Page 182 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“I would love to do that,” he said gratefully, and clapped his hands. “All right, everybody. Free time’s over. Let’s get moving. I think we can go for another hour or so before calling it a day.”

I threw myself into Flynn and Langston’s instructions with abandon, pushing myself harder than anyone else on the field, even garnering compliments from Flynn during one particular drill. It did little to make me feel better, and I kept noticing the worried glances from my friends. They all knew that my outburst toward Kirsten wasn’t like me. They were right.

Flynn’s aura and Kirsten’s power had stirred something up inside of me. Something I’d never felt before. Jealousy and envy—two emotions an alpha couldn’t have. If I let myself slide into that pit of self-loathing, I’d start traveling the same path as Eren. I couldn’t let that happen.

I needed to figure out how to snap out of this funk. Fast.

Chapter 21

Kirsten

“Who pissed in your Cheerios?” Harley asked as I stomped into the house, slamming the door behind me.

Ignoring her, I walked over to the kitchen, pulled open a cabinet, looked inside, then slammed it, opened another, and slammed it, too.

“Can I help you look for something?” Harley was staring at me like I’d lost my mind.

I guess I had. Jace had made me so fucking angry, I could barely control the rage sputtering inside me. I wished Tinsley was still here, but she’d headed back to the city early that morning to check on her shop. It would have been nice to get her guidance because my magic was interacting with my emotions. Feeding them.

Finally, I put my hands on the counter and lowered my head, inhaling long and slow. “I’m a little angry, that’s all,” I said through gritted teeth.

“No shit,” Harley said with a chuckle. “What did the big idiot do this time?”

“Not important. I’ll deal with it later.”

Harley opened her mouth to say something more, but thought better of it. She knew me well enough to let me be when I was in a mood. Besides that, a few moments later, the door opened, and a group of people came walking in.

Another wave of irritation flooded over me. I’d forgotten a bunch of people were coming up to cook dinner for the people training out in the woods. The only thing that soothed my rage was that Lory Shelton was among the people hauling in bags of food. The owner of the salon was one of the few people in town I’d managed to befriend since I'd first arrived.

She grinned when she saw me. “Long time, no see.”

My anger abated a little, and I smiled back, tamping down my magic and bad attitude. “Hey there.”

She gave me a quick hug, and I helped unpack the groceries. Harley joined us, and soon we were all busy cooking a meal for over a hundred people. Lory, Harley, and I spent most of the time chopping onions, slicing tomatoes, and shredding lettuce while someone else went outside to start cooking dozens of burgers on Jace’s grill.

“So,” Lory said, eyeing me, “how have things been?”

“She’s pissed off at her boyfriend,” Harley said, then put her hand out. “I’m Harley, by the way.”

“Lory,” she said, taking my friend’s hand. “That bad?” she asked me.

I huffed out a breath. “He’s just a big, dumb idiot. That’s all.”

Lory and Harley shared a look, but they didn’t say anything as we worked. It was nice to zone out. A couple of women on the other side of the kitchen island were making what looked like the world’s largest bowl of potato salad, and I moved over to help them. I didn’t know them as well, so the chance of them asking about Jace was lower.

I didn’t want to be antisocial with my friends, but the more they asked about what had happened, the angrier I’d get, and I was already angry enough. Why the hell had Jace been so short with me? He’d been ready to explode. What had I done to make him so mad? Or was it even me? Had something else irked him, and he’d taken it out on me? Either way, it hadn’t been warranted.

An hour or so later, with burgers, hot dogs, salads, and even three pans of brownies set out, the training session ended. Dozens of people came through, grabbing paper plates and moving through the makeshift buffet. Jace was among them, and I ignored him, too mad at him to even look at him, much less talk.

“Kirsten, can we talk?” he asked as I scooped macaroni salad onto a younger shifter’s plate.

“Nope,” I said, not deigning to look at him.

Jace huffed, grabbed a plate, and stalked off to join the others.

Harley came over to my side and whispered in my ear. “Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on with you two?”

“Nothing,” I said under my breath. “It’s fine.”

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