Chapter Five
Amelia was just about to knee Mr. Sardine-breath between the legs when he abruptly stopped kissing her. No… he didn't stop kissing her; he was ripped away from her. She gasped as Timothy hurled him down the steps, the man landing in a crumpled heap. The Alpha's shoulders were tense, his fists trembling as he stepped down towards Daniel.
"No, don't!" Amelia gasped out of instinct, afraid that the Alpha would hurt Daniel. He was a loser but didn't deserve to be injured. Besides, Timothy might be arrested for assault.
Timothy ripped his arm from her grasp so fast that her palms stung. His black glare turned to her. Amelia hadn't yet seen the Alphas in their Wolf form, but she could see the Beast hovering just beneath the surface of Timothy's consciousness. A low growl rose in his throat, causing her to step back. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, no matter how angry he was, but the feral look in his eyes kicked her adrenaline into overdrive. The growl stopped as soon as she stepped away and Timothy swallowed hard.
"It's not what it looks like," she said, staring at him pleadingly.
"You could have told me you were having someone else over, babe," Mr. Abs said as he got to his feet. He leaned against the fence, wheezing. "Dude needs some anger management classes, though."
"You were here to see her?" Timothy snarled, whirling on him again.
It was almost worth it to see Daniel flinch and draw away. From the look on his face, he was about to pee his pants. "Dude, we were on a date when all of a sudden she freaked out at me. I thought it was because she wasn't getting enough lovin', but now I see—"
"That's not what happened!" Amelia clenched her hands as she glared at Daniel. It wasn't enough that he was an asshole, but he had to ruin her chances of reconciling with the Alphas as well? "You are a disgusting—"
"Save it." Timothy held out his hand, his eyes narrowed. His expression was hurt, betrayed, but when Amelia tried to explain, he just shook his head and backed down the steps. "The council was right about humans. Whatever you hoped to get from us—"
"Timothy—"
He turned and leaped towards the trees, his clothes bursting off him as he shifted mid-air. Amelia ran after him, calling his name, but he was gone before she reached the bottom of the steps.
She clutched her tank top closed over her breasts. Her lungs felt like they were collapsing. She wanted to slap herself for being stupid enough to have left the two of them.
"Well, babe, since he's gone—" Mr. Abs put his hand on her butt, squeezing.
Amelia whirled. Crack! Her palm stung as it flew against his face. Daniel stumbled back, a surprised look on his stupid face.
"I told you to leave. Leave means go. Get off of my property and out of my life! You are a self-absorbed loser who doesn't care about anything except for how stacked your abs are, and it is very unattractive."
Mr. Abs stared at her with his jaw hanging open for a long moment. A red flush came over his pale features and his hands clenched. His eyes narrowed. "You know, I was only doing your brother a favor by dating you. I can do better than a fat cow like you."
"Great, go find yourself a dog then," Amelia spat back.
He grabbed her arm. "Hey—"
"Get your hands off me before I call the cops."
Daniel released her and backed down a few steps, holding up his hands. "I got better things to do than debate this with you. But you'll be sorry! When you call crying to take me back again, I'll be all, 'Sorry, babe. I've got a new girl.’ You'll be sorry!"
Amelia rolled her eyes and ignored Daniel's infantile ranting. She hurried into the house to put on a pair of running shoes and grab her keys before she headed off into the forest. At first, she could see Timothy's trail easily and followed it, hoping against hope that he’d regret his haste, and turn around so she could explain. But soon the footprints disappeared, and Amelia knew that if she didn't turn back, she'd end up lost.
Tears flooded her eyes as she headed home.
I have to call Xavier.
She patted her outfit, but it didn't have pockets. Her cell phone was still at her house.
Much to her annoyance, when she emerged from the woods, she found her brother pacing back and forth on the porch. Daniel must have phoned him. Amelia tensed, debating about going back into the woods until he left. She didn't want to have to justify herself to him right now. She didn't want to hear his excuses about why Mr. Abs was really the perfect man for her.
Too late. He barreled down the steps towards her.
Amelia ground her teeth. "I don't want to hear it, Adrian."
"What are you thinking?"
"Right now that I have a mess to sort out and you need to butt out."
Adrian narrowed his eyes. "Very funny, Amelia. Daniel told me that a werewolf was here? That the werewolf attacked him?"
"Only because your best friend was practically attacking me!"
Adrian's eyes went wide at that. "What did he do?"
"He only ignored me the whole time, except to tell me to make him a sandwich. Then, when I kicked him out, he came back and started kissing me. And it wasn't just a quick peck, Adrian. He was holding my wrists so that I couldn't push him away. Is that the kind of man you want for your little sister?"
"So he's a little passionate. That's better than a werewolf! Do you want to spend the rest of your life as a wet-nurse? Not to mention what else they would do to you. If Daniel wasn't here, who knows what the brute might have done."
"You mean like rape-kiss me? Oh, wait, that happened with your friend."
"Worse than that! And I doubt it was as bad as you're making it out to be."
Amelia stopped on the steps, turning to her brother. Was he really so dense that he didn't understand what she was saying to him? Her hands clenched and it was all she could do not to push him. "Timothy and Xavier have only ever treated me with respect, unlike your 'buddy' who clearly doesn't care when I say no. He's the one who kissed me against my will; he's the one that I'd be afraid of doing worse to me!"
"You said yourself that the werewolves were only interested in you as a brood mare."
"I was stupid to believe some chick I didn't know. Timothy was here so we could talk things through and explain, but Mr. Abs might have just ruined my chances to ever be happy. Now go away, Adrian. I don't need you."
A hurt look flashed over her brother's face, but it hardened quickly. "Fine, if that's what you want, but don't come crying to me when they break your heart again!"
"I won't!" Amelia shouted after him. "Because they won't break my heart!"
***
Xavier sighed as he got off the phone with Amelia. Timothy had arrived home a half an hour ago in a rage, ranting about how she was just using them and that he should never have thought a human would actually want to be with werewolves. Xavier, having the calmer mind of the two, had quickly phoned Amelia to get her side of the story.
"Well, this is messed up," he said, settling on the couch while Timothy paced. "Tim, will you calm down and listen to me for a moment?"
"No. No, we should have known when she left the packlands while we were supposed to be introducing her to the pack that she didn't want anything real with us. I don't care what excuses she has or what lies she's told you. I am not going to let her toy with my heart. We should have listened to the council about this from the start."
Xavier watched Timothy pace, letting him blow off steam. A frown creased his brow. He knew Timothy well: he was quick to temper and slow to forgive. If he would just listen to Amelia's explanation, then perhaps they would have a chance of working this out. Getting him to listen would be the problem. Timothy wasn't one to hand out second chances easily.
"I know you're angry. After what you saw—"
"Anger – you think that's all this is?" Timothy turned to glare at him. "How can you sit there calmly? I was counting on her, Xavier. I thought she was our mate, that the three of us would have the white picket fence I always dreamed of. Instead, I find… that!"
"The man kissed her without her permission. She had just kicked him out and—"
"What was he doing there in the first place?"
Amelia's explanation about that would only make him angrier at the moment. Xavier sighed. "Why don't we go for a run and cool off?"
"I don't want to run," Timothy muttered. "I'm going to bed."
Xavier nodded as he left, knowing that pushing him at the moment wasn't going to do any good. Once his partner was gone, the Rocky Ridge Alpha slumped over, hiding his face in his hands. Well. How was he supposed to sort this one out?