His eyes widened. “I…I …”
“You have no idea how hard it is to raise a child.” I looked at all of them. “How many of you have children?”
A handful of hands went up.
“And how many of you know the difference between a hungry scream and a constipated scream? How many of you have changed the diaper of your kid? How many of you have handled the day-to-day for your child?”
Some hands went down.
I looked back at the guy. “You have no idea how hard it is. You want to go across the street and try soothing that child?”
He shook his head quickly. “That’s not my job.”
I laughed. “No, no, it’s not.” I let go. Fifty push-ups. Now.”
I looked at everyone else. “And if I hear anything else like that, I will be sure to cut you.”
“Brandon, don’t you think you’re a little harsh?” I turned to the sound of my father as he walked across the grass toward us. “We all know it’s the woman’s job to handle the children. The baby already stopped crying.” My father walked closer, looking like a proud man. I glared at him, hating how his views had seeped into his men. That was the problem.
“If you want them to train properly, you should really be asking the women to do better at home. Would let the men focus more on their tasks.”
My father stopped just a foot in front of me. “It’s why I trained them at the training ground. No crying babies. Takes their focus.”
“And I recall that being past tense,” I growled at him. “I don’t see you training anyone now.”
He frowned.
I turned back to the guys. “You live in the real world, and I don’t believe in gender roles. So, get used to it.”
“Is this how you plan to run the pack now that you're the Alpha?” my father asked, his eyes narrowing slightly at me.
I stepped closer to him. “I plan to change a lot of things.
After we finished training, I sat down on the bench needing air. I had so many things that needed my attention, but I didn’t have the energy to handle any of them.
I rubbed at my eyes and stared across the street toward the trees. My eyes froze when I spotted Jade’s run-down car. She was getting out of it and walking into the trees. But she looked over her shoulder as she moved, seeming to make sure no one was watching her. I frowned and pulled myself up, hurrying across the street. I hurried to her car and around it. I stared into the trees, watching her walk deeper into them.
Why the hell was she going into the woods?
Chapter 8 - Jade
I scanned the ground looking for various plants to bring back home. We were running low on herbs, and I could only hope I would get lucky like the last time and find something to sell. Previously, I had managed to sell several items at the market, which allowed me to buy extra meat.
I continued to walk, taking in the vegetation. I walked through different parts of the woods, trying to learn where certain plants grew. I knew that near the library, there was a ton of wild blueberries and raspberries, but they were getting pretty thin when I was there.
I knew that there was prickly lettuce around here, and occasionally I could find wild spinach. I froze when I spotted a huckleberry bush ahead of me, and it looked full. I smiled, hurrying my step as I walked closer to it.
The bush was plump with berries, so I started popping them into my net bag. I popped a few into my mouth, allowing the flavor to fill my mouth.
I picked enough to fill the bag and moved further into the woods. I managed to pick enough to make a small salad, and Ilsa was going to love the berries.
I was moving past a large bush when someone stepped into my way. My body slammed into it, and everything I had picked fell out of my grasp. I tumbled backward, but an arm wrapped around me, catching me before I could fumble back into the bush.
My eyes widened as I stared at Brandon. He held me closely, seeming a little surprised to startle me as easily as he had. Once my feet were settled, he took a step back. “What are you doing?” he asked calmly.
“What are you doing?” I snipped back. “You scared the shit out of me! You should know better than to sneak up on people.”
I looked down at the berries that had now scattered across the ground. I frowned, knowing picking them up was going to be a pain in the ass. Brandon took a step back, and I watched him step on the lettuce, bruising it under his feet..
