Page 15 of Rejected By The Alpha Heir

“Oh, no,” I whisper, looking between him and Jimmy.

If the last Bonfire was an indicator of how he would react, I know I need to brace myself for his fury.

“You need to get out of here. Go sober up,” I hiss at Jimmy, but he ignores me.

Austin gives me another dark look before turning around and walking into the woods, leaving the party, and me, behind.

I’m relieved that he doesn’t make a scene in front of the pack this time. I want to hurry after him, tell him that it was just a misunderstanding, but my feet feel glued to the ground. I was just talking to a pack member, and Jimmy touching me was an accident.

Callie’s warning flashes in my mind again and my heart sinks. How do I fix this?

Chapter Six

Yelena

It’s well after midnight before I make my way back home. I’ve been walking around for hours, even shifting at one point, in order to assuage the pain in my heart. Not even my wolf form can make me feel better tonight.

I’m tired, both from the day and from the emotional anguish of carrying my feelings. I know Austin is likely to be angry with me, but I can’t hide from it any longer. Trudging up my front steps, I sigh heavily and prepare myself for the worst.

At least if he yells, he will finally be talking to me,I think bitterly to myself.

My hand stills on the doorknob when I hear a strange, discordant noise coming from inside our cottage. It sounds like a child banging away on a piano. I twist the knob and step inside, confused.

Inside, the noise is louder.

“Austin, I’m home,” I call out, slipping off my shoes and following the noise toward our living room.

The house is dark, except for the hall light that spills out into the living room. I can just make out the shape of Austin sitting in the shadows at the piano bench, his shoulders hunched over as he furiously bangs out notes.

“Look who finally decided to come home,” he snarls, stopping his playing long enough to take a long swig from a bottle before dropping it on the floor with a crash. It’s empty, and it rolls toward the couch. I cringe.

“Austin, I…” I begin, but he cuts me off with more off-key piano playing. The noise makes my head hurt and I feel my temper spike.This is childish.

“Are you going to talk to me, or are you going act like a child and throw a fit?” I ask, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

The harshness of my words surprises both of us, and he stops playing and turns to look at me. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve spoken to him like this, but I can’t bring myself to take it back.

Instead, I summon my courage and flip on the light, making him wince, before entering our living room and flopping down on the couch.

“I would have thought you’d be with yourspecial friend,” he snarls, reaching for another bottle of beer on the floor. “Glad to see you made it home.” His face is red, and I can tell he’s been drinking heavily.

Great. Just great.

I stare at him incredulously.Is he being serious right now?A laugh escapes me, and I shake my head.Unbelievable.

“I’m allowed to have friends, Austin,” I say slowly, “I’m lonely, not that you care.”

He scoffs and takes another long drink.

“Jimmy isn’t your friend,” he says flatly. “He wants more than that. I can tell. Or are you blind to the way he looks at you? The way everyone looks at you?”

My heart starts to pound in time with the headache forming behind my eyes. The double standard he has is beyond frustrating and I resent what he’s implying.

“So, what you’re saying is, I’m not allowed to sit with Jimmy,my friend, but you are allowed to have all the pack females hanging around you all the time and I’m supposed to just smile and ignore it?” I snap back. “That’s completely unfair, and you know it.”

He glares at me. On a different night, I might have backed down or tried to make amends, but I just don’t have it in me this evening. Instead, I glared at him back. To my surprise, he’s the first one to look away.

“You’re right. But life isn’t fair, Yelena,” he says quietly. “You should be well aware of that by now.”

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