Page 15 of The Denver Alpha

I cough the water up, kicking over toward the edge of the pool while gritting my teeth against the high-pitched sound of Tayla’s cackled laughter.

“What can I say? I know how to please my man.”

Wait,what?

Tayla and…Cole?

Thinking back, I don’t remember seeing her at the club after Cole left last night, but I never would’ve guessed thathe’dbe the one she stayed at the packhouse with.

I can’t picture him with a prissy, bitchy type like Tayla. But then again, I barely know the guy. Maybe that’s his thing.

I hadn’t wanted it to be Tobias’ bed she warmed, but for some reason, I’m even more put off that it was Cole’s.

I grab onto the edge of the pool, wringing the water out of my ponytail while I continue to eavesdrop on the girls’ conversation.

“But he’s not justyourman, is he?” Ashlyn counters.

“Lately he is. You girls may have to start calling me Luna soon…”

“Please,” Shay scoffs, and I jerk my head around to see her striding out onto the pool deck, her orange flip-flops slapping the pavement. “Sam saw Rosie Howard on her knees in his office two days ago.”

“Rosie hasn’t got shit on me,” Tayla snaps defensively, shooting Shay a glare. “Besides, everyone knows Alpha prefers blondes.” She flicks her bleached strands over her shoulders to punctuate her comment, darting a glance in my direction.

My mind’s still spinning so hard that I don’t look away fast enough.

“Isn’t that right, Juliet?” Tayla clucks.

I open my mouth to respond, but before I can get a word out, Shay jumps in with the save.

“Jules isn’t interested in joining Alpha’s roster,” she snipes, stepping up to the edge of the pool beside me and folding her arms over her chest. “Her brother’s an alpha, you know. Girls like her are theonlyone, not one of many.”

Tayla scowls. Before she can come up with a retort, Shay throws a thumb over her shoulder.

“Tobias is looking for you girls, said he’d give you a ride home.”

“Let’s go, ladies,” Tayla huffs, sliding off the lounger and reaching for a pile of clothes beside it. She wriggles into her dress from last night as the other two gather up their things, Ashlyn shooting me an apologetic glance as they say their goodbyes and leave the pool deck.

As soon as they’re gone, I look up at Shay with a frown. “I appreciate you sticking up for me, but I don’t think comments like that are gonna make me any friends here.”

Shay heaves a sigh and slides off her flip flops, crouching down to sit on the edge of the pool next to me. She swings her feet over the side, dipping them into the water.

“A word of advice?” Shay breathes, kicking her feet and splashing me playfully. “Tayla Bancroft isnotyour friend.”

I splash her back. “What makes you say that?”

“Because you’re a cute blonde and you get to live at the packhouse. She clocked you as competition the minute she saw you.”

I roll my eyes, though the signals I picked up from Tayla aren’t far off from what Shay’s describing.

“She’s only friends with people who are useful to her,” Shay continues. “She tried to get close to me when I first moved here as a way to get more face time with Cole, and I stupidly fell for it. And then you know what Ash told me? That Tayla was talking shit behind my back and encouraging her to go for Sam.”

“What?” I gasp in astonishment, my mouth falling open. “But you’re fated mates!”

“Exactly,” Shay clucks, pinning me with a look. “That girl has no boundaries when it comes to her own self-interest. Ash is sweet and she would never, but just hearing that, I knew what kind of person Tayla was and decided to keep her at arm’s length after.”

“Jesus,” I mutter.

Shay smiles, setting a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you, girl. I promise there are plenty of good people here to balance out the bad. And Ash and Kylie are great. Kylie’s a little dumb, but you’ve gotta love her for it. And Ash is a total sweetheart.”

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