“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Desmond asks back at the Compound. We just wrapped up a sparring session and I’m sore as fuck. I drop down on the nearby bench as I peel my sweat-soaked shirt over my head, rubbing my stomach in the process. I’m fucking starving.
“Nothing, man. I’m good.”
“Liar,” Rafael says as he comes into the room and drops down beside me.
“What’s going on with you and Isa’s new friend?” he asks. “Because whatever is eating at you, it has to do with her. Your wolf is agitated. Has been all week.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Nothing’s eating at me. I’m good.”
“Right.” Desmond cuffs me on the shoulder. “So good you can’t stop staring at the girl every time she walks into a room.”
“Drop it,” I snarl under my breath. “She’s unimportant.”
Des snorts. “And you pissing all over the place to keep people away from her like she belongs to you totally supports that statement.”
I clench my jaw and glower. “I’m not pissing on anything.”
“Mentiroso,” Rafael says.Liar.
I ignore them and head for the showers, but of course the fuckers follow me. “Bro, you’ve claimed her. The whole fucking school knows it too. You beat the shit out of Cameron Bailey during training because he said she had a nice rack. Which she does, by the way,” Desmond adds and my hands fist at my sides.
“See, that right there. That’s my point.” He indicates my tight fists and I force myself to relax, opening and closing them to bring back circulation. “I’m one of your best friends and you want to swing at me too. What the fuck, man? Why are you so possessive of her all of a sudden. You’re as bad as Rafe when it comes to Isa and they’re fucking mated.”
“Cameron had it coming and you’re being a dick.” I stick my head under the running water and try to block out the voices of my friends as they do the same. Fucking Cameron Bailey. He wanted her that night, and the idiot made it known he was still interested. Sucks to be him though, because he’s not getting anywhere near Joaninha if I have any say about it. And trust me, I have a say.
“J—” Rafael snaps.
I wipe the water from my eyes and grab the soap, lathering it in my hands to take off today’s layer of grime. “We hooked up. What’s the big fucking deal?”
“You still hooking up with Georgia?” he asks, and isn’t that a loaded question. I tighten my jaw and rinse off the last of the suds before reaching for my towel and wrapping it around my waist.
“No.” I offer the single-word answer, knowing the fucker is going to read more into it than he should. I’m not hooking up with anyone else and it’s a fucking travesty because I should be. Georgia, Kathleen, Kaitlyn, I have a whole host of willing girls, but none of them are her, and both man and wolf only want one girl beneath us.
Neither Des nor Rafael say anything as we all dry off, getting dressed before heading for the exit. “What’s the plan tonight?” I ask as we make our way outside. It’s Friday night and our Alpha has us running patrols on top of spar sessions and school, but we have the weekend off and I intend to use it to get my head on straight.
Antonio is home this weekend.Shocker.My older brother usually makes an effort to be anywhere but home, yet decided he’d watch over our little sister, Sofia, giving me a much-needed break. Sofia is old enough to be home alone, but Raul—I refuse to call that waste of space “Dad”—has been hanging around more than usual, and none of us trust him where she’s concerned.
I get that the man who contributed half of your DNA being home is probably normal for most families, but not for us. Not since Mom left. He spends most of his nights in the woods in his wolf skin. Most of his days—who the hell knows—probably with his flavor of the week. It’s better this way. Safer for Sofia. For all of us. He’s been on the edge of turning rogue for years, and that makes him dangerous. But he never stays gone for long. Not as long as he should, at least. He comes by the house on a near-weekly basis, and when he does, he’s usually angry.
Lately, we’ve lucked out and Sofia’s been at a friend’s or kicking it at Rafael’s with his mom when Raul’s stopped by. But I have a feeling our luck will run out eventually, which is why one of us is with Sofia at all times. And if we can’t be, either because of school and patrols for me or work for Antonio, then we make sure to coordinate a sleepover with a packmate or she spends time with Rafael’s mom. She’s become the mom we never had and thank God she loves my sister as if she were her own.
Roberto should be here helping make sure she’s safe, but he left the Southwest Pack the day he turned eighteen and joined up with another. It was fucked up when he left, but I can’t say I blame him. It’s normal for shifter youths to leave the nest and forge their own path when they hit adulthood. Even more so when what they have back home is a toxic as fuck and volatile situation.
“Dunno. Isa is kicking it at Joaninha’s with the babies and Liu.”
“The babies?” I ask.
He smirks. “Yeah. Des and Liu’s baby sisters. The babies.”
Desmond scrubs a hand over his face. “Them becoming friends with one another is going to come back and bite me in the ass. Do you have any idea how hard it’s been keeping them apart being in the same Pack?”
“You’re not wrong, man.” I grip his shoulder and grin. “The days of KeAnna being tucked away in her ivory tower of Clan Wolf are over, she’s about to be corrupted by the cats. And I cannot wait to see your downfall.”
He shrugs me off as we reach Rafael’s El Camino and Dom’s Escalade. I rarely drive myself. Why bother when both of these two are control freaks and insist on driving? Nine times out of ten we’re going to the same place. We don’t need three rides to get there.
“My place?” Rafael asks and Desmond nods. I open the passenger door to Rafael’s ride when a cell phone rings. I check my pocket, but it isn’t mine that’s ringing. Desmond pulls his out and stares down at the screen, a scowl on his face. “What the hell is Meiying calling me for?” he bites out, letting it go to voicemail. As soon as he shoves it back in his pocket, it starts ringing again.
“Looks like things are about to bite you in the ass sooner than you thought.”
