Page 134 of Pack Rivals, Part One

"You need to know your place. We run this city, not you."

I stand there frozen, eyes darting from one alpha to the next, ears catching one snippet of conversation and then the next. All jumbled and tangled together like their limbs.

Until it's not.

Until there's one sentence I hear as clearly as if it were being whispered into my ear.

"We're going to get the girl. We're going to have her first. We're going to win this bet."

"Bet?" I say. "Bet?"

Courtney scrambles up from the ground, rubbing at her shoulder. "What, Sweetie? What's that?"

"Bet," I repeat quietly. Then I yell, "What bet?"

Unlike earlier, my voice has some sort of power over them. They all freeze, peering at me, their clothes torn, their faces and bodies covered in dust, their brows damp with sweat and blood.

"What bet?" I say one more time.

If I hoped I'd misheard or misunderstood, if I hoped this intuition swimming in my gut was wrong, well tough luck, Bea. Things don't work out that way for you. Because the way they exchange glances, guilty glances, I know that intuition is correct.

Hell, I ignored it all those years with Karl. I should know by now it doesn't let me down.

"You made a bet, didn't you?" The tears are tumbling from my eyes, only this time for different reasons all together. "You made a bet about which pack would sleep with me first." As I say the words, I feel my fragile heart rip right in two.

What a fool I've been. What a stupid pathetic fool.

Of course they wouldn't want me. No money, no qualifications, no job, no connections. I'm not even anything special to look at in the mirror and as for my personality? Isn't that what Karl told me, over and over again? He was right.

"Bea, sweetheart," Silver says softly, "it wasn't like that–"

"Honestly?" I snap. "Honestly? Can you stand there with your hand on your heart and tell me I'm wrong?" His gaze falls to his feet. "No, I didn't think so."

"Bea," Axel says, "it may have started out as a bet but–"

"Please," I lift my hand up, "please, I don't want to hear it. Just go, please." They don't move. "Please, please go," I plead, growing more hysterical as my body burns, my skin throbs and my heart breaks. "Go!"

Courtney scrabbles for the gun, pointing it at their faces with more determination this time. "You heard the woman. Get out of here you pieces of trash, before I ensure you're never able to father children – which would be one very big favor for humanity." She shakes her head and tears stream from her eyes, making me cry all the harder. "How could you do this to her? How?"

"I'm sorry, Bea, so sorry, but don't do this," Angel pleads. "A heat on your own–"

"I'm not saying this twice!" Courtney yells. "Get out of here now!!"

They hesitate, but Courtney takes a determined pace towards them and I spin on my heels and dash away to the house.

I can't stand to look at them a minute longer.

I collapse onto the couch, sobbing harder than I ever have before, harder than the day of my wedding, harder than when I left my home and all I loved behind. I cry as I hear the engines of their cars start up, and their vehicles rumble down the track. I cry when the noise of the two engines fade away. I cry when Courtney wraps me in her arms and holds me tight.

"I'm so sorry, Bea. I'm so sorry."

I cry until there are no more tears, until my body is tired and done, and then I wipe my face with the hem of my dress and I force myself to sit up straight.

I didn't let the last asshole break me. I won't let these six either.

"It's okay. I'm okay." Courtney's face is full of sympathy. "Oh no, don't look at me that way, Court, otherwise you'll set me off again."

"I encouraged you to pursue them. I didn't think …"

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