Belle
I couldn’t believe I’d gotten out of there in one piece, running my hands down my body to check that everything was still there.
“Shit,” I spat out, my breathing still labored as I headed home, hoping my aunt wasn’t at home. I mean, how the hell do I explain this fiasco?
I couldn’t.
She’d probably slap the back of my head and talk to me like I was a kid again. And let’s be honest, she’d be right to do so. Damn it, I’d never done anything like that before and I swear I didn’t know that growl was going to come of out of me.
No. I did not. Because if I had I would’ve stopped it mighty quick. Nobody growls at an Alpha and gets away with it. Shoot. What would Wyatt do to punish me? I just hoped whatever it was wasn’t made public. I’d hate for everyone to know how I’d acted; the sheer embarrassment would probably kill me stone dead. Great.
I walked inside before I realized I’d left my truck abandoned outside Wyatt’s. Where my mind was I had no idea. Well, maybe I did as haunting green eyes, a broody smile, and a dimple played on a loop inside my head. Dang, that Scot had put me, and my beast, off kilter and I had no clue why.
Yes, he was hot. All tough and muscular with an accent to make any woman’s panties damp, but he was just another of those guys who were hotter than hell. I knew what happened with them, I got burnt. Not again. Nope. I refused to allow myself to be hurt again.
So what’s a girl to do? Stay away from the hottie and hope that the Alpha didn’t kill me for my actions earlier.
“Are you all right?” my Aunt Avery asked before I took another step.
“Sure,” I replied, not wanting her to know what happened. Jeez, she’d give me hell for growling at Sadie.
“That’s not what I heard,” she answered smugly.
I turned toward her. The look on her face told me she knew. “I . . .”
“What’s going on? Come and sit down. The coffee’s fresh and I’ve just finished baking your favorite cookies.”
Cookies. My downfall. I could never have just one of her damn cookies and she knew it. “Thanks,” I said, noting how dull my voice sounded.
“Darling.” She gave me a steaming cup and pushed the plate of deliciousness toward me. “Sadie called me and told me what happened.”
“She had no right,” I argued, knowing full well the opposite was true.
“She’s worried about you,” my aunt said as she sat opposite me. “So am I. Why on earth would you do such a thing? You know how protective Wyatt is, but even if that weren’t the case, she’s your Alpha and she’s pretty damn tough all on her own.”
I’d crammed a full chocolate chip cookie in my mouth so she had to wait before I answered. All Aunt Avery did was sit and wait, her eyes set on me and I knew she was going nowhere until we’d talked. Dang, all I wanted was to slink away and forget what had happened. No chance.
“I’m not sure what happened. One minute Wyatt and Sandy, that’s the visiting Wolf by the way, well, they were talking and I remember thinking I just wanted to leave but I couldn’t. Then Sadie brings over some food and before I knew it I growled. I swear I didn’t know I was going to. I’m not that stupid. But it kinda just happened. I’m sorry.”
“I see.” Aunt Avery sipped her coffee looking very thoughtful.
“Well I don’t see,” I answered hotly.
“Tell me exactly . . .” Pausing, she raised an eyebrow. “Wait . . . did Sadie touch anyone when she brought the food?”
“Touch?”
“Yes, touch,” she exhaled impatiently. “Did Sadie touch Wyatt or Sandy?”
I sat back, shoving another cookie into my mouth as I replayed the scene in my head. The men talking, Sadie walking over, her hand landing on Sandy’s shoulder . . . and shit on a freaking brick . . . I did it again. I growled.
My hand shot to my mouth as Aunt Avery reached over to grab the other. “Tell me what you just remembered. Exactly.”
I swallowed the goo in my mouth, grabbed my coffee and drank half of it, then looked into my aunt’s worried face. “The men were talking when Sadie brought over a huge plate of food, she placed it down in front of Sandy, and her hand was on his shoulder.”
Aunt Avery sat back, a glint in her eyes. “I think I understand now.”
“Do you?” I leaned forward eagerly. “Because I don’t so spill the beans, please. I’m going nuts trying to figure out what’s going on.”
“You need to do that yourself, darling,” Aunt Avery replied with a smile. “Now go and get ready, you’re to be back to see the Alpha soon. Scoot.”
I knew my aunt, she wasn’t going to tell me anything, so I snatched a couple more cookies and went to my room, and I called my best friend, Maddie, for some moral support. For once she listened right to the end without butting in, but even after I’d told her what happened, she remained silent for far too long. That worried me more than anything that had happened already.
She finally told me things would be okay and she’d call me later to find out what happened with Wyatt. Not the response I expected so I’d huffed and hung up, going for a hot shower.
I didn’t have time to dry my hair. Not when I’d taken forever deciding on what to wear. I settled on a pair of jeans I loved, they had some sequins on the back pockets in the shape of angel wings. I tugged on a V-neck shirt that Maddie told me was good for my “ample breasts” and braided my long chestnut hair before dabbing on some lip gloss and mascara.
There. I was ready for my death sentence. Right.
Aunt Avery was waiting on me. “Be polite and agree with whatever Wyatt says. Don’t piss him off anymore with that sassy mouth of yours. Okay?”
“I’m not a moron.” I struggled out of her hug. “I don’t have a death wish, Auntie.”
“Sometimes I wonder about that,” she quipped, pushing me toward the door.
“Hopefully I’ll see you later. If I don’t return, you’ll know he’s either ripped my head off or got me locked up somewhere.”
“What did I just say about that mouth of yours?” Aunt Avery shook her head. “Go, before I’m the one to lock you up.”
“Fine.”
I didn’t want to face Wyatt or Sadie again so soon, and what if Sandy was there? That would put the topping on the cake for my embarrassment.
As I trudged through the camp, I saw more than a few people, most giving a quick wave, a hello, and one or two who wanted to stop and chat. I loved that about our Pack, we were close and looked out for each other. Most of us that is. The one person I did not want to see was Kaylee.
Why? Quite simply she was one of those uber bitches who used passive aggressive comments like she’d invented the damn phrase. You know the type, right? The ones that say, “Oh I love your new top, but . . .” or “That new hair style is rather adventurous for you, isn’t it?” In other words, they were experts at making you feel like crap but usually done in a way where you couldn’t just turn around and say, “Shut the hell up, bitch.”
And there she was. All dolled up, as usual, full make-up perfectly in place, designer jeans hugging her and the fakest smile imaginable plastered to her face.
“Belle,” she gushed, Dang, I hated when she did that, I always felt the urge to smack her in the face. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Really,” I muttered, speeding up.
“Yeah.” She stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop, her dark eyes excited as she prattled. “I heard there’s a new hottie in camp. Spill. Who is he and what’s he doing here?”
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” I almost snarled.
“Sure you do.” She pushed my shoulder which made me want to slap her even more. “You were seen, Belle, driving a big hot guy up to the Alpha’s cabin. Come on, tell me who he is and is he staying long?”
“Kaylee, I have an appointment with Wyatt and I’m going to be late. I have to go.”
“Hey.” She pouted, yes, actually pouted at me. Did she think that would work? Hell no.
“Hey what?” I frowned at her, trying to get it through to her that I had no intention of telling her anything.
“A girl has got to get excited when a new Wolf appears just before the scenting ceremony, especially if he’s as hot as I’ve been told.” She looked around as if expecting Sandy to suddenly appear, her hands fluffing up her jet black hair. “Just tell me his name, that’s all, just his name.”
“Go away, Kaylee, I don’t have time for this.” I took a step and her hand grabbed my arm, her nails digging in a little too tightly.
“Belle, what’s wrong? You got your claws into him already? Is that why you won’t tell me anything?”
Her smarmy tone was almost my undoing as I whirled around, looking pointedly at her hand. “Remove that unless you want me to remove it, permanently.”
Releasing a growl to show I meant business, she raised an eyebrow before letting go. “Touchy much? Jeez, I was just asking. Looks to me as if you’re protecting something, Belle. Guess I’ll have to find out for myself what that is.”
Fighting to control the sudden rage that ran through me, I roughly pushed her out of my way. “Go to hell, Kaylee.”
Her laughter as I walked away almost had me turning back to punch her, hard, but I didn’t. I had enough trouble with Wyatt without fighting in the street. I swore to myself that the first chance I got, I was going to let rip at that bitch and tell her exactly what I thought of her and her sickening fawning over anything with a cock.
The word ho comes to mind.
So there I was angry, upset and in a foul mood as I stomped up the stairs to Wyatt’s. Wonderful! He’d sense all of those emotions and think they were directed at him. I saw any chance of a lenient sentence slipping away.