Page 15 of Claiming Xan
“So?” Xan gushed. “What do you think? Nice, huh? We have a lot of territory in Greymercy. Hey, maybe some other time I’ll drive you around and show you what the town has to offer. It’s small, but it’s home.”
“Maybe.” I crossed both arms over my chest. “I still don’t think it’s wise for you to be hanging out with me.”
He simply shrugged and smiled up at me. “That’s one thing you’ll come to learn about me—I do my own thing, no matter what anyone else thinks or says. Mom’ll come around. It’ll just take time, that’s all.”
I grunted. “Doubtful.”
He brightened. “Hey, do you want some ice cream?”
What? I stared down at him, at a loss for words. I didn’t understand… This Omega kept throwing curveballs and I had never been great at sports.
Finally, I blurted, “Why are you being so nice to me? I don’t deserve it.”
Xan shrugged a slim shoulder. “You’ve been dealt a shitty hand at life, and I don’t know, I think maybe youdodeserve a few good things,” he said. “Sure, you might be growly and filled with rage, but you’re not a monster.”
I wasn’t a monster? Had he not seen me? Bristling up, I growled at him, jabbing my finger into his chest, hard. “I attacked your brother!”
“You were protecting yours! You were panicked! I don’t blame you for that, and I know Kace. He doesn’t blame you either.” He stared up at me, his expression so damn earnest that I had to look away. I couldn’t take the emotion shining in his eyes. I sucked in a sharp breath and fisted my hands at my sides, trying to calm down.
“So… Ice cream? Yes, no? My treat.” When I hesitated, Xan cocked his head and tried a different approach. “How about this? What’s your favorite flavor? What flavor would you have chosen before all this shit happened to you?”
“You mean, when I was a kid?” I asked, my brow furrowing.
“Sure.”
I thought about it for a moment. Thought back to a time when things weren’t so hard, and life didn’t suck so badly, and I still had a family who loved me.
One day, in particular, stood out. Sky and I had been eight or nine, and Mom had taken us to the local ice cream parlor for a treat. There were tons of flavors. Sky had gotten chocolate, of course, but I’d pressed my hands and nose up against the glass and stared at all the colorful buckets of ice cream until I finally made a decision.
“Banana,” I said, at last. “They probably don’t have that, though.”
Xan giggled. “Well, you’re in luck, because they do. C’mon!” He took off at a jog across the beach, headed towards a small wooden building with a large window and colorful signage, listing ice cream flavors and prices. Beside the shop was a cutout of a giant yellow ice cream cone man, his cartoon arms waving in the air while his beady black eyes seemed to stare into my soul.
Creepy.
I caught up with Xan just in time for him to hand me a waffle cone, dipped to perfection and filled with two heaping scoops of heaven. My stomach actually gave a tiny rumble of anticipation at the sweet treat.
Together, we sat down at one of the vacant picnic tables in front of the ice cream stand and looked out at the lake, and that first taste of banana walnut frozen yogurt felt like I was eight years old, all over again.
I groaned as the sweetness exploded on my tongue, making me forget all about my problems, at least for a little while. “Wow, this is really good,” I admitted.
Xan smirked. “Told you so. Mr. Frostee is practically famous here in Greymercy. It’s a mom-and-pop owned place, so a local business, and they have the best ice cream in town. We’ll definitely have to come back.”
I looked over at him, questioning why he’d said “we” but he had busied himself with licking his ice cream cone in such a way that was far too explicit for words.
Damn.
Feeling heat rise to my cheeks, I quickly looked away. The last thing I needed was a crush on the Alpha’s son, when she’d made it abundantly clear I should stay far away from Xan Howell.
Why did I get the feeling that he was going to make that very hard?
9
XAN
Over the nextcouple of weeks, I slowly picked away at the craggy rock wall River had erected around his stone heart. Of course I’d seen the warning looks Mom had been shooting me, but it’s not like I was doing anything wrong.
I was just being friendly.
