“Nah. Don’t be like that.” Jordy moves to squeeze between Zheng and me, throwing his arms around both our shoulders and pulling us toward him in a weird side-hug embrace. “Stay. You want us to get along, right?” he says to me. “Be friendly and shit?”
I nod.
“Alright then. We’re doing our part. Liu,” he meets Zheng’s frustrated gaze, “you don’t mind, do you? It’ll be just like old times. All four of us together. Like family again. LikePack.”
Zheng shoves out of his seat, forcing Jordy to stumble back a few steps. “I’m not fucking doing this.” His chest rises and falls with each heavy breath and he bares his teeth. Rafael and Des also stand, folding their arms over their chests.
I jump to my feet, eyes wide. “Hey, it’s fine. We can—”
“No. It’s not fucking fine.”
I flinch at the furry in Zheng’s tone.
“Don’t talk to her like that.” Rafael comes to my defense, taking a menacing step forward. All of this is escalating way too fast.
“Hey.Hey!” I draw everyone’s attention back to me. “What am I missing here?”
“Nothing,” Zheng is quick to snap back.
Jordy laughs. “Keeping secrets, Liu? Then again, that is your MO, isn’t it?”
“Fuck off. I’m not dealing with your shit. You’re not my Alpha.” Zheng storms past him, making a beeline for the door before he catches himself and turns back to me. “Come on, Isa.”
I step forward to follow, but a hand on my elbow stops me.
“Not happening. You wanna storm out that’s on you. But she’s not going anywhere with you like this. Calm your beast down or I’ll do it for you.”
Before I can argue—because, yeah, Zheng is angry but it’s not like he’d hurt me—he’s cursing out a, “Whatever.” And leaving me behind.
Un-freaking-believable.I consider chasing after him. He’s my ride after all, but a firm shake of Rafael’s head has me deciding against it. Was it too much to ask to have a normal day for once? No mean girls or asshole fathers or stupid boys to ruin it?
My stomach rumbles again. “Come on, vanilla.” Rafael steers me toward a nearby booth. “Let’s feed you. I’ll take you home after.”
20
Rafe
Aflare of something eerily close to jealousy burns hot in my chest at the thought of Isa on a date with ZhengfuckingLiu. No. Scratch that. I’m not jealous. I’m pissed. Who the hell does Liu think he is?
I told him to stay away from her. Jordy made it public knowledge that she belonged to the wolves. He saw us together at Shadle Creek. Heknowsshe’s mine. And he’s still sniffing around.
It’s like the guy has a death wish. After what happened that summer before junior year—when the asshole nearly got all four of us killed—you better believe I’m not taking his shit anymore. I can’t believe I was ever friends with that asshole. He might be in my Clan, but he is notPack.Not in the way it matters. Not after what he did.
I pull Isa closer to me, conscious of my mounting anger. My arm wraps around her narrow waist as I lead her to our usual spot. Lust stirs and my dick twitches as I take in her slim legs and narrow waist, breathe in the strawberry scent of her shampoo. She isn’t wearing a lick of makeup, exposing a faint sprinkling of freckles on the top of her nose. God, she’s so fucking beautiful.
And she was here with him. The get-up she’s in is all forhim.
I grind my teeth together as we take our seats. Penny returns, takes our drink orders, and slaps a few menus down on the tabletop before retreating to the counter. She isn’t trying to flirt with Des anymore and that’s fine by me. Every chick in this place is team Liu. Even knowing what he did. Where his loyalties lie. His aunt owns the place, so I shouldn’t be surprised. But neither man nor wolf understand how they can forgive him.
For a while there we stopped coming to Suzy’s, but my pops isn’t a fan of the rift in our Pack. He doesn’t want us making it any bigger and refusing to go to one of the few shifter-run businesses would do exactly that, so, once a week, we make an appearance. We do our part. For the good of the Pack. But I don’t trust Zheng. He put his old man’s wants above the needs of the Pack. And I have zero doubt he’d do it again.
She’s quiet as the guys jump right into talking about the Hellbound Summit. It’s the biggest event of the year for the school and we’re all a little on edge for it. All Pack, Clan, and Coven leaders will be there along with prominent members from the Human community. It’s a way for the adults to mingle. Get a feel for how this little experiment of theirs is going. It’s risky as hell. Putting that many power players in the same room at once. But it’s also a chance for me to show my pops that when the time comes for him to step down, I’m ready. Students are only allowed to attend their senior year so this will be my first opportunity to show him I’m capable of navigating paranormal politics. That I can keep a level head in a high-stress environment.
He has his doubts. He might not have voiced them, but I know he questions me. Questions whether I’m ready, and if I can tamp down my wolf’s impulses. I’m one of the most dominant wolves in our Pack. More dominant than our Clan betas, but he refuses to let me challenge them claiming I’m still too young. Too hot tempered.
He wants me to transfer to another Pack for a few years. It’s common for a shifter to take some time to find themselves and to test their strength against others. To see how high up the ranks they can climb before returning home. But I don’t need to do that. I don’t need to discover myself. I know exactly who I am and what I’m meant to do.
My entire life is here. I was born to lead our Pack. And becoming Clan Wolf’s beta is one more step that will get me closer to that.
