Chapter 5

Anna

 

Gemma and I were left to clean up the dinner mess after the guys all scattered. Caleb had more work to do upstairs, and the twins went to get their backpacks out of their Jeep so they could start studying. I wasn’t very enthusiastic about spending time alone with her, but maybe it could turn out to be a good thing. Maybe Gemma and I just needed some bonding time to relieve the building tension between us.

“So… Gemma,” I wracked my brain for how to start a conversation with her. “How have things been going?” I kicked myself for how lame that sounded, but I had to start somewhere.

She gave me an annoyed look, not at all impressed with my attempt to draw her into conversation as she gathered up the dishes on her side of the table. “Fine.”

I picked up as many dishes as I could carry and followed her into the kitchen, setting my load down on the counter next to the sink.

She took the spot in front of the faucet as I hovered in the area awkwardly. My first attempt at conversation didn’t go that well, but that didn’t mean I was ready to give up just yet. “So… I heard the guys gave you a tour of their campus.”

Gemma sighed and turned on the water. “Listen, I already know where you’re going with this, and if you have a problem with me spending time with them, then you need to talk to them. They invited me there and they want to spend time with me.”

I cleared my throat as my face got red. “Gemma, that’s not what I was trying to say. I know things have been awkward between us, so I wanted to try and spend some time with you, get to know you the way that they do.”

She heaved a sigh and turned the water on. I thought she was going to ignore me completely when she suddenly whirled around to face me. “I’ll be honest. I don’t like you, and I don’t want to get to know you,” she said acidly.

My jaw dropped in surprise, and I was at a loss at how to respond. I had expected her to be reticent and unsure, I hadn’t expected her to be hostile and confrontational.

She didn’t wait for a response from me to continue. “I think you’re selfish and greedy. You’re stringing all of these guys along and not giving any of them what they really need,” she hissed at me.

“I-” I was trying to gather my thoughts so I could get a word in edgewise to defend myself, but Gemma was on a roll now.

“The twins need someone who will be there for them, someone who will dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to loving them. They deserve better than you.” She looked at me as if I were a cockroach caught scuttling across the kitchen floor.

I had been taken aback when she first started, but the longer she continued, the angrier I got. “I love them with every piece of my heart-”

Gemma interrupted me with a snort. “You’re just stringing them along until you can get your claws into the alpha. I know how wolves like you work. You think you’re better than everyone else and you won’t hesitate to fuck your way to the top.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said angrily. I gripped the edge of the counter and felt my magic burning inside of me like an inferno. I fought to keep the magic from exploding and glared at Gemma. I might be furious with her, but I didn’t want to accidentally hurt her with my magic.

“I know that I can give them what you can’t,” she said in a low voice, her eyes burning with hate.

“You can’t!” I finally shouted as the rage inside me finally bubbled to the surface. Gemma had just pushed me too far. She could criticize me or look down on me, but she couldn’t claim to know what was in my heart. “You can’t be everything to them, and you’re not even a real wolf. You don’t belong here-”

“Anna!”

I spun around to see Jason walking into the kitchen. Electricity crackled between my fingertips and it took everything I had to pull my errant magic back inside of me.  “Jason,” I said in frustration. “Gemma needs to go.”

He raised an eyebrow at me and I could feel the disapproval coming from him. Even if he hadn’t heard anything that Gemma had said and only heard my last words to her, he should still be on my side. There was no way that he should be walking across the room to stand by her side instead of mine. But that’s exactly what he did.

Tears of hurt and frustration came to my eyes and I turned to Mason as he walked in the room. “What happened?” he asked with a frown, looking between Gemma and me.

I opened my mouth to answer, but I could tell that I was too late as the twins were already using their bond to communicate. Mason gave Jason a doubtful look, but that’s when I felt another trickle of phantom magic. I tried to focus on it, but it disappeared again just as quickly as it had appeared.

Now both the twins were standing at Gemma’s side and oozing disapproval in my direction. I saw a flash of triumph in Gemma’s eyes as the twins had their attention focused on me. That sent my blood boiling again. I let out a growl and took half a step toward her before I even realized what I was doing.

The twins formed a wall in front of her as she burst into tears. I could not believe this was happening. There is no way that manipulative little monster was going to get away with this.

Mason took a step towards me and held up his hand. “Anna, I need you to take a deep breath and calm down,” he said in an even tone.

“She threatened me!” Gemma sobbed. “She wants to hurt me.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I spluttered defensively. I wouldn’t be too upset if she tripped and fell down the stairs, but I wouldn’t actually harm her. Or would I? Doubt threaded through my mind. Would I have lost control of my magic if the twins hadn’t stepped in? Could I have actually hurt her? She was mostly human, so she wouldn’t be able to defend herself from me or to heal if I accidentally harmed her.

I took a step back, nausea in the pit of my stomach. Mason saw the change on my face. “Get some fresh air,” he said gently. “We’ll clean up after we get Gemma upstairs.”

I looked between him and Jason, tears coming to my eyes again. This isn’t how things were supposed to be. They should be standing by my side, ready to defend me. Soothing my hurt feelings. Taking me upstairs to relax, not sending me away. Gemma should be the one to go.

Mason’s eyes softened and he took a step toward me. I looked at him hopefully and wiped away the single tear that had managed to escape my eye. But before he could cross the kitchen, Gemma reached out and grabbed his arm. He stopped mid-stride and his eyes glazed over before focusing on me again. This time there was no hint of softness, only condemnation.

I couldn’t handle seeing that look directed at me, not from him.  I turned and ran for the patio door, my heart breaking into a million tiny pieces.