Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
I fist his shirt and flatten him against the gym lockers. Every guy in there was listening already, but now they get dead quiet.
“Well, you put her on the ballot, you’d better make sure she wins.”
Abe’s brows pop in surprise. “What?”
“Make. Her. Queen.”
Abe lets out a surprised laugh. “Why?” He draws back at something he sees in my face. I don’t know–maybe my eyes changed color. “Okay. Okay, man. Absolutely.” He does his best to crane his neck and look around at the other guys, which is difficult because I still have him pinned to the metal. “You hear that, everyone? Rayne the– Rayne for homecoming queen.”
I slowly release him and nod. “Good. You fuck with her again, and I will end you.”
“I’m sorry, Wilde,” Abe says immediately. He may be alpha at Wolf Ridge High, but he knows I’m far superior to him. His wolf defers to mine.
“Good. I expect to hear she’s being treated with respect.”
With that, I walk out of the lockers, my wolf already frisky to get in that sun-soaked Jeep. It will be a veritable hot box of Rayne’s scent.
And yes, her scent is unlocking new notes every single day. Notes that make my pulse race and my dick get hard.
I cannot fucking wait until she learns to shift.
I hop in the Jeep and arrange my face into a glower. “Did he touch you?”
Rayne ignores me, looking straight ahead and shaking her head with exasperation. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
I grin and start up the Jeep. “He’d better not have.”
“Wilde. I told you. Not a problem. Okay? Chill out.”
I don’t know why, but I absolutely love her reassurances. That she thinks I deserve them. We both know I don’t. I have absolutely no right to lay claim to Rayne, but of course, I have. And now she’s responding as if she accepts that claim. So I’m reveling in the win.
We drive home to find my dad’s SUV in the garage.
“Oh,” Rayne says as if she’s as disappointed as I am that they’re back.
“Yeah.” We walk in through the side door. “The sheets still need to go in the dryer,” I murmur because obviously, it would look weird if I took care of them.
“‘Kay,” she murmurs.
I touch her back lightly as we part. One last secret message about what we shared. That we forged and became something clandestine and new. Something just between the two of us. Just for the two of us.
But, of course, the secret shared pleasure can’t last.
“What in the fuck did you do to your Jeep?” my dad bellows from the living room.
Rayne flashes me a horrified look.
I shake my head at her and shoo her away to her room. I told her I’d take the fall for it, and I will.
“I’m taking care of it,” I say in a bored voice as I walk to the living room to greet my dad. “Greg will help me repair it at no cost.”
“What did you do?”
“I was texting and driving. I hit the mailbox. I will fix that, too. Tonight.” I’m kicking myself for not fixing it yesterday. My mistake, for sure.
My dad looks like his head is going to spin around and pop off. He narrows his eyes at me. “You–” He waves his hands in the air. “You hit the mailbox? How fast were you going to do that kind of damage?”
I nod. “Probably too fast.”
“You think?”
I keep my throat exposed in a sign of wolf submission.
“Were drugs and alcohol involved?”
“No, sir.”
“Then why were you backing out that fast?”
Lying to a shifter is tricky business. If anything in your scent changes, if there's any sign of fear, they will detect it. So I go with what's closest to the truth. The reason Rayne was backing out so quickly.
“I was pissed off.”
“You were pissed off,” he repeats in a condemning tone. “About what?”
“About having to come back here to babysit Rayne.”
Wait. Fuck. Very big mistake.
My dad's eyes flash gold, and his upper lip curls in a snarl. “I've had it with you. Get your shit and leave this house.”
Rayne
No.
Fates, no. What have I done? My cowardice could cost Wilde everything.
I bolt out of the bedroom at the same time my mom emerges from the master suite. Score two points for shifter hearing.
“Logan,” my mom says.
“No.” Logan throws his hands in the air. His eyes glow amber. “If Wilde can't show some basic respect for his new family, he does not deserve to live under my roof.”
“This is so stupid!” I cry, forgetting my fear of the man. Forgetting to be respectful.
Wilde shakes his head at me in warning. “Rayne.”
“No. I wrecked the Jeep. Okay?”
“I'm handling it,” Wilde cuts in, voice firm.
“Shut up!” I’m close to tears. I whirl on Logan, my hands closed into fists. “Wilde is just taking the bullet for me. Same as he did for whoever was buying and selling drugs on his team.”