Filed To Story: Claimed by the Alpha I Hate Book Read Free
Breyona’s, who even made Zeke stop in his tracks. “Just another p***k with rich parents.”
Grandma finished up with another round of customers and walked over just as Devin was gearing up for a hasty retreat. I could see the fire leave his eyes the more the crowd turned their attention on him.
He was the center of attention, but not in the way he anticipated.
“Watch out, old woman. That she-wolf’s a k****r.” He snarled, desperate to get the last word in before rushing off in a huff.
“Oh, p**s off.” Grandma tossed over her shoulder, tugging Breyona and I to the next wave of customers as the sound of Devin’s stomps faded in the distance.
Fifteen minutes later Claire returned with Nolan and Cassidy in tow. The two frat boys set their platters of desserts down where Claire directed and high-tailed it in the other direction, their faces pale, and eyes on Nolan.
“Grandma, we need your help with something back home…it has to do with the binding spell on my magic. Would you mind leaving early?” I asked, biting back the words before I blurted them out in front of everybody.
“Go ahead and help them, I’ve got some extra hands coming.” Claire reassured her, a grateful smile lighting up her face. “I can’t thank you enough for all the work you did today.”
“Nonsense, as my grandchildren like to remind me, I have a problem with stress baking.” Grandma grinned and wound her arm through mine. “Now what magic binding spell would call for an old werewolf?”
I was saved from answering when Cassidy’s squeal filled the air.
“I should’ve figured you were here!” Cassidy beamed when she spotted Breyona and me. Her golden locks were twisted into a messy bun that looked purposefully perfect, and her smile was perfectly white.
It faltered when she noticed us packing up, “Oh, are you leaving already? I’ll walk you to your car, I actually wanted to talk to you about training.”
As we walked, grandma and Nolan ended up taking the lead a few feet in front of us. I could hear her talking to him and caught her saying, “…you know she’ll be pissed at you if you k**l the judge’s son.”
“Have you thought about when you’ll start training? All of the students are eager to see what you’ve got-honestly, I’m a bit curious too.” Cassidy smiled sheepishly.
“I’ve been wanting to get back into training. Even though I can’t shift, it’s a nice energy outlet.” Breyona replied, not at all opposed to the idea.
I thought about it for a few moments. My schedule was already hectic, but Breyona was right. We had enough stress in our lives to not take advantage of every healthy outlet available.
“How about we start tomorrow?” I asked her.
“I can’t wait!” Cassidy cheered but paused mid-celebration when a couple girls called her name. She held a finger up and turned to Breyona and me. “I’ll text you both the time and location of the class. See you tomorrow!”
Nolan and grandma were already at the car, engrossed in a conversation. I didn’t have the chance to eavesdrop because a masculine voice called out my name.
“Hey, Luna Daisy!” Lar’s jogged up to us, his messy hair even more windblown when he finally came to a stop. He was wearing his usual leather jacket t-shirt combo and gave Breyona a look that instantly made her eyes narrow. “Saw you talking with Cassidy, but then I noticed your friend here.”
“Her friend here has a mate.” Breyona replied dryly, pointing to the mark on her neck that was exposed by the off-shoulder design of her top.
“Honest mistake.” He raised his hands in surrender, not at all fazed by Breyona’s glare.
“Was there something you needed, Lars?” I asked him, wondering why he tracked me down when we’ve barely spoken more than fifteen words to each other. I had gotten to know him well enough at the coffee shop and wasn’t interested in his idea of friendship.
“Yeah, actually. Some friends of mine are throwing a party this weekend for summer break. Goal is to make it the biggest of the year, bigger than Devin’s twenty-first at his dad’s lake house.”‘ Lar’s rolled his eyes, “…if I got the Alpha and Luna to show, everyone in the pack would be fighting for an invite.”
I was going to answer him, but then I glanced down.
The world around me spun until the sun faded and the clouds vanished. The scent of pastries faded, replaced with that of wet soil and grass. Stars speckled the sky, and the University courtyard melted into a winding backroad surrounded by dense pine trees.
A pair of scuffed black boots was the last thing I saw before pain and darkness had claimed me-the same black boots Lar’s was wearing.
Nolan would’ve k****d him on the spot with only my word as evidence. That was how much he trusted me, how much he wanted to protect me.
The gut-feeling twisting and tearing into my stomach like razor blades was telling me to scream for my mate-or worse, tear Lars’s throat out myself.
I had to keep my cool, especially at a bake sale for a girl who had just been m******d. There was no way I could cause a scene. I couldn’t accuse Lars of something like this with nothing more than a hazy memory of black boots and a gut-feeling that set off a symphony of alarms in my head.
His lips curved up in an amused smile, which was my only warning that I had taken too long to answer.
Keeping my eyes on his face and not on his boots was excruciating, but I wasn’t sure if he had seen me look the first time.
If this gut-feeling of mine was correct-which both witches said it would be, then that meant Lars was connected to all of this. Perhaps he was a puppet and not in league with the master herself. As hard as
I tried, I couldn’t figure out what purpose a werewolf would have in helping the witches.
All the witches I had encountered were women. I wasn’t even sure if men could be witches. That made things a bit more confusing.
“Ohthat sounds fun!” I covered my croak with a laugh that probably sounded a little too chipper.
Breyona noticed and gave me a funny look that I promptly ignored. “I’ll make sure Nolan tags along since parties aren’t really his thing, so feel free to spread the word.”
“Awesome, will do.” He grinned and put his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. I watched his eyes roam just above my head, scanning the crowd of people around us.
“Looking for someone?” I asked, easing the suspicion out of my voice before it revealed itself. I wasn’t usually this tactless, but the sight of his boots caught me off guard.
“You seen Cassidy anywhere?” He asked, and his answer caught me off guard. I hadn’t expected him to be looking for the cheerful blonde who keyed his motorcycle. His lopsided grin told me he saw the skepticism in my eyes, so he raised his hands in surrender. “…hey, we talked it out, I swear! I actually got a date with her coming up, and I’m pretty excited. Anyway, I’m gonna go track her down. Thanks for helping me out, Luna! I won’t forget it!”
“If Cassidy didn’t strike me as the type of she-wolf to throttle a man, I might just be worried for her.”
Breyona shook her head but paused when she realized I wasn’t listening. I felt her touch my arm but couldn’t tear my eyes away from where Lars vanished into the crowd. “…you alright, Daisy?”
“Remember how you told me to let you know if I had any of those gut feelings?” I frowned, looking away even though something in the pits of my stomach whispered, ‘follow him’.
Nolan was far enough away that I caught glimpses of him in between the crowds of people walking in every direction. Grandma was talking his head off, but I couldn’t hear what was being said with everything else going on.
“Oh, goddesshow bad is it?” She paled; any playfulness left drained from her voice.
“You can’t tell Nolan…” I murmured even though I was positive he couldn’t hear. “…promise me.”
Her face took on the color of chalk, but she nodded, “…you know this is technically treason, right?”
“Not if it’s the Luna asking you to keep the secret. Besides, I’ll tell him. I just want to make sure I’m right before pointing any fingers. You know Nolan won’t hesitate to k**l him off my word alone, especially since he’s been on edge lately. That won’t make things better, it’ll just stir the pot.” I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.
When had things become so complicated? I hated keeping this from Nolan, but I knew how driven he could be by his instincts. It seemed to happen more frequently lately, but it made sense with everything going on. We were both taking Carson’s d***h personally, and we were worried the witches would strike again.
I told Breyona about the scuffed boots and the feeling I had that twisted my stomach into knots. A
flutter of appreciation took off in my chest because the look on her face wasn’t skeptical, it was worried.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?