CHAPTER 14
Millie
“Hey, baby!” Charlotte greeted, waving her arms wildly in the air and jumping out of her seat to give Osyrius a big hug.
He squeezed her tight. Over her shoulder, he gave me a devious grin and palmed my friend’s ass in his enormous hands just to further twist the knife in my gut.
“Sorry I’m late,” he offered casually, pulling back and wiping that smug smile off his face before Charlotte could clock it. “Got caught up at work. My boss is a real asshole and won’t let anyone leave until we’ve called all of our clients for the following day.”
“Cam’s a personal trainer, if you couldn’t tell,” Charlotte gushed, squeezing the man’s large bicep as she revealed this tidbitof information.
What a liar! There was no boss, no job as a personal trainer, no clients. The ware had just flown in from Alaska and had spent all of his free time stalking me and my pack.
“Where are my manners,” Charlotte replied with a giggle, her face flushed with excitement. “Cam, this is my friend, Millie. Millie, this is Cam.”
“Cam” reached out his hand and firmly shook mine. Along the underside of my wrist, where Charlotte couldn’t see what he was doing, he stroked the sensitive skin with the rough pad of his finger. “So good to meet you, Millie. Charlotte talks nonstop about you.”
I bet she did. I bet the asshole encouraged it, too. That’s how he knew where to find me at my job, what car I drove, and what was going on in my life. He was using my Charlotte to get to me.
Realizing I had been quiet for a few too many awkward seconds, I nodded stiffly. “It’s strange, because I’m just hearing about you… Cam. When did the two of you start dating?”
The pause before his name and my question had been intentional. This fucker was pushing boundaries he had no right pushing. As soon as Ethan returned to the table, he was going to find that out the hard way.
My heart gave a sharp dip at the thought of Ethan having to fight this awful creature. It made me sick to my stomach to even consider watching my mate come to blows, even though I knew my mate would best him. To make matters worse, our pack wasn’t here yet. They were arriving separately from us because I didn’t want Charlotte to notice them and think something was up.
Curling a heavy arm around Charlotte’s neck, Osyrius jutted his chin arrogantly upward and gave me an all over eye-fucking before he answered my question. “Our relationship is relatively new, but I’m confident it’s going to last long term.”
My beautiful friend looked starry eyed at the man, though I knew the rat was talking in code about me. What a prick! How dare he use her like a pawn!
“I told you he was a keeper,” Charlotte cooed, snuggling closer against the “Cam’s” side.
“Charlotte told me she met you at the pizza shop she works at. I don’t remember any gyms nearby. Which one do you coach at that you could stop in every day for lunch?”
If he was going to play pretend, I hope he’d thought through this fictitious little world of his. Otherwise, I was going to call out his lying ass right here on the spot.
Osyrius wore a mocking smile as he replied, “I’m a personal, in-home trainer. I don’t work for a facility, but a private agency.”
How convenient. I bet that excuse came in handy whenever he was pretending to be someone he wasn’t. “I see. And yet you can still stop in the same restaurant for lunch every day, no matter where you’re working?”
Leaning forward, Osyrius pinned me with his dark gaze when he said, “When I want something, or someone, Millie, I’ll go wherever I need to go to make it happen. Nothing stops me from getting what I want. Nothing.”
Charlotte’s face looked confused, though touched, by the ware’s heated reply. I knew better.
Our waitress stopped by to get our new arrival a drink at that moment, cutting off any response I could give.
“I’ll take a rum and coke,” Osyrius ordered, discretely winking at me from across the table. “And why don’t you bring another round of drinks for the table on me. Everyone looks thirsty tonight.”
Charlotte’s expression appeared downright adoring at her boyfriend’s generosity. Unfortunately, I thought it was the worst idea possible. Alcohol could only serve to make an already terrible situation explosive.
The waitress didn’t wait for my approval before she nodded and headed off to collect our drinks. As soon as she left, I could see Ethan returning to our table. Before I could warn him about Osyrius, he caught a whiff of something in the air. I was guessing that something was an unfamiliar male ware. Immediately, his body tensed and he became incredibly attuned to his surroundings. Even from this distance, I could tell his hackles were raised by the unexpected scent wafting toward him.
Cautiously, Ethan made his way back to the table with a look of pure rage blanketing his handsome face. His nostrils flared at the cloyingly strong scent of the foreigner in our midst as he swiftly figured out what was going on.
Hands balled into fists at his side, he approached the table, his breath bellowing in and out of his lungs at an accelerated pace. That’s when Osyrius, scenting his enemy, turned. Their eyes locked. I swear I could hear the faintest growl vibrating low in their chests as they stared each other down.
Finally, Osyrius flipped a switch and took on the persona of “Cam” again.
“This must be Ethan. I’ve heard so much about you,” he said. His tone, however, held so much rancor I could practically taste it on my tongue.
