“Are you coming to the party tonight?” I asked him as we started packing up the picnic basket he’d brought.
I saw him cringe and knew the answer was no before he even spoke.
“Matt’s insisting on hitting up Theta tonight, remember?”
Theta? After everything he’d confided that was the last place I wanted him to go. A hiss escaped me before I could stop it. I was too embarrassed to even look at him, so I just continued packing as fast as I could.
“Hey,” he said, stopping me and taking both of my hands in his. “I’m only making an appearance for my frat brothers. I know you have no reason to believe me after everything we talked about, but I swear to you, you have nothing to worry about. I am yours. Only yours. Even if I wanted to be with anyone else, which I absolutely don’t, my wolf would never stand for it. You’re it for us.”
“I don’t have the right to even ask that of you.” I truly felt that way too. I knew we couldn’t be together in the end, so all of this was just torturing the both of us.
“You’re my mate. You have every right to ask, and if you don’t want me even stopping by the Theta house tonight, I won’t.”
“No, that would probably just cause rumors and questions anyway. Go, have fun,” I said. A terrible wave of hurt washed over me. “Okay, not too much fun,” I admitted.
“Can I walk you back?” he asked.
I looked to the woods. “Not all the way back. Here, let me help you with that.”
Chase was loaded down with the two large baskets and the portable heater, but he brushed it off and refused to let me carry anything.
“I’ve got it,” he insisted.
We were mostly quiet on the walk back, but just before the clearing that would lead to my house we stopped. He dropped the stuff to the ground and hugged me.
“Can I see you tomorrow?”
“I have to study tomorrow. Calc test on Monday, remember?”
“Library at two? I do believe I have to study for that same test.”
I pulled back and gave him a look. “You could take that test with your eyes closed, Chase. You may have everyone else fooled into believing you’re some dim-witted playboy, but I know better.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Caught on to that, did ya? Well, I can help you study for the test at least.”
I knew I should have said no, but the idea of not seeing him for an entire day did not sit well with me, or my panther. “Okay,” I agreed.
“Tomorrow then,” he said, kissing me playfully on the nose. It did all sorts of things to me on the inside. I could tell he had no idea, either. Cats were hypersensitive on the nose, and until then, I had no idea that it could cause such pleasurable sensations. I was hyperaware of my mate, and my skin was tingling all over as I turned and headed for the house. At the edge of the woods, I looked back and gave one final wave before disappearing.
Back at the house I plopped down onto my bed, still in a dreamlike trance. Chase had a way of doing that to me. He was a dog. None of it made sense. Daddy would never approve, and yet there was something so romantic about a forbidden love affair. Even knowing my heart would someday be crushed, when I had to give him up, I was walking right in with my eyes wide open.
Anita knocked on my door, and peeked her head in. “Hey girl, sisters meeting in the lounge in five.”
I sighed. I wondered if love was written on my face. Love? I thought. I couldn’t be truly in love with Chase. I examined my feelings thoroughly. Oh boy. I was already falling in love with Chase Westin.
“Jenna, let’s go,” Tessa yelled from the hallway outside my room.
Begrudgingly I got up, checking myself quickly in the mirror before walking to the lounge on the other side of the house. All my sisters were already there waiting.
“Finally,” Ayanna grumbled as she called the meeting to order. “As you all know we are eleven gorgeous, exotic, sophisticated women who have never had this much freedom. King Lockhardt made certain we attended a school with absolutely no eligible mates. Not one male, black, panther attends the ARC. So, what are we going to do?”
“Interspecies challenge!” Louisa yelled, and all the other girls cheered.
“What’s that?” I whispered to Anita, though it must have been loud enough for others to hear, because Ayanna rolled her eyes at me.
“It means that we are tired of being virgins, Jenna. We may not be able to find suitable mates here, but we can certainly have a little fun in the bedroom.”
I blushed as the other girls all whooped and hollered in excitement.
“We all,” she said, glaring at me, “must agree. What happens at the ARC stays at the ARC. Nothing can ever get back to our families and especially to our King.”
Heads nodded all around and Anita nudged me until I was nodding, too.
“Great, so I’ve come up with a list of eligible hotties and we’re going to draw names. Several are listed multiple times, so we’ll see who can bed them first,” Ayanna continued.
“Hold up, we’re all chasing after the same guys?” I asked.
“Yes. That’s the challenge, Jenna. Keep up,” Tessa said, glaring at me.
I really didn’t have a good feeling about this.
“If you don’t want to participate, fine, but you have to swear not to say a word about it outside this group. Not to anyone.”
I nodded. As the bowl with the names was passed around I took one and glanced at it.
Matt Williams, the paper read.
Anita peeked over my shoulder. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she snatched it from me and gave me hers. I turned to question her, and her eyes pleaded for me to accept. I nodded, wondering if Anita had a thing for Matt or something.
I opened the new piece of paper and my heart dropped.
Chase Westin.
Ayanna had said that there were multiples of each name. I looked around the room wondering how many of my sisters would be throwing themselves at my mate for this challenge. It took everything in my power not to roar in anger.
“Now, we’re going to go around and each of us reads off the name so we know who our competition is.”
Four others claimed Chase before it finally reached me.
“Chase Westin,” I said.
A few snickered. Tessa and Ayanna both had Chase too. So did Louisa and Chloe. I wanted to throw up.
“Um, Chase is a wolf. You know that, right?” I said wanting desperately to dissuade them from this madness.
“Jenna, we know that. It’s called the interspecies challenge,” Tessa said, clearly getting irritated with me. That wasn’t anything new.
“But Matt Williams is on the list and he’s not really a different species,” I protested.
“If you had been here from the beginning you’d already know we made an exception for him. He may be feline, but he’s still forbidden by our King, and he’s hot, so he’s in,” Ayanna said, sharing Tessa’s annoyance with me.
“It’s not like you really stand a chance anyway, Jenna.” Chloe laughed. “I wouldn’t even bother trying if I were you.”
A few of the other girls laughed too, but Anita grabbed my hand and squeezed, giving me strength and encouragement.
“When the boys arrive tonight, it’s game on!” Ayanna squealed excitedly.
I couldn’t believe this was even happening. It was insane.
“What if more than one of us gets our man?” Louisa asked.
I ground my teeth to keep from lashing out at her “our man” comment. He was mine. Only mine. The fierce possessiveness that overcame me nearly knocked me backward.
“Well, that is why we chose these particular guys. I mean, come on, Chase Westin? Super hot, super easy. Once he knows the panthers are available, he’ll be sniffing around here all the time. Won’t be able to help himself from what I’ve heard,” Ayanna informed them.
I took a deep breath in through my nose and slowly exhaled through my mouth. When I felt calm enough to speak, I raised my h
and.
Tessa shook her head in embarrassment for me.
“This isn’t second grade, Jenna. Speak,” Ayanna said in her cattiest voice.
I was fighting back my claws threatening to turn loose. “Are we still having the party tonight? 'Cause the D.O.G.s aren’t coming,” I informed them. Shock was evident on their faces.
“And how exactly would you know this?” she demanded.
“Because Chase told me. We have several classes together. Matt insisted they party at Theta tonight.” I smirked.
“What?” Tessa shrieked. “We have to go to Theta then.”
“Cancel our party?” Louisa asked.
“Yes. This starts tonight. If they aren’t coming here, then we go there,” Tessa said, not once doubting I was telling the truth.
“How do we know this isn’t some sort of trick so Jenna can get a head start on Chase?” Chloe asked.
The rest of the room dissolved into laughter. Even Anita laughed, though to her credit she did try to rein it in.
“Whatever,” I said. “Are we done here?”
I got up and went to my room. I wasn’t sure, but I thought I might be hyperventilating. How could this be happening?
Then another thought occurred to me. I’d just been given a free pass to openly flirt with my mate. Maybe the challenge wouldn’t be that bad after all. I still hated the fact that at least four of my sisters, including my identical twin, would be throwing themselves at Chase, but I had to trust that he was telling the truth when he said I had nothing to worry about.
Game on.
Chase
Chapter 11
“He looks smitten,” Patrick said as I lay on my bed staring up at my ceiling.
“Smitten for a kitten,” Liam said, laughing at his own joke. “I take it you had a good lunch?”
“Yeah,” I said. “How did I get so damn lucky?”
My mate was the most incredible woman in the world. Maybe all mated males thought that, but I knew it for a fact.
“What’s wrong with him?” Matt asked, barging into my room, unannounced as usual.
“Nothing,” I said, sitting up and pulling my shit together. “What time are we leaving?”
“Ten minutes, so get your ugly ass up and ready.”
I stood and checked myself in the mirror. I wasn’t out to impress anyone, so didn’t see the point in changing.
“You guys ready?” I asked my brothers.
“Yeah, let’s do this,” Patrick said.
We walked as a pack with my D.O.G. brothers over to the Theta house. I hated every step of it. It was true I had slept with nearly every one of the Theta sisters in my time at the ARC. I wasn’t proud of it, and I especially hated knowing that Jenna had heard about it. I didn’t want to be there, but an appearance was necessary.
Walking in, I immediately felt the familiar tingle signifying Jenna was nearby. Before I could find her, Tessa found me.
“Chase, dance with me,” she pouted, pulling me onto the dance floor.
“I’m really not in the mood, Tessa. Hanging with my brothers tonight,” I said, quickly introducing Liam and Patrick.
Kaitlyn came over and stared her down until she backed off. Giving me a big hug, she whispered. “I’m sorry. They found out you guys would be here, cancelled their party, and crashed ours. I’ve heard some disturbing rumors they’re out to bed some D.O.G.s, so heads up. The interspecies challenge, they’re calling it.”
I stared at her in confusion. “Seriously?” I mouthed, and she nodded.
I introduced Kaitlyn to my brothers all the while scanning the room in search of Jenna. I could feel her presence, so where the hell was she?
Half a dozen Thetas stopped by, most with offers for the evening, but I declined them all. Ayanna cornered me and practically purred as she too propositioned me. What the hell was going on? I wondered.
Liam, Patrick, and I grabbed a couple beers and headed for a corner.
“There’s some weird shit going on around here. Kaitlyn said the panthers are on the prowl and setting their sights on me and few of the boys,” I told them.
Looking around, Liam commented, “I certainly don’t remember the ladies looking quite so sexy when I went here.” He pointed out a few. They were all panthers.
“Damn. They definitely didn’t look like that at my college either. Makes me feel guilty just being here, like I need to go call Elise,” Patrick confessed.
We all laughed and teased him for being so whipped and losing his man card. Then I spotted Jenna and a low growl rumbled through me.
“Bloody hell,” Patrick said, following my gaze.
She was wearing a much-too-short mini-skirt with a button-down tank top that had one too many buttons undone at the top. The outfit was paired with high-heeled black leather boots that shined like her hair, which was brushed straight down her back. If we weren’t in a room full of males trying to catch her attention I’d think I’d died and gone to heaven just looking at her, but that wasn’t the case, and my wolf and I were not happy with this turn of events.
Liam grabbed my arm as I started to stalk off. “Do not cause a scene. Remember, no one’s supposed to know.”
I took a deep breath. “I’m good.”
“We should leave,” Patrick said smartly.
“Not without Jenna,” I growled.
I walked slowly and cautiously toward my mate. Anita grabbed her arm and whispered in her ear.
“See, I told you that outfit would work. He’s ignored the others but headed this way. You’ve got this,” she told her excitedly.
“Anita, Jenna,” I said, acknowledging both girls.
Jenna blushed furiously and tried to wiggle her skirt down lower, but it just exposed her lower stomach and I couldn’t stop my eyes from drifting to the sight of her exposed skin. I swallowed hard.
“What are you two doing?” I asked, including Anita, who was wearing even less than Jenna.
“We’re just here to party,” Anita said unconvincingly.
“Bullshit. Please don’t tell me you’re in on this interspecies challenge shit. You two are better than this,” I told them, trying to maintain my cool.
Anita sighed, but Jenna couldn’t even look me in the eyes.
Some girl I hadn’t met before came over and draped herself around me.
“Hello, Chase,” she purred. “Want to dance?”
I saw the barely concealed fury in my mate’s eyes and I felt the anger rolling off her.
“No,” I told the girl, physically removing her arm from around me. “Jenna, Anita, let’s go,” I said, leaving no room for argument. “We’re leaving,” I told the new girl.
Anita giggled when we were out of earshot. “Oh my god, Chloe is going to be so pissed!”
Matt came over to me. “Hey, where are you off to?”
“We’re leaving. We’ll be back at the house. Come over if you want. I’m done here,” I told him as I stalked out. My hands balled up in fists to keep from protectively covering Jenna from every male eye in the room. Fortunately, Patrick and Liam closed in the gap behind the girls and shielded them from view.
“Thank God. I’m really getting too old for this bullshit,” Liam said.
I snorted.
It wasn’t until we were halfway back to the house that I turned around to face them. Jenna’s teeth were chattering. I yanked off my sweatshirt and covered her with it. Anita watched curiously, but didn’t comment.
Once we were safely inside the doghouse, I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. It was already fired up to the Xbox.
“Yes!” Liam and Patrick said in unison, high fiving each other. They sat down on the couch and quickly grabbed for the controllers.
“Make yourself at home, Anita. Kitchen’s through there,” I said, pointing. “I’ll be back in a few. You and I are going to talk,” I told Jenna, taking her by the arm and leading her down the hall to my room.
“Told you that outfit was going to work. You’ve so got this,” An
ita told her as Jenna turned to her with wide eyes, pleading for her to shut up.
I didn’t say a word. I led her into my bedroom and confirmed the dampener was on.
“Chase, I’m sorr—” she started, but I moved quickly, pinning her against the wall and claiming her with a kiss.
She wrapped her arms around me and moaned into my mouth. I reached down, cupping her ass and lifting until her legs locked around my waist.
“Mine,” I growled, nipping at her ear and kissing across her jawline until I found her mouth again. I couldn’t have stopped the urgent need in my kisses if I’d wanted to, and I did not want to.
I pressed my desire against her and she purred in my arms. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever heard. It made my canines elongate and I had to pull back and break her spell on me, lest I claim her right there. I knew she wasn’t ready for that and I fought to rein in my own desires.
Setting her down on her feet, I stepped back and ran a hand through my hair. Shit, I wanted her so badly it physically hurt. I worked on controlling my breathing and regaining some semblance of control.
“Chase?” she said breathily.
“I just need a minute, princess,” I said, still trying to catch my breath. One glance at her in that sexy outfit with her hair mussed and lips swollen from my kisses and lust consumed me again. “Shit!”
I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and handed them to her.
“For the love of all things holy, please put these on,” I all but begged her.
She giggled, but did as I asked. “Better?”
“Damn, you’re even sexier in those. What the hell am I going to do with you?”
“I’m sorry. I really am. It’s, well, I guess you already heard about the challenge.” She bit her lip nervously and it took every ounce of willpower not to close the gap and stop it.
“Tell me about this challenge,” I demanded.
Her eyes widened and she blushed furiously. “I thought you already knew?”
“Kaitlyn warned me the panthers were on the prowl, but you? Anita? What the hell, Jenna?” I wanted to give her time to explain, but my wolf was still far too agitated from seeing our mate in so little surrounded by other men.
Confusing Hearts (Westin Pack Book 4) Page 8