Page 11 of Banished Mates
Britt went quiet and cleared her throat. Her nervousness practically seeped through. I shot into a sitting position.
“Did she tell you about our conversation, then?” Her strained voice put me on edge.
“What did you say to her?” I snapped. She may have birthed me, but hurting Willow crossed the line.
“I-I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I just wanted to look out for you—”
“I’m coming over.” I pocketed my phone, grinding my teeth.
Grabbing the pillowcase, I balled the sullied material and slammed out of Willow’s bedroom and out the front door. A throb started in my chest. Hurt feelings? She’d been hurt by what Britt had said... and after my sly comment to her? I rubbed the back of my neck, my pulse picking up. It was the last thing my Willow deserved.
My stride ate up the space as I made my way to the pack house. Various scenarios filled my head, but I tried to calm my raging wolf. There was something off and his frustration bled into mine, heightening my overall emotions.
On my way to the front door, I tossed the pillowcase into the large can outside of the pack house.
The front door slammed into the wall and a crack snapped through the silence.
I exhaled through my mouth, attempting to rein in my aggression, but it was fucking difficult. Her sad eyes kept flashing through my thoughts, heightening my emotions by the second.
I shouldn’t have allowed my temper to guide my words, but frustration had gotten the best of me. The stubborn girl needed to choose me.
My wolf pushed against my skin, and I popped my neck, a growl building in my throat. I turned sharply, following Britt’s scent to the living room where she wrung her hands.
Her widened eyes met mine.
What had she done? The iris’s expanded, the blue rings thickening.
My nostrils flared and my wolf puffed up so much he pushed at my insides for release. He felt the wrongness—something happened, and it all started with Britt.
“Tell me,” I ordered quietly, my body becoming eerily still. Her chest lifted sharply, and her hands trembled as she swept her hair over her shoulder.
“I simply asked her to convince you to accept your mating.” She almost whispered the words, but they punched me straight in the gut. I hated the thought of the woman I loved being asked to do such a thing, but she didn’t feel for me what I felt for her, so it shouldn’t have bothered her. “She seemed upset by...”
My stomach tightened and anger surfaced. Upset? My wolf’s anxiety bled into me, mixing with my irritation at hearing this. In a few swift steps, I was next to Britt, eyes narrowed on her. She stumbled back, cowering.
Some part of my brain acknowledged I shouldn’t be this way toward the woman, but I couldn’t help it. As soon as Willow walked into my life, she took forefront in the short list of people I cared about.
A growl sounded and I was shoved back. The Alpha stepped in front of me, gaze set on mine. I ground my teeth and forced my gaze to the side, fighting my wolf who wanted to hold his gaze. If I was in my wolf form, the fur at the nape would be lifted. My knuckles popped. Just one more day.
We shared many features, but he had thirty years on me.
“Are you going on about that bitch again?”
All I had to hear was the derogatory tone in which he referred to her and I was in his face, gripping the collar of his shirt. There was only one trigger between us and that was Willow. After he’d caused her to lose her voice, I’d been unable to forgive him. My wolf less so—to him, Torrin was the enemy.
I met his gaze head-on, top lip curled in a snarl. Torrin growled, but I didn’t bother listening to the threat, instead, it seemed to inflame my wolf’s anger further. I was already more dominant than him and each time he looked at me, my wolf clawed to show him.
Britt’s small hands shoved at my arm, but it was as effective as a fly landing on my shoulder. I pushed forward and Torrin stumbled back and a snarl slipped free.
“Your obsession with this girl needs to end. I should have kicked her out when she didn’t shift. She’s nothing but a defective wolf, Camden.” His face was ruddy, and a vein popped at his forehead. How dare he say that about Willow? “You need someone worthy to be Luna.”
Enough.
I snarled and slammed my fist into his cheek. Blood spurt from his mouth. He laughed, his blood-coated teeth flashing. My shoulders tensed and my wolf remained still within me, prepared to shift and sink his teeth into Torrin.
A ringing ripped through the eerie silence.
Britt lifted the cell phone to her ear and said, “Hector?”
