Chapter 63

Chapter 63

When the air surrounding me tightened, I began to fill the plate, recalling that Derrick liked the sweeter items.

When I saw someone approaching me, the murmurs around me stopped, and I knew there would be anger when she walked right into me. As her body struck mine from behind, I might have recognized her intent more quickly if I hadn't already been hurt.

The plate of food I had been prepping sprayed all over the front of my sweater, the pies' sticky filling coagulated on the wool, and the table in front of me rocked violently as I lost my breath. She tried to take my shirt off my skin by putting her hands on my body as I was turning around, and the plate slipped from my grasp and fell into the table.

"I really apologize. Allow me to assist you. She tugged at my sweatshirt and wrapped it in her hands, and I was powerless to stop her. Her words were phony gestures of goodwill.

I made an attempt to shove her away from me, but she had already pulled the sweater from my body with the ferocity of a kid. I removed my hair from my face and looked at the brave woman who had dared to try me, my wolf growling with fierce energy. Prior to allowing my wolf to attempt to slit her throat, she began to laugh. I was standing in front of everyone in my short-sleeve top, enjoying the cool breeze against my skin and feeling grateful that I had remembered to wear something underneath.

She pointed to my neck as though I was some kind of joke, and it made a loud noise.

"He hasn't even bothered to claim you yet." She laughed a little longer, proud of the show she had put on for her pack and proud of having proven her own fears false. "I knew it; I knew he wouldn't just mark some random bitch who walked into his pack—he is a royal wolf; he has standards to uphold." Her words stopped the violence in my body; although I had believed them before, hearing them said aloud wounded me more than I wanted to acknowledge.

I scowled, but I had not come to fight her struggle.

I picked up a new plate and began to load it again, ignoring her and the intense looks directed at me as I made my way back to the food table. A woman who had taken on a title to which she did not belong was the least of the problems I had to deal with.

Even though it appeared to be the worst of her issues, her envy was the least of mine, and the silence that followed was tense.

"You don't deserve him." Taking hold of my uncontrolled powers, she declared bluntly that she hadn't had the response she had been hoping for, the plate in my hands crumbling and my wolf surging to the surface.

She had no right to say what she said, even though I had repeatedly told myself that I knew she was telling the truth. Under my skin, there was a tempest just waiting to burst out, screaming to be let loose, even as I wished it would stay inside of me.

As I tried to suppress the fury that was burning within me, my words felt a little out of control. "Honestly, I thought he'd have better taste in women," I muttered, causing an audible gasp to reflect around us.

She was unaware of the battle she was engaged in, but even as I heard her hurtful remarks, I knew she wasn't deserving of the anger I was feeling.

"What did you just say?" Though I was exhausted and focused all my energy on more pressing matters, she appeared surprised by what I had said.

Unlike her, I didn't have the time to be petty.

Isn't that what this is all about? By virtue of the fact that he fucked you prior to fucking me, you are attempting to provoke my jealousy. "Admittedly, you appear naive in your belief that your influence over him is limited to the mate link we share; however, I am no fool's young girl who would have imagined an adult man would wait for me." As I gathered myself together, I turned to face her and gauged her response.

She was furious at what I was saying, but since she had come to me specifically to try to hurt my feelings, I didn't give a damn about her delicate feelings.

"I am—she paused when I raised my hand.

"No, he no longer sees you as anything, and behaving enviously will not alter that," I replied, my words propelled by my resolve.

She was unaware of the fragile thread I was clinging to, unaware that my wolf was itching to rip out her throat and that my powers were trying to encircle her till she would choke to death. I turned my back on her and walked back to where I had left Erica before, giving her no more opportunity to irritate me.

I hated the wave of respect that went through the pack when I felt like complete shit, but Erica was still sprawled out on the picnic blanket, staring up at me with astonishment and delight.

For a few moments, there was silence as I sat next to her once more, rolling onto my back to avoid the way everyone was staring at me now.

"We've been waiting for someone to put Becky in her place." I let out a moan, biting my lip to contain the snarl I wanted to let out. I was supposed to be low-key until Derrick arrived, but I had completely reversed the intended course of action.

I whispered, "I have a headache," but I kept that to myself as I closed my eyes beneath the overcast sky. I felt like tearing something apart.

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Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the atmosphere shift before the hubbub picked back up quickly, and I was shocked that I hadn't smelled him sooner. When Erica let out a little cry, I opened my eyes to see Morgan whirling her around, taking hold of her hand, and bending down in front of their son.

I felt a heavy darkness descend upon me, my heart racing, and I looked around hesitantly, trying to find my own mate. Now that he was staring down at me, his scent was enveloping me, and his astonishment and wrath were merging in his gaze. I was lying down in front of him with his foot pressing down on my shoulder to keep me from moving, even though he was standing at my head.

It was a bad situation to have him staring down at me while all my disobedient eyes could focus on was the bulge in his pants.

My body tingles from the wordless intensity of what he was taking in from me, and I tightened my jaw. His eyes followed the length of me, and I couldn't help but press my thighs together and wind my hand up his calf to draw his focus away from his wolf and toward me.