5
FALCON
I folded my large frame into the tiny tin can that was my mate’s car. The death trap needed to go. According to Connell, the girls were not so sold on replacing the old Nissan. It held some sort of sentimental value to both Aribelle and Chloe but I didn’t care. It was running on borrowed time.
“Can’t we just scrap this heap?” I slammed the door closed after settling into the passenger seat. It rattled the entire body and I thought that maybe the hinges would break off. My attempt at opening the window failed. The motor must have been shot because it didn’t budge. “Get them something with safety features and working windows?”
Connell grunted, “I have tried to convince my mate to let me find them a different car but she’s not having it. Pretty soon I am just going to do it anyway. Better to ask forgiveness than permission in this case I think.”
My brother pulled the truck out of the driveway and steered it back toward town. Connell threw the car in reverse and followed suit. As we made our way toward the shop my eyes stayed glues to the Silverado that currently held my mate. She was perfectly safe with Dane behind the wheel but I couldn’t shake the unease I felt for not being the one in control. It irked the man and made the wolf pace and growl.
He had been on edge ever since I had been somehow sucked into Chloe’s dream. There is no way she could know that I was truly there with her, that I consciously played a role in her nightmare. My presence changed the outcome. I was there to save her this time. The glimpse of fear I witnessed within her mind had my wolf itching for a fight and the concocted onslaught wasn’t enough to placate him. Though it did help take the edge off. He wanted blood and so did I.
“What’s the status on your elusive little mate?” Out of the corner of my eye I saw my best friend’s gaze flick toward me before returning to the road. I stayed quiet for a moment and watched as the truck made a left turn toward the high school. My eyes stayed trained on it until it was out of sight before my attention returned to the windshield.
“She pulled me into her nightmare.” I wouldn’t elaborate further and her wouldn’t ask. The inner thoughts of one’s mate are sacred. He sucked a breath through his teeth. The whistle filled my sensitive ears, causing me to wince.
“No wonder your wolf has been so keyed up this morning.” He sighed as he took the turn onto our street and scratched the back of his head before looking my way again. “When is she going to get her shit under control? You are teetering.”
My wolf didn’t like the gab. Alpha or not – friend or not – no one spoke ill of our mate. Before I could swallow it down, a low growl escaped from my throat. Connell whipped the car into the gravel entrance of our home and slammed the car into park. A feral snarl vibrated through his body before his hand wrapped around my throat. He glared at me and his eyes flashed from icy blue to angry gold. Back and forth then turned as he fought his pissed off alpha wolf for control. My wolf, realizing his mistake, backed off immediately. I regained my control and instantly showed submission. My gaze dropped from his and I presented my neck, as well as, I was capable with the hold he held. He let out another growl before I felt his grip loosen just enough to allow air back into my lungs.
“Listen to me, Beta,” he snarled the words, his wolf still firmly in control. “I have been sensitive to your plight and I meant no disrespect to your mate. Challenge me once again and I will not hesitate from showing you your place. You are my friend, my brother, but it won’t matter. It won’t be tolerated.”
By the time he made it to the end of his speech he had freed my neck of his grasp and his voice resembled his normal tone. “Mar a deir tú, Alfa.” I bowed my head once more and waited for him to exit the vehicle before I struggled my way out as well. Connell was still standing beside the now closed driver’s door with his arms laced across his chest. He studied me in silence for a moment. I met his glance briefly before looking away. Both of our wolves were still unsettled and a strict Alpha/Beta interaction would be best until we each had ample time to relax. A run was definitely needed, and soon.
“We good here?” My attention snapped back to him. Surprisingly, all that met my gaze was a concerned friend. His wolf had withdrawn from his eyes completely.
“We’re good.” He gave a stiff nod before he turned toward the side door of our home. The old two story farm house had dark clapboard siding with faded black shutters. The roof had been updated shortly after we bought the property four years ago since the surrounding willow trees had done a number on the old shingles. There was a large porch that spans the entire front of the house that would most likely collapse if someone were to step foot on it. For this reason, we only used the side entrance or entered through the three bay barn we used as a garage. The barn was existing but old and in need of heavy repair. We ended up tearing it down to the foundation and rebuilding it into the fully functioning shop it currently was.
It wasn’t the large house or the barn that sold us on this property. It was the large acreage of private property located outside of town that sealed the deal. It was the perfect place to run. Though we still need to stay cautious, we always have a place to let our wolves out. It could be a bit tricky to find areas to run. Outrunning bullets wasn’t an ideal situation to find yourself in but it has happened.
I realized I hadn’t moved from my spot next to the Nissan when I caught movement from the side door. Connell made his way back toward me with two water bottles in hand. He tossed one to me before he opened the other for himself. After taking a swig he leveled me with a wry grin that caused me to raise a brow at him in question.
“You had a message on the shop line.” He had this glint in his eye that I had never seen before his mate entered his life. He was baiting me, for what I couldn’t guess but his lightheartedness was refreshing after what happened in the car.
“And?” I uncapped my water and downed a few gulps.
“That Stacy Jenkins chick wants herself some beta wolf pretty damn bad it seems.” I choked on the mouthful I was currently trying to swallow. That girl was apparently incapable of taking a hint and it was growing tiresome. Hell, even straight forward rejection went over her head. My wolf grumbled his distain, lifted a lip, and snarled.
I remembered the first time that girl came around. It was the first time my wolf openly reacted toward Chloe. Just the thought of her caused his ears to perk up and his tail to wag. He acted like a common house pet. He would shamelessly become a lap dog for his mate and I truly couldn’t blame him. I knew I would easily bend to her will as well. I had already proved it time and again by giving her the space she thought she needed.
“What did the she-devil want?” I let out an exasperated huff. This should be good.
“For you to – personally I might add – give her car a tune up.” Con’s smile only grew as I scowled at him. H was enjoying this a little too much. “Because, ‘you are the only one she would ever trust to take care of her needs.’ That was a direct quote by the way.”
Con barked out a laugh at my disgusted grimace. This bimbo was bat shit crazy. I would never be the one to take care of her needs, vehicular or otherwise. Just the thought made me want to heave. “Why is she trying to sink her overly painted claws into me? My wolf just about ripped her head off the last time I was in her presence. I smelled the fear rolling off of her.”
“That girl is a princess. The type to always get what she wants. Your rejection was unprecedented for someone like her, which will only make her even more desperate for your attention.” He shrugged at the thought. “Besides that, she has some sort of vendetta against our mates.
“Stacy Jenkins has nothing on my mate. She is an idiot for believing otherwise.” She definitely needed to pull her over-entitled head out of her ass.
“I agree with you,” Connell said before a thoughtful expression lit his eyes. “Maybe this attention from the town princess will give your mate the push she needs to open up?”
I didn’t respond to his thought and I don
’t think that he expected me to either. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure that anything - apart from the panther’s death – would push Chloe to embrace our bond. She wanted it. She wanted me. Of that I had no doubt. But, her fears had taken full control over her decisions. She wholeheartedly believed that her choice to deny me, to close herself off, was the only way to protect me. It truth, it was fear that kept her shackled. Fear of being the cause of and hardship on me. Somehow she needed a push, like Connell said, but it couldn’t be from me. I didn’t know how to proceed, but until she found a way to work through some of that fear and let me in, I couldn’t help extinguish the rest. I was ready. Ready to leap at the chance. As soon as that final wall crumbled I would be right where she needed me, but for now I just laid in wait.
“Let’s get to work on this death trap so we can be done before their classes let out. I think we should head out to the clearing after. It will due us some good to let the wolves run.” He jumped into the car and pulled it forward toward a bay I just now realized was open. He must have opened it when he went inside earlier. I am really off my game. Maybe a run will help my newfound lack of concentration. My wolf paced, causing my body to buzz in anticipation. Anticipation for what exactly? I wasn’t sure. I pushed the thought away as I followed the little white sedan into the garage.
6
CHLOE
After the fiasco that was the start of my day, my morning classes seemed to run smoothly. I didn’t trip over my own feet trying to get to my seat or get called on to answer some out of this world question about logarithmic differentiation in Calculus. Those were wins in my book. I stayed quiet, kept my head down, which wasn’t out of the ordinary for me as of late. Less attention meant less people to witness any humiliation I may suffer on such an unpredictable day.
I wasn’t the only one keeping to themselves lately. Even with all of my internal angst I noticed. Mazie was going out of her way to avoid Conner. She would show up for classes at the last possible moment, leaving no time for pleasantries or questioning, and disappear as soon the classes were over. The girl was like a ninja. It seemed like she could vanish into thin air. Case in point, the whole gang happened to be sitting around the lunch table except for one Mazie Wright.
“Hey, where’s Mazie at? Has anyone seen her today or just the dust she leaves behind?” The sound of a chair being forcefully pushed back had my attention turning toward Conner. He stood from his chair. He hadn’t bothered to respond to me, no one had, but the look on his face said everything. He was pissed. Laid back, fun-loving, joke telling Conner was gone and replaced with a no nonsense doppelganger. His blue eyes sparked with a fiery determination I had yet to see from him. He turned from the table and stormed toward the exit of the cafeteria.
“Okay, what just happened and how do I make sure it doesn’t happen again?” I looked around the table. Everyone seemed to be focused on the angry wolf weaving his way toward the door. “I think I broke him.”
“Nah,” answered Colt as he pulled his eyes away from his brother’s retreating back. “That’s just how he gets when he’s frustrated. It doesn’t happen all that often but when it does, his people skills go out the window.”
“Well I hate that I possibly caused him more grief. I had no idea bringing up Mazie would cause such a reaction.” I hated that Conner was hurting. It didn’t go unnoticed that I was doing the same thing to Fal as Mazie was doing to Conner. Although what I was doing was much worse. I can’t think about this right now.
“He’ll be fine. He doesn’t blame you.” Colt gave me a reassuring smile before returning to his half eaten lunch. Dane and Ari did the same, neither said a word about Conner’s abrupt departure and a surprisingly comfortable silence fell over the table. The hustle and bustle of the teenager filled room echoed around us, but it was nice to not feel obligated to carry on a conversation.
All of my ease disappeared when randomly glanced around the cafeteria and saw the she-devil headed in our direction. A pathway seemed to magically open for her as she neared. Every stride was made with confidence. Her shoulders were back and her head was held high as different people tried to get her attention as she passed by. She really was treated like a princess around here. It’s no wonder she’s so vain.
“Don’t look now, but we have incoming.” I said it to no one in particular, but Aribelle was the first to respond.
“What the hell could bimbo Barbie possibly want now?” Both Dane and I released a snort, Colton just shook his head at her before we all turned our focus to Stacy as she arrived at our table. She smiled at Colt before leveling both Ari and myself with an indifferent look. When her perusal made it to Dane, a bright smile engulfed her face. I couldn’t have stopped to eye roll if I wanted to.
“Hey, Dane.” Her voice was sugary sweet. I’m surprised it didn’t come with a complimentary toothache. “How do you think you did on that history test?”
“Alright I think,” Dane answered. He was the politest one of the bunch. Like the rest of us, he had no interest in carrying on a conversation with Stacy of all people. Unlike the rest of us, he would never say it out loud.
“Oh good,” she spared a glance in my direction. This caught my attention. Whatever she was about to say, I wasn’t going to like it. “I talked to your brother this morning.”
And there it was. I stared at her, a mask of indifference locked on my face. She may have been directing her words toward Dane, but she was baiting me. I knew it, she knew it. Hell, the whole table knew it.
“Is that so?” Dane leaned back in his chair and regarded her with a look that said he didn’t care.
“Yeah, I need some work done to my car and, of course, I wouldn’t trust anyone else to do it.” Her cheeky grin grew wider. “We talked for quite a while. I was hoping that he wasn’t still mad at me because of the last time I saw him. I was so glad to let bygones be bygones.”
The tension rolled off of me in waves. I got angrier and angrier the longer she stood there. She was still talking to Dane, but I could no longer hear the words. The blood rushed in my ears and made it impossible to make anything out. I gave myself a mental shake. She wasn’t going to win. I would never let her win, especially when it came to Falcon.
“…I was telling him that he needed to get out more, have some real fun, you know?” That was all I could take. I couldn’t believe how ridiculous this girl was. How sad and deluded she had to be to think that for one second Fal would give her the time of day. He was way, way, way out of her league. Mine as well, but that wasn’t up for discussion right now.
There was no controlling the laugh that poured out of me. All eyes turned toward me. I looked from Dane, who raised a brow in question, to Ari. She returned my gaze with a huge smile and a twinkle in her eye. She knew that I was done with this and about to tell this girl what’s up.
“Doesn’t it get exhausting?” I stood from my chair and slowly made my way around the table to stand in from of Stacy. Aribelle and the boys followed my lead and stood as well, although they all stayed in their places.
“Doesn’t what get exhausting?” She sighed dramatically as she folded her arms across her chest and popped her hip to the side.
“The attention seeking. The desperation that flows off of you is suffocating.”
“Who the hell do you think you are? You can’t talk to me like that!” She leaned back a little and put a hand to her chest like she couldn’t believe I could say such things. Well, newsflash princess, you don’t know me.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake.” I brought my hands up to rub my temples. This nonsense was giving me a headache. After a moment I leveled her with a look that easily told her I wasn’t playing her games. “Stop coming around and spewing your garbage. We don’t care, I promise. You are living in some alternate dimension where everyone falls at your feet. New flash Stacy, it’s not real.”
Her mouth fell open and then snapped shut. Her face was flushed, whether by anger or embarrassment, I didn’t care. Hate filled eyes were focused on me, a
s she tried to mentally decapitate me I’m sure. I couldn’t help it, I rolled my eyes once again and brushed past her. I was done with this ridiculousness.
There was one more thing that I needed to say to the she-devil before I could make myself walk away though. After I made my way around her I stopped and turned to face her once again.
“I just want you to get one thing through that pretty little head of yours,” By this time the others had made their way over to us as well. I knew that what I was about to say was going to cause me grief afterward but I really didn’t care at this point. “Falcon is not now, nor will he ever be interested in you. It’s time to lay your delusions to rest.”
With that said, I turned toward the door and made my way out of the cafeteria. A couple of grinning wolves and a chuckling cousin exited with me. I knew it was coming. Aribelle would not be able to control her mouth at a time like this. I knew she saw a glimpse of the “normal” me and if the roles were reversed I would run with it too. I just didn’t want to deal with my own issues.
“I love seeing you assert your dominance over your mate. Good times, C.” She was laughing to herself. “I missed that side of you.”
Me too, if I was being honest. It did feel really good to put Barbie in her place but again, it didn’t change my situation. “Not now, A”
“Why not?” Dane asked.
“What, you too?” I met his gaze and saw how exasperated he truly was.
“Of course me too. He is my brother, after all.”
He was being affected by my decision as well and the realization had me feeling even more dejected. I understood where he was coming from, really I did. But my reasons for staying away from Falcon hadn’t changed. I wasn’t cutting myself off because I didn’t want Fal, it was for the opposite reason. The quizzical look Dane gave me had me wanting to break the whole thing down for him. Had me wanting to beg for understanding, but I wouldn’t do that. I couldn’t do that. Verbalizing everything made it harder to handle, made the pain of not being with Falcon more crippling that it already was.
Intended (The Potential Series Book 2) Page 3