“I think maybe this is too much stress for you. Maybe we should end the night here. Yeah, I think that’s for the best. You are way too wound up. It won’t be pleasant for you if we can’t talk. I’m doing this for your benefit, thinking only of you.”
I stare at him, astounded. His hands twitch on the coffee table, and his eyes dance around the café, barely pausing.
“Are you strung out?”
He jerks his head. “NO! Of course not. I can just tell, feel how anxious you are. There’s no point going on a date with someone who can’t be themselves.”
I’m not nervous, though; a deadly kind of calm has come over me.
“Fine. I’m going to go.”
“Good. I mean, it was great meeting you, and I really hope you match with someone when you feel less stressed.”
It’s a good thing I’m wearing boots because if I were wearing stilettos, I might put them through his skull or the café floor.
I get back into the truck and sit there. Ten minutes pass, and I see another woman walk into the café. Fifteen minutes later, the thin, beautiful redhead and he leave together.
Booty call. I wasn’t even good enough for a booty call.
The passenger door opens, and Khaos hops into the truck. “Over already?”
I start the truck; he just gets the door shut before I drive off. I don’t say a word. My anger is next level. A throbbing mass of insecurities, pain, and self-loathing.
He tries to speak to me several times, but I’m lost in my thoughts, lost in my rage. We get home, I get out of the truck and walk into the house. I’m immediately confronted by four giant alphas. I recoil and then push my way past them.
“Casey!”
“Leave me alone!” I shout.
I go into my room and lock the door, but because I can’t keep them out, I go into the bathroom and lock that door, too. I stare at myself in the mirror and scream in rage.
The door flies open, and Wrath appears in the dark rectangle of space. Our eyes meet, and I turn, lifting my fist. He grabs it and pulls me close.
“What did he do?”
“Nothing,” I snarl. “He took one look at me and rejected me. He thought I was fat. Ugly. I don’t know, just not what he wanted. And then he said it was because I was too stressed. I was too anxious. But I wasn’t. I was angry. I hate these dates and that they make me feel so unworthy.”
Wrath snarls back at me. “Who cares what he thinks?”
I tug myself free, pacing in the small space. “I hate feeling like I want to hurt people.”
“Really, I love it.”
I stare at him and then lunge forward, grabbing his neck and crushing our lips together.
“I’m not supposed to form attachments. I’m not supposed to want you.”
“Fuck everyone,” Wrath growls back.
Wrath tastes like violence and aggression. He seizes control of the kiss while his hands find the button on my jeans, flicking it open. He drags them down, while I rake my fingers through his silver hair, pulling hard. His fingers slide inside me, and I hiss, biting his throat.
He growls, and the sound vibrates against my teeth. He viciously pulls me off him, turning me around.
“Is this what you need?” Wrath hisses, shoving his jeans down and leaning over me.
“Yes,” I snarl back.
In the mirror, the light of my wolf shines through my eyes.
