When He's Sinful (The Olympus Pride 3)

The fight hadn’t yet begun. Grant was taking a call. Yes, taking a call. Keeping his eyes on Camden, the pallas cat casually chatted away to whoever was on the other end of the line. Making Camden wait like this was an insult, pure and simple. It was no doubt also an attempt to provoke him into losing his patience and doing something stupid.

Camden stood very still, the image of calm—his expression neutral, his muscles relaxed, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. Yet she knew he could spring into action at a moment’s notice. What he would not do was fall into Grant’s trap. Camden could be incredibly patient once he had his prey in his sights. It was one of the reasons he’d made such a good sniper for the Movement.

Feeling eyes on her, Aspen turned her head. Two of her pride mates quickly looked away, but not before she’d seen their annoyed expressions. Some were shooting her looks of disapproval, clearly believing that Grant was indeed her mate and, more, that she was the cause of this shit.

Was it a surprise that they were quicker to believe Grant—a person they’d known all their lives—over her when they barely knew her? No, not at all. She didn’t like it, though. She didn’t like any of this. In fact … “I hate this. There’s absolutely no need for this fight to go ahead. It’s completely senseless.”

“You have fights for no good reason all the time,” Tate pointed out. “Usually at bars.”

“Only because Bailey stirs the pot so often.”

Beside her, Havana made a pfft sound. “You love brawling almost as much as Bailey and your bearcat do.”

Aspen sighed. “Okay, yeah, fine. But I still don’t like that this is happening.” Particularly because Grant was popular among the pride. After watching Camden fuck the guy’s shit up, they might turn on the tiger. She didn’t want him being driven out of the pride, didn’t want … She felt her nose wrinkle. “Why do I smell popcorn?” She turned her head and found Bailey cradling a bag of salted popcorn. “Are you kidding me?”

The mamba’s eyes went wide. “What? I love watching Camden fight. It never fails to be entertaining.”

Luke’s brows dipped. “What does that mean?”

A grin curved Bailey’s mouth. “It means that Grant has gone and fucked up.”

“Grant’s an enforcer,” Luke reminded them. “He’s had a lot of training.”

So had Camden, but he probably wouldn’t use much of it. He wasn’t a fan of the martial arts techniques he’d mastered. He was a brawler. He liked to fight dirty. Seriously dirty.

“In fact, I’d go as far as to say that Grant’s one of our best when it comes to combat,” Luke went on.

“Then maybe he’ll last longer than most,” said Bailey. “But I doubt it.”

“If the guy was an asshole, I wouldn’t care that Camden was about to lay waste to him,” said Aspen. “But Grant’s not a bad person, he’s simply in denial.”

“Maybe Camden will take that into account and go easy on him,” suggested Bailey.

Aspen bit her lip. “D’you think so?”

Bailey’s “No” came out on a mocking chuckle.

Havana snickered. “In Camden’s mind, that guy is public enemy number one. He’ll punish Grant for giving you trouble, but he’ll also get the point across that Grant needs to stay away from you. And after how Grant acted at the center today, I’m not feeling so sorry for him.”

“Me neither.” Bailey tossed a piece of popcorn in her mouth. “Pity is for losers.”

“Obviously, I’d rather that two of my pride mates weren’t dueling,” said Tate. “But sometimes this is the only language that shifters understand. And I’d prefer that Camden and Grant have an official duel here rather than come to blows at the Tavern or something.”

Aspen supposed that was better. Here, it was terribly unlikely that Grant’s friends would join in the fight. But at a bar or somewhere like that, there’d be no guarantees that Camden wouldn’t get jumped by a group. Pulled out of her thoughts by a sound, she frowned at the mamba. “Could you please stop humming the Rocky theme tune?”

Bailey saluted her. “Stopping right now.”

At that moment, Aimee appeared, her face hard, her eyes resentful. “This isn’t right,” she said to the Alphas. “Call Camden off.”

Havana frowned. “What, like he’s a dog? Look, I don’t want these two fighting either—”

“Then do something,” Aimee urged.

“Grant officially challenged Camden,” said Tate. “Neither of them will back down. Especially right here and now in front of most of the pride. Being their Alpha doesn’t give me the right to decide they can’t go through with a duel. That’s not how things work.”

Her mouth thinning, Aimee turned to Aspen. “You could stop this. Easily. All you’d have to do is walk over there and promise Grant that you’ll give him the chance to prove to you that he’s right.”