Page 87 of Brutal Reign

He huffs out a breath as if I’m being unreasonable– or maybe he’s just getting winded now that we’re running faster. Either way, I let it drop, going right back to silently stewing about how the only girl impervious to my charms also happens to be the only one I’ve ever truly wanted.How’s that for irony?

I’ve never cared enough to question myself like this, and now I guess I know why. Caringsucks. I’ve never felt so goddamn insecure in my life.

“You guys fight because there’s too much tension built up between the two of you,” Ace murmurs contemplatively. “Maybe you just need to fuck so you can get it out of your systems, clear some of the tension so you can have an actual conversation without trying to kill each other.”

“She won’t let me fuck her while she still hates me,” I growl, shooting him a side-eyed glance. “Bet she’d let you, though.”

He chews on his lower lip, giving a little shake of his head. “The time isn’t right for us yet.”

“Seriously?” I scoff, looking at my best friend like he’s lost his damn mind. “What are you waiting for, bro?”

“The right time,” he answers cryptically.

I roll my eyes, turning my gaze back to the track ahead of me.

But then it hits me.

Whatever Ace is doing is fuckingworking, and if I don’t figure my own shit out with River soon, the two of them are gonna go skipping off into the sunset, leaving me feeling like I did while watching them this morning, every day for the rest of my miserable goddamn life. If I want to win her over, then maybe I need to take a page out of his book. Stop trying so hard to get in her pants and try to get in her head, instead.

Hopefully my balls don’t shrivel up and fall off in the meantime.

“I was able to get ahold of those concert tickets I told you about,” Ace says casually, pulling me back out of my own head. “You could give them to her, earn some points.”

“Nah, you got ‘em, so you should be the one to give them to her,” I sigh, though I do appreciate him trying to do me a solid by offering. “What’s the name of the band, again? I should probably listen to some of their music beforehand, so I don’t look like a total tool at the show.”

“Audio Whiplash,” he responds.

I repeat the stupid fucking name a few times in my mind, committing it to memory, then go right back to my spiral of self-destruction.

“How is this even gonna work?” I grumble, thinking aloud. “She can’t be Luna to our pack if she’s Alpha to her own.”

“Well, she shouldn’t have to give up her pack just because she has us,” Ace reasons.

“Fuck no she shouldn’t,” I growl, my inner wolf revolting at the thought of River being deposed from her rightful rank. “She’ll win that challenge and claim her title. She already wiped the floor with Jake once, so she shouldn’t have any problem doing it again.”

“Except the challenge is in wolf form,” he mumbles.

“Yeah, so?”

Ace slides me a glance, and I can practically see the wheels in his head turning as he asks, “Do you think there’s something up with her wolf?”

“What do you mean?” I scoff, furrowing my brow.

He drops his voice low, not chancing anyone overhearing our conversation. “I think something’s off with her shifter healing. Remember when we were kids and she had those issues integrating her wolf?”

“Well yeah, but that was years ago,” I reply, lowering my voice to match his. “Her dad wouldn’t have put her in line to be Alpha if her wolf was still feral.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Ace agrees, nodding. I can still see those wheels of his spinning when I turn to look at him, though. “I don’t know, I just feel like there’s something she’s not telling us,” he grumbles.

“Dude, wesawher wolf. The night of the full moon, remember? She looked perfectly normal to me.”

A smile curves his lips. “How could I forget?”

We exchange glances, and I know we’re both replaying that night in our heads; the night that changed everything. I’ll never forget the way her wolf’s white fur glowed beneath the moonlight or the surge of euphoria I felt when she shifted and our bond snapped in.

The two of us fall silent for the next lap while I retreat back into my own mind, the soles of our shoes pounding the track at a steady beat.

“Maybe the three of us could go out to the woods and shift, help her practice scrimmaging,” I mumble, thinking aloud again. “Make sure she’s prepared for the challenge.”

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