Taking a step away from him, I let him go, and he bent over, gasping for air.
My wolf was teetering between being upset and wanting to rage. Her feelings of rejection and pain threatened to take over, but I pulled up that strength and control from my training and shoved it all down into a deep black box inside of me, never to be brought up again. He would never know that my wolf had picked him as my mate.
Rubbing my hands over my face, I shoved down all the feelings and looked at this logically. He was one of the only people that knew me inside and out. I’d built a rapport with him, and I knew he would follow my directions to a T. He also knew the inner workings of the Rossey clan dealings and how to get stuff done the Syndicate way. He was a legacy, so he already had his own connections and network he could tap into.
All of those reasons said it made sense to keep him at my side, but those nagging, hurt feelings built up in the background until I felt the pressure of it all against my skull.
“Look, Zeth,” I sighed, tired of keeping all these emotions at bay, “I just don’t?—”
Footsteps echoed outside. I caught Zeth’s arm, yanking him into the dark shadows of the corner before this conversation ended up as locker room gossip.
“Don’t worry about it, man. The decision went your way anyway.”
A familiar voice carried in as the metal door slammed open. Since this was the locker room, I assumed it was one of the fighters.
I shot Zeth a look that saidshut it. He gave a small, tight nod, and I was again reminded that he would be a great second… if it wasn't for my damn heart.
“Fucking mage! I just couldn’t catch the slimy asshole.” The voice was a low snarl, each word dragged over fangs. “What the hell do you know? You didn’t even show up until the last thirty seconds! Some cousin I have.”
“I’m sorry!” The other voice was smoother, lighter, and although the speaker was attempting to sound sorry, his words tasted of arrogance. I knew that voice but couldn’t place it. It tugged at my memory like a burr in fur.
The growly voice kept griping about the mage and the decision. This was the vampire that had fought the mage. He was favored to win by a landslide, but apparently, that didn't happen. The mage must’ve lasted the full fight. Impressive. I’d need to find him later.
“But don’t worry,” the slick voice reassured, puffed with smugness, “I think I solved all our problems.”
I moved toward the edge, needing to see them. Zeth’s grip clamped on my arm, but I shook him off.
“Oh, yeah? How?”
“I met one of the Syndicate heirs tonight!”
That made me freeze. Zeth’s face darkened like a storm cloud.
I pressed a finger to my lips.
“No, you didn’t. Someone tricked you,” the growly voice scoffed, then metal slammed as a locker shut.
“Yes, I did. Got her number, too.”
The laugh that followed was a knife scrape. “I wanted the younger one, shesofucking hot, but my friend got her. So I took the other. Bit manly for my taste, but desperate. I threw her some attention, and she swallowed it whole. Guess who?”
The slow boil in my gut hit my lungs. My stomach clenched tight, the knot twisting and twisting until it felt like it would choke me.
“It was Nova fucking Rossey. I bet if I fuck her a few times, she’ll be putty in my hands. I could get you into prime-time fights, and we’ll rake in the cash.”
Everything inside me went ice-cold. Not rage. Not yet. Just that familiar, splintering ache I thought I’d buried.
I hadn’t been expecting forever with Liam, far from it, but Ihadthought, maybe, for a heartbeat, that someone wanted me. That someone saw me as a woman, not just an heir to a dangerous name. That maybe I could be… enough.
Stupid.
All of it was stupid. I should’ve known better. I did know better.
This wasn’t just rejection. It was mockery, a slap in the face wrapped in smug arrogance. A reminder that, to some people, I’d always be “the Rossey sister,” the one you settled for.
“Get out of here,” a growly voice tried, but Liam’s mouth was still running, digging his grave further and further.
“For real! Smell my fingers. Got her to come on the dance floor. She was so fucking easy.” A pause, then a chuckle followed. “For a manly woman, she tasted sweet.”
