Page 11 of Cruel Mate

And so, she turned, forcing her way through the crowd that had begun to gather. She felt a hand land on her arm, but she snatched it away swiftly and raced off down the lawn. Every instinct in her told her to shift and get away just that little bit faster, but she was all too aware of the several humans roaming about the place.

Jason’s invitation for a date rang in her ears all over again. She’d been having a much better evening while talking to him. Why did Zander have to come along and spoil it? Maybe she should take that date, after all. Humans were far less complicated than cocky ass werewolves. Maybe, for once, she'd actually have a successful time of dating if she decided to go outside of her race.

She forced the thought away as she hit the tree line and melted into the shadows. Only the fact that she was wearing her favorite white-washed jeans stopped her from shifting. She’d wait until she got home, strip down, and then go into the garden and howl at the moon.

That would make her feel better. Or at least she hoped it would. Maybe in wolf form, she would be able to shake off the embarrassment of what had just happened and forget all about Zander freaking Mallox. He had taken up far too much of her evening already, and he had ruined the full moon bonfire. He was an idiot, but she was the fool for ever letting him get under her skin like that.

He was trouble, and she’d had enough of that to last a lifetime. The last thing she needed now was another Christian in her life.

Chapter 5 - Zander

The next morning, Zander’s feelings were still sore. Layla’s words had cut him deeper than he would ever care to admit. And though the bonfire had kept him up late, just as it did every full moon, he found himself rising early after being unable to sleep. All night long—or at least for the two and a half hours he had been in bed—he felt as though he had been half-awake and replaying the events of the night over and over.

Why do I keep doing that? He wondered. He had always been a teaser. It was in his nature, and yet with Layla he seemed to go above and beyond. It was an impulse that he simply couldn’t control.

And it was beginning to piss him the hell off. Grumbling to himself, he dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen. After over a year of careful renovations, the house on the hill was finally a home, one that he and his original packmates still occupied and had become the hub for the entirety of the new pack. Though Jack had moved out to share a little more privacy with his growing family and now resided in one of the large townhouses at the bottom of the hill, Zander found him at the kitchen island.

Two coffees were steaming in front of him, as if he had been awaiting him purposefully.

“Everything alright?” Zander asked. “You and Bonnie have your first fight?”

Jack scoffed at that and shoved one of the coffee mugs toward Zander. “I think it was you and Layla to have your first fight last night, wasn’t it?”

Zander cringed. If even Jack had noticed from his little bubble of family bliss, then it was likely that the entire pack had witnessed what had happened last night.

If Layla had been any other she-wolf, they’d likely have teased each other a little, gotten heated and ended up in the forest having sex. It had happened more times than Zander could count. And yet, where she was concerned, he always seemed to go a little too far. And besides, the thought of having sex with Layla Keely didn’t make him feel at all like it did with anyone else.

And that scared him. He decided it was best not to think about it at all if he could help it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zander blurted. It was all he could think to say. And he knew it was ridiculous the moment that the words left his lips. Jack’s deep scowl only confirmed it.

“Sit,” Jack ordered in a deep, alpha-like commanding tone. Zander gritted his teeth. He hated it when his best friend used that tone with him. Sure, he was his alpha and he had always been above him in pack hierarchy, even when they had been children in their home pack, but they had been friends for as long as he could remember, and it never quite felt right. If he hadn’t had so much respect for the man, he might have rejected the order.

Instead, he sighed deeply and sat himself down beside Jack, picking up the coffee to take a long swig in an attempt to give himself a moment’s respite from his friend’s inquiring gaze.

“What was that all about last night, Zand?” Jack asked after several moments of silence. Zander closed his eyes, taking another swig of his coffee.

“It was nothing,” Zander said, shrugging his shoulders. He put the mug down, having drunk two-thirds of it already. He stared down into the mug, all too able to feel Jack staring at him with an unconvinced expression.

“Zander, how long have we known each other?” Jack asked, cocking his head to the side.

Zander gulped. “Practically since birth.”

“Then you should know by now that you can’t lie to me,” Jack insisted. He picked up his own mug and took a sip as if to give Zander a chance to come clean. When he didn’t, Jack said, “As your alpha, it’s my duty to ensure that everyone in the pack is getting along, and as pack beta, it’s your duty to at least try and get along with everyone so I don’t have to get involved.”

“Nothing is going on,” Zander said through gritted teeth. It wasn’t entirely true, but what else could he say? He didn’t exactly what a clue what was going on himself.

“I think we both know that’s not true, Zand,” Jack said, and when he laid a hand on Zander’s shoulder, Zander struggled not to cringe. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

Zander nodded, because the lump in his throat was growing so large, he wasn’t sure he could find the words to speak.

He was grateful to Jack for everything he had ever done for him, helping get away from the old Blackwell pack all those years ago, seeing him safely through their army training and every assignment since then. They had been through a lot together, and Zander wished he could talk to him about this, but the truth was he had no idea what he would even say.

“You know, we aren’t in Blackwell Falls anymore,” Jack said, squeezing Zander’s shoulder.

At that, Zander looked at him, furrowing his brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jack’s blue gaze filled with sympathy. Zander’s stomach clenched. He hated that look. It made him feel small and weak.

---