Don’t get an attitude. Don’t get an attitude. Don’t get an attitude. I repeated the mantra in my head. This wasn’t her fault**she was just as much a victim in this mess as I was. If anything, she had even more reason to be angry.
“I still don’t get what the problem is.” Jeremiah’s gaze flicked between us.
I shot him a glare and growled, even without shifting. His eyes widened, and he took a cautious step back, hands raised in surrender. At least he understood we were both upset, even if he didn’t grasp why.
“Why are boys so stupid?!” I didn’t shout, but my temper was teetering on the edge. I sighed and decided to get this over with. Turning to her, I said, “Rayna, I’m Kennedy. Jeremiah’s best friend**his female best friend. I live here, at the packhouse.” I gestured around the room. “I’ve been here for three years. My mom was best friends with his mom, and I’m here because my parents died three years ago. I still have nightmares from that day, and Jeremiah usually sleeps in my room with me…”
Before I could finish, she lunged at me, snarling and grabbing for my hair. She was strong, but her movements were clumsy, like she didn’t train much. We both stumbled backward, but I caught most of our combined weight and flipped us over, trying to gain the upper hand. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I also couldn’t let her hurt me. Her claws scraped everywhere, and her legs kicked wildly beneath me. She growled and snarled, struggling to form words.
“You b*tch! You can’t have him!” she yelled, swiping at my face. Blood trickled down my cheek.
She thought I was just some random girl trying to steal her man. Even after all the time Jer had spent with her since she found out about me, he never bothered to explain who I was. Jackass. Now I understood her frustration**I’d feel the same way. I fought to get a few words out, trying to calm her while defending myself.
“I don’t f*cking want him, you crazy ass. He’s like a brother to me.” I grunted as she landed a solid punch to my stomach. “But you’d know that if you two talked as much as you f*ck! Now stop trying to gouge my eyes out!” That finally made her hesitate long enough for me to thrust my hips and flip her onto her back.
I pinned her wrists above her head, straddling her chest, leaning in so close our noses almost touched. We both panted heavily, but she slowly stopped struggling. Maybe she realized I wasn’t trying to hurt her, or maybe my words were finally sinking in. Whatever it was, it was working.
“Stop trying to kill me. He’s like a brother.” I repeated, breath ragged, now holding her attention. “He should’ve told you about me. Honestly, a heads-up about you would’ve been nice, too. But sometimes these boys aren’t the brightest.” I rolled my eyes and glanced up at Jer, who was still staring at us. That’s when I noticed the entire room was watching.
“Oh Goddess! That is so f*cking hot! How did you get so lucky?” Tommy slapped Jer on the back and bit his lower lip. Such a perv.
“So all four of you assholes just stood there and let us fight? You didn’t care that your best friend and your future Luna were hurting each other? We should beat the crap out of all of you instead.”
Ben and Jason rolled their eyes, and then Ben stepped forward.
“You two get it out of your system?” He held out his hand to me.
“Maybe.” I raised an eyebrow at Rayna, slowly releasing her arms and sitting back, still straddling her waist, waiting for a cheap shot that never came. I took Ben’s hand, and Jason helped Rayna to her feet.
I straightened my clothes and ran my fingers through my hair, avoiding eye contact.
“I’m ready, Ben. Let’s go.” They needed to talk and figure out if this was something Rayna could handle. I didn’t want to walk away, but an Alpha needed his Luna. In this case, she was more important. My friendship with Jeremiah was now entirely in her hands. If she said no, then that was it**for now, at least.
I headed toward the front door, jaw set firmly. I wouldn’t cry again. I’d said my piece and could only hope she believed me. It was up to Jeremiah now to explain and fix things if he wanted me in his life. He had to make her see what we were**and convince her it wasn’t romantic.
“Wait, don’t go.” Her voice was soft but resolute, and suddenly I wasn’t sure I could do this. I shook my head and kept moving.
“Please, we should talk.”
I kept my gaze locked on the door. “I really do need to try and sleep**that’s not a line. Don’t make this harder for me. Please. I need to go.” My plea was barely audible, even to myself, but I knew they heard it. My breaths were getting shallow.
“But you live here…” She whispered right behind me. I knew the guys could hear us.
I kept staring at the door, controlling each breath. “Yeah… for now… and soon you will, too. I need to learn to deal with the nightmares and all the crap on my own anyway, but this was a shock.” I bent down to grab my bags, my hands still aching from the earlier scuffle.
She stopped me, placing her hand gently over mine. The first tear slipped down my cheek. I shook my head, heart breaking.
“Let’s put these away, and we can get to know each other. Looks like we’ll be spending a lot of time together.” She tugged on my hand, holding the strap of my duffel bag. It wasn’t forceful or controlling, but something inside me just snapped. I didn’t have the energy to resist anymore.
There went my tears again**damn emotions. She took my bag and slid her hand softly onto my upper arm, turning me around. I slung my backpack over one shoulder, eyes fixed on the floor, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. We climbed the stairs to my room, Rayna close behind without a backward glance at the guys.
“Ken…” Jeremiah breathed.
I shook my head and kept walking.
“I think your girls just left you hanging. Hope you finished what you started in there, brother, or you’re going to be sleeping with some serious blue balls.” Tommy’s always the charmer. The others laughed along.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.