That’s my girl.
I can hear his whimper. To her, he’s a beta. He backs down. “So... what? Do you like him or something?” Jeff asks with such distaste.
He’s judging her.
I have to remind myself that if she needs me, I’ll know. And only then will I step in.
Jay remains silent.
“No...” Jeff says, the disappointment in his voice is evident. “Are you in love with him?”
My heart races as I wait for her answer, but she doesn’t. I grab Casey and spin her around, trying my best to get a quick glance, so I read Jay’s facial expression. With her hair covering her profile, and I can’t tell.
Frustrated, I curse to myself. Unfortunately, I do this out loud enough where little ears can still hear.
“Hey! You said a bad word. Now you have to walk the plank,” Casey says.
Thankfully, she storms from the water toward Jeff and Jay, so I can pretend to watch Casey.
“You can’t love him.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s the future alpha and you’re . . .”
A surge of protectiveness ripples through me at the possibility of what he might say. I hold my wolf back, so I can hear how this plays out.
“The rogue who killed his father.”
My wolf relaxes.
It’s been a long journey, but I got the closure I needed to move past it. Her book provided me with different perspectives. There will still be days I have to work through it more than others and at the end of the day, I want to move forward. Iammoving forward. Hopefully with Jay—the woman strong enough to take on an alpha and live. I understand her decisions and her actions. Even though I forgive her, the reminder isn’t helpful.
A sharp poke at my back causes me to yelp. “Ow!” I peer over my shoulder to see it’s Casey with a big stick poking at my back.
“Come on. Walk the plank!” She urges me forward. With the pup holding me hostage, I reluctantly walk slowly. Then she says, “Okay. Now you have to pretend you died.”
Their conversation turned heated suddenly.
“... He was going to kill you!”
That was all I can make out from Jay’s exchange.
I wish I had heard what Jeff had said.
I put part of my attention back on Casey. “Uh... what? Oh. Okay. Sure, yeah.” I make a quick fake dying sound, trying to hear what they’re saying.
“Nooo. That’s not how you do it. You have to do it like the alpha did.”
I whip my head at her.What did she just say?
“See? Like this!” She flails her arms and falls, roaring on the way down. “Rawrhhh! Like that, see?”
With my hands on my knees, I bend down slowly to her level. On the verge of losing it, I manage to ask calmly, “Who taught you that?”
“Daddy. When he slayed the alpha.”
My wolf howls. That’s when it all hits me—I know exactly why my wolf can’t stand this guy.
