.When Cassy agreed to help, we sat down together, laughing as I fumbled through the laptop's unfamiliar layout. She clicked through the settings to find whe

CASSY The door creaked open, and I smelled the alcohol before I even saw him. Teddy staggered in from the docks, his movements clumsy, his boots dragging across the floor. There was nothing warm in how he looked at me. His skin was flushed, his breath heavy with whiskey. I knew this version of him too well.The one that drank to forget, the one that came back wanting things I couldn't give him.He walked over and tried to pull me into his arms. "Loupy," he muttered, leaning down, gripping my waist. "Come here."I pushed him back gently, stepping out of his reach. "Not like this, Teddy. You're drunk."He swayed slightly. He hated being told no, especially when he was like this. "What do you mean, 'not like this'? I'm your mate.""I know you are, but I'm not doing this when you can barely stand. You need to sleep, not… this."He frowned, moving to pull me closer again, far more insistent this time. I backed up, keeping the space between us. "Teddy, stop. We're not doing this tonight."

TEDDY I parked just far enough from the packhouse that no one would notice me, but close enough that I could still see it. The house loomed in the distance, and I couldn't stand looking at it. Everything felt wrong. Inside me, around me, everywhere. I gripped the steering wheel, trying to keep it together, but nothing was working.Cassy. The Moon Goddess. She wasn't just mine anymore. She belonged to something bigger. Bigger than me. Bigger than us. Bigger than our life. I hated it.I slammed my hand against the dashboard, instantly making my skin sting from the impact. I'd already broken a couple of knuckles punching things. What was one or two more? I didn't care. It wasn't enough to make the pain in my chest go away.I'd left her and stormed off after that argument. Again.She was right. I knew that. I'd been reckless. But it didn't change how I felt. It didn't change the fact that I was losing control of everything.I tried to take a breath and calm down, but it wasn'

TEDDY I came to, disoriented and pissed off. Leila's world had a way of messing with your head, and I wasn't in the mood to deal with it. My body felt like I was still dragging part of that place with me. I didn't need to see Phin stirring beside me to know he was just as thrown off as I was."Brothers," I muttered under my breath. How? There was no denying we looked alike, but... Merde. None of it made sense.I got up and stormed out. I wasn't ready to talk to Phin. Hell, I wasn't ready to think about what Leila had said. I needed to clear my head, and I sure as hell wouldn't do that by sitting around.I made my way down to the docks. The steady slap of water against the shore always helped calm the voice in my mind, and this time was no different. I reached for the pile of tangled nets and ropes left from earlier. The lines were a disaster, but that was fine by me. It gave me something to focus on. Something that wasn't the fact that Leila, the Moon Goddess herself, had just flip

PHINI stood at the dock, watching Teddy and Cassy disappear over the water in Teddy's new boat.. They were grinning, laughing even, the wind whipping through their hair as they cut through the waves. I tried to focus on how good it was to see Teddy like that again. Actually enjoying something. After everything he'd been through, after everything we had been through, I should've felt good about it.But the knot in my stomach wouldn't let up.I turned to walk away. Leila had dropped a bomb on us. Teddy and me, brothers? How? We'd grown up together, spent our entire lives side by side, and knew each other's stories inside and out. But somehow, we missed that part. I didn't want to think about it, didn't want to try and make sense of it right now. The only thing I could think to do was walk away and find something to occupy my hands. Maybe then, the mess in my head would settle. Viviana and Marilee were sewing curtains and bedding for our new house, and I'd promised to stay away so they