"Weston doesn't give a shit about you," I said bluntly. "He's never even mentioned you before."
This enraged Alexei. He wrenched his wrist from my grip. I let go only because I was sick of touching him.
"As a matter of fact, I was on a date with Weston just recently!" Alexei announced. "He just happened to get lost. I've been searching for him all this time."
Recently?I thought, withholding a snort. Since I'd never seen this man before, this so-called date must've occurred before I even met Weston, and obviously Alexei meant nothing to him. This guy was just an average douchebag. He reminded me of every guy I'd dated before Weston: arrogant, self-centered, and only wanted one thing from you.
And now, knowing that's what Alexei wanted from Weston, I was filled with fury.
"Weston is my fated mate," I stated. "And he's pregnant with my twins."
Alexei's face melted into an expression of dismay and horror. "What? No!"
"It's the truth."
Alexei snarled as he gripped my shoulders. "How could you? How could a stupid fish like you knock up a rare bird of prey omega? He should have beenmine!"
I smacked Alexei's hands away. My skin felt gross where he'd touched me. Not only that, but my insides felt gross, too. How dare he talk about Weston that way? He wasn't an object to be possessed. He was a person with his own feelings and independence. Knowing Alexei only wanted Weston because he was an omega pissed me off. I'd never been so angry in my life.
I slowly reached down into the water and ripped out a long, sturdy pond weed.
Alexei furrowed his brow. "What the hell are you doing?"
Still glaring furiously at Alexei, I gathered my hair and tied it into a bun with the pond weed, using it as a tie. "Putting my hair up."
"Why...?"
"So I can do this."
And then I punched him in the face.
Alexei was so startled by my attack that he stumbled backwards and fell on his ass. "Ow! The fuck?"
I stood over him, shaking off my fist. I didn't hit him hard enough to break anything, although part of me wished I did. The newfound disgruntled respect in Alexei's eyes told me that he finally took me seriously now, that I wasn't just some weak little 'goldfish' shifter.
Alexei's gaze darted to the pond, then widened further. "Um..."
"Get out of my sight," I said. "I don't ever want to see you near my mate again. Understood?"
A shadow fell over Alexei. Scrambling to his feet, he let out a whimper of fear. It confused me--sure, I was being a little scary but surely I wasn'tthatscary?
I turned to the pond to see what had spooked him so badly.
The water had lifted from the pond and arched over Alexei like a hovering claw waiting to strike.
I stared in disbelief.
Did I do that...?
Surprised as I was, I used the momentum of my anger to give Alexei a final proverbial kick in the ass. "Now get out of here before I unleash my wrath on you!"
Those drama classes in high school must've come in handy because Alexei yelped like a terrified eagle chick and shifted in a flurry. He took off clumsily into the air, never looking back.
When he was good and gone, I turned to the water. It slowly melted back into the pond like it had never moved. I blinked. "Huh."
I heard wings flapping before someone crashed into me, but it was only Weston.
"Nishiki!" he cried. "I'm so sorry, I was building the nest and didn't notice what was going on until I saw the pond moving on its own. What happened? And--" he shot the water a look. "What is going on?"
