Page 40 of Tainted Romance

“No, I’m crying because I enjoy it.” I wiped my eyes. “What do you want, Zane?”

He went to say something, then stopped himself. The door was still open, and he looked over his shoulder. Frowning, he closed the door.

“Sorry, Allie. I didn’t know you were really upset.”

“Yeah well, you don’t know shit.”

“Look tea has just been served and, well, did you want to come down for something to eat?” Zane was trying to be nice. I knew that because, well, Zane wasn’t a nice person.

“I’m not hungry.” I crossed my eyes.

His eyes twinkled with amusement, and he slowly raised his eyebrows not buying it at all. “Come on, Allie. I promise I won’t say anything mean. Heck, I won’t even speak one word.”

I chewed my bottom lip. I was hungry, but I really wasn’t keen on dining with him.

“Come on, Allie,” he groaned. “Dad will be disappointed if you don’t come down.”

He just had to throw in the guilt card, didn’t he? “Fine, I’ll come but don’t expect me to speak to you.”

“Fine by me.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Ebony and I are heading out anyway.”

“So, you are inviting me down to tea, but you aren’t hanging around.” Was he really that dumb? Did he really just do that? No, he couldn’t, he hadn’t, had he?

“So?” He frowned. “You didn’t actually think I was hanging around for tea, did you?” He looked genuinely surprised.

I shook my head and walked across the room and grabbed the door handle. “No, Zane, I didn’t.” I walked out past him.

I had a choice - stay in the room and deal with Zane the dipstick or go downstairs and eat with a bunch of strangers. Well, as I walked down the stairs, I think I made the right decision.

Chapter Eighteen

At the pack house, we are all expected to pull our weight. Something I really didn’t fully understand until Alpha Harris asked if I wouldn’t mind helping Cassie in the kitchen with the dishes after tea.

Of course, I minded. I wasn’t a fucking dish pig, but, instead of telling the truth, I plastered on a fake smile and agreed.

Twenty-eight people had been at dinner so there was a hell of a lot of dishes, and we had just finished loading the sixth dishwasher with dishes. The only good thing that came out of this experience was I met Cassie.

She was two years older than me, and she lived here because she had nowhere else to be. She told me all about how she stumbled into town four years ago and Alpha Harris accepted her into the pack.

She was nice, sweet, and everything I wasn’t.

“Trust me, you will get used to living here.” Cassie smiled.

“Thanks.” I put the dishcloth down.

“So, you go to school with Zane, right?”

Zane, such a simple name for such a complicated person. “Yep.”

“He’s a good kid.”

He’s a pain in my ass. “Sure, he is.”

“Have you met his brother?”

My ears picked up on that. “He has a brother?”

She laughed and nodded her head. “Yeah, he keeps a low profile.” She looked over her shoulder and then lowered her voice. “He comes and goes. He doesn’t really have anything to do with the pack or the ‘rules.' I once heard Alpha Harris wanted to disown him but Beth, Zane’s mom, wouldn’t let him so he turns up every once in a while, makes a mess, and once he has enough money he hits the road again.”

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