“Tessa, go ahead and take these to the kitchens. We got almost a dozen trout and six catfish. They should be able to do something with those tonight.”
The younger woman nodded, lifting the cooler. “Got it. See you later.”
She strode away quickly, not even bothering to look in my direction. Bradley looked uncomfortable, glancing back and forth at both of us.
“Uh…I’m not supposed to leave anyone alone out here in the woods,” he said, eyes wide with worry.
“It’s fine Brad, just head far enough away that you can’t hear. I’m sure Levi won’t chew your ass out as long as you can still see us and make sure nothing happens.”
“All right. But scream if you see anything.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Eugenia said with a grin.
Once he was gone, the smile vanished, and she looked at me coldly. “What do you need?”
“Wow, so welcoming,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
It didn’t work. She continued to glare at me, crossing her arms to complete the look of disdain.
“Okay,” I said, drawing the word out. “Anyway, Levi asked me to plan a big party for the town, and I thought you might be able to help us out with?—”
“I saw the two of you,” Eugenia said.
“I’m sorry?”
Eugenia let out a disgustedpfftsound. “Two nights ago? Outside the bunkhouse,” she said, sneering at me. “You know what I’m talking about.”
The memory of that night came back to me. The strange sensation of being watched. I felt a cold shiver go down my back.
“You werespyingon me?” I barked, leveling a finger at her.
“Oh, please, don’t think that highly of yourself. I was out for a walk and saw you absolutelythrowingyourself at Levi. Honestly, it was pathetic. I feel bad for him having to pity you like that.”
I jerked my head back, feeling like I’d been slapped. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” she said. “Look, I know you have thisstoryabout Levi helping you become a better person or whatever, but I’m calling bullshit. Maybe that’s how it started; perhaps you really did want to win over this Idlewild alpha, but now it’s obvious toeveryonethat you’re trying to seduce Levi.”
“I’m not trying to seduce anyone,” I said, my anger rising to a boiling point. God, I wanted to claw her eyes out.
“Say what you will,” Eugenia said, and bent to pick up her small satchel. “We see what’s going on. The late-night meetings at his cabin, dinners with him, the way you look at him when he walks by? You’re not very good at hiding it.”
My cheeks flushed. As careful as we’d wanted to be, if anyone had truly been looking, they’d have noticed. Eugenia hadobviouslybeen looking.
She pointed a shaking finger in the direction at the village. “And don’t think we don’t know what this party of yours is for.” She glared at me, putting one hand on her hip. “Levi’s going to announce you as his mate, isn’t he?”
“I…what?” Oh my god. Did the whole pack know about our relationship?
“Holy shit,” Eugenia said, shaking her head in disgust. “Whatever. You can deny it all you want, but you should remember something,” she said, taking a step toward me. I had to force myself not to back away. “I’ve got the ear ofmanyof the women in town. If Levi does announce you as his mate, you can guarantee I’ll challenge you for that spot. I already lost the leadership of one pack because of bullshit politics, and Irefuseto lose Levi or this position to some upstart bitch who can’t even shift.”
I clenched my fist to keep myself from punching her in the face. It was a miracle I managed to hold my composure.
“You think about that,” Eugenia hissed. “You can talk Levi out of announcing you as his mate, or you can fight me for it. We all know you can’t shift.”
“Yeah,” I said, my breath coming in ragged short gasps as I tried to quell my rage. “And maybe I’ll tell Levi what you said here? Have him kick you out of the pack? How would that be?”
Eugenia smirked, but backed away, moving as if to head back to town. “And risk splitting the pack? He’d lose half his people. I’ve got a lot of friends, Juniper. Friends who will do what I say.” She looked me up and down, her lip curled back in a sneer. “Good luck with yourparty.”
She stalked past me, her shoulder bumping into mine. All I could do was stand there, seething, fists shaking at my sides.What a bitch. I’d already decided I didn’t like her, but now? God, I wanted to throw a rock at her. Probably would have relished the hollowthunkit would have made when it crashed against her skull.
