“It’s over. You want to fight it out, get on the schedule at the club. I fight most Fridays.” Trey’s bike cuts on. I jump from the shadows, ready to hustle over and get to the bottom of things, when Trey’s shouted words stop me cold.
“And one more thing. I hear you threatened my mother again or go after her job at the brewery…” The rest of what he says is drowned out by the rushing in my ears.
My father threatened his mother. That’s why Trey cheated. That’s why he broke things off. That’s why he’s getting away again.
“Stop,” I shout, but too late. Trey’s gone, his bike growling up the road. He doesn’t look back. I wouldn’t, if I were him. What have we Greens ever given him but heartache? “No.” I kick a rock against the wall. It’s not satisfying enough. “Fuck,” I spit. That’s better.
“Sheridan.” My dad turns, both stern and placating, ready with another lecture. I can see it on his face.
I am not in the mood. “What the fucking fuck?” I shriek at him.
He jerks back. “See here, young lady-”
“You threatened his mother?” Bootsteps at my back tell me we’re no longer alone.
“Cuz?” Garrett’s voice barely penetrates. I stalk forward, fists balled. I’m not going to hit my father, but he’s about to get a piece of my mind.
“Sheridan-” my dad starts.
“I don’t believe you. I got good grades and followed all the rules, and what do you do? You go after my high school boyfriend? Not only that, but his family? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
My dad steps forward and I push him back. “Leave Trey alone. And his mother! You don’t abuse your power in the pack to tell me who to date! You don’t tell me who to date at all. Or mate, for that matter.” I yank back my shirt collar to show Trey’s mark.
“Sheridan,” someone else says. Alpha Green. I should act submissive and listen to him, but I’m done acting. Real Sheridan is in the house and she is not hiding. I’m as alpha as the rest of them, if I want to be.
“I’m done. I hereby withdraw from the Wolf Ridge pack.” As soon as I’m finished saying the words, I feel something crack inside me, like the pack bonds were hit by a hammer and shattered.
“Sheridan,” my dad says, alarmed. “You can’t-”
“You can’t stop me,” I snarl and stalk towards my Mercedes. Not quite the exit I wanted, driving off in a car my dad gave me, but whatever. I pay insurance and put gas in it; it’s mine.
“Where will you go?” Alpha Green calls. I know he felt the backwash of the blow to my pack bonds.
“Anywhere but Wolf Ridge. Other than that, I don’t know.” Actually, I do know. I’m going to go pack my things, and call Trey and beg him to take me back. I’ll hang out at the fight club. Sleep on the stoop if I have to. Well, there was just a dead body on the stoop, so maybe not that.
I throw the car into gear and peel out of there, and don’t look back. Garrett and his pack probably don’t want me, but it doesn’t matter.
Only Trey matters. I belong to him. Trey is my pack, and my home.
Trey
I ROAR UP THE HIGHWAY, heading out of town. Fuck Tucson anyway.
Something tells me to pull over, so I do. There’s no danger around, so I don’t know what my wolf is telling me, but I pull out my phone and scroll through old messages. There are a bunch from Sheridan, most of them asking me to call back. I listen to each, trying to decipher the meaning behind her words. She sounds crisp and professional, not desperate or weepy. But that’s Sheridan. She’s not about to lose it over a guy. Maybe what we have was really just her reliving her youth, sowing wild oats.
She came out here to do a job, and the job is done. There’s really nothing for her here, except me. But I don’t count. I can’t give her the life she’s meant to live.
“Fuck,” I mutter. I’m tempted to toss the phone, but some instinct stills my head. My wolf is hoping she’ll call us or something.
I slump on my bike. I’d give anything to have her call. I can stop myself from claiming her, if I stay away long enough for her to leave, but if she calls and chooses me, I’m hers.
I’ve always been hers.
SHERIDAN
THE FIRST THING I do when I get home is throw the damn quote calendar in the trash. Wisdom is nice and all, but it’s time I went with my gut.
My next call is to Garrett. He answers on the first ring. “Cuz?”
“I’m requesting asylum with your pack.”
“I figured this was coming.” He sighs. The voices and commotion in the background fades. A door shuts and his voice comes in clearer. “How long?”
“I don’t know. Just… give me a couple of days to get my stuff together. Your pack probably won’t be happy with me staying. Not after I got them all kicked out of Phoenix.” I took a deep breath. “Garrett, I’m so sorry about that… about betraying you and the others. I was just so scared someone was going to get into real trouble, get hurt all over stupid drugs but…” I pause, knowing this wasn’t the first time I’d apologized, but it would be the first time I’d told the complete truth. “When Trey broke up with me, I thought I’d die, but then when he took up with Kaylee… something inside me broke… I broke. I just go so mad. I know that doesn’t excuse what I did, but-“”Maybe not,” Garrett says slowly.