Navy's Sons: Bullied by Quadruplet Stepbrothers novel Chapter 15

15.Scent–1

Tabitha’s POV

My fingers tighten around the railing. The closer we get to the shore, the louder my heart pounds against my chest. And somehow the voice inside my head is screaming to jump off the yacht and swim as far away as possible. Because I know that whatever is waiting for me on land can’t be anything good.

Not with the deep scowls stretched across my stepbrothers‘ faces.

Why do I feel so guilty when I didn’t do anything wrong?

“Looks like you’ve got the whole band waiting for you,” Arthur notes, nodding toward the shore.

I hum a quiet response but say nothing more. He can see what I see, but he doesn’t know what those looks mean. Oh, it clearly spells trouble, alright.

The yacht glides across the water and slows to a smooth stop against the dock. The lake laps gently at the wood as Arthur turns and offers his hand. I take it quietly, my feet finding the planks one at a time. But as soon as I’m down, I feel a harsh hand snatching me from Arthur’s grasp. My body jolts and bumps against Jace’s firm chest as he yanks me towards him.

What the!

Jace looks furious and that is evident in the way he grips my wrist. I hiss and try to pull away from him but to no avail. He’s gonna bruise my wrist at this point!

“You’re hurting her, man,” Arthur says, stepping forward with his jaw clenched.

“Fuck off,” Reed growls from behind. He moves closer until he is standing beside Jace who is still imprisoning me with his ironclad grip.

Arthur narrows his eyes at him. “What the hell is your problem?”

Luca steps forward next. His hair looks a bit disheveled, a sharp contrast to his usually well–groomed appearance.

“You took her in the middle of the lake and stayed out there for hours. You think that’s smart? With everything going on? You know what’s out there lately,” he growls at Arthur. For a 2/6 moment, I see his eyes flickering in gold.

Shit. They are angrier than I thought.

“She was with me!” Arthur argues. “Nothing bad was going to

happen. I wouldn’t let it. I will protect her.”

Arthur’s attempt to reassure them only makes Luca angrier.

He snaps forward and grabs my shoulder before nudging me behind him. The rest of the brothers form a barricade of body walls around me, practically shielding me as if Arthur might lunge. I barely manage to stay upright. What the hell is going on?

“The fuck you will. That’s not your job. So stay out of things that don’t concern you,” Luca spits, his teeth grinding in evident fury.

“You really think keeping her locked up between four overgrown watchdogs is going to fix whatever problem you’ve got with yourselves?” Arthur bites back, clenching his fist to his side.

He doesn’t know about the bond–doesn’t realize what they’re trying to protect me from, or maybe even from themselves. To Arthur, they’re just acting like paranoid,  territorial brothers throwing a fit over me being with someone they don’t approve of. He probably thinks their protectiveness is exaggerated, and maybe it is, but right now, it feels like he just lit a fuse.

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