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“That again?” Ella scolds.

Dave raises his hands in defense. “No ulterior motives from my side this time. I meant it.”

Finn looks at him for real this time. “I don’t mind,” he states bluntly. “You are less annoying than Lauren and her brainless cult-following.”

Ella almost spits her drink out. “Okay, now you made my day too. I need to remember that.”

“So, you agree?” Finn smirks.

“Absolutely,” Ella rolls her eyes. “I hate that bitch.”

“We all do,” Dave agrees.

I shrug. “Well, hate is a strong word, isn’t it?”

“Aw, my good-hearted Annie,” Dave grins. “You would see the good in literally anyone.”

“No, I am not that naïve,” I chuckle. “But maybe Lauren, Celine, and the others have changed since high school?” My own words don’t really convince me, but Lauren is our Beta’s daughter. Maybe I should give her a chance.

“I don’t know why they behave like that,” Finn mutters. “Last time they were around me, they even started touching my hair. Like bitch, get your hands off me! And when I grumble or glare, they just giggle. My two older brothers are more handsome than I am, and they never had these problems. I don’t know what I am doing wrong.”

“I know why,” Dave says to my surprise. When we all look at him, he shrugs. “Listen, I am just telling you this out of the goodness of my heart. Take it as an act of utter kindness. The problem is you act like a hissy, grumbly virgin whenever they get too close to you.”

Finn flushes. He glares at Dave. “What!?”

“Your Alpha aura won’t help,” Ella points out mercilessly. “He’s human.”

“Let me take a wild guess,” Dave continues. “Your two older brothers… when they were in the same situation, they would either smile or wear a façade of indifference, like they don’t even realize the fuss.”

Finn frowns. “My brother Marius tends to smile. You know, an annoyingly slimy fake smile, where you instantly know he would rather kill than be friendly to them.”

Dave nods. “Don’t underestimate the power of such a smile. It’s cold, indifferent and dangerous.” He pauses. “And the other one?”

“That’s Liam, my oldest brother. He can literally walk through a crowd of people squealing and screaming without so much as a glance their way. It’s like they aren’t even there. But then, I can’t really compare to him, Dave. He has that natural aura of authority a leader normally has.”

“Yep, but you can let him inspire you. Your problem, my friend,” Dave points a finger at him, “is that you interact with them. They squeal, and you glare. They touch your hair, and you huff and grumble, which they find cute. You give them the feeling of being approachable.”

Finn stares at him for a long while, and I am almost afraid he will stand up and strangle Dave on the spot. But to my surprise, he nods thoughtfully. “Hm, interesting perspective.”

I listen to them chatting and bickering and allow my thoughts to trail off.Why? Leah?

I feel my wolf stir slightly.What are you worrying about, Annie?

Shouldn’t you keep me from talking back to an Alpha, from offending and provoking him?

Oh.Leah’s voice is warm and soothing. Every time I talk to her, I feel instant calm. She is me, and I am her. She is my conscience, my instinct when I am not sure what to do. I sometimes might struggle with being an Omega, but I wouldn’t want to exchange Leah for any other wolf.So that’s what you are worrying about. The Iron Alpha’s son?

I should have knelt before him and bared my neck to him.To her, I can show how stressed and worried I am. Ella is different. Years of being shunned by her pack gave her a thick skin.But I didn’t. Why?

I am not sure.Leah’s voice is hesitant.I would have stopped you if there had been danger, but somehow it wasn’t necessary. He is no danger to you. Even if you stood up now and slapped him, he wouldn’t hurt you. His wolf won’t let him.

That much, I already figured.But why?

I don’t know. It’s just a feeling, Annie. Something is changing. I don’t know what. I just know that Silverlake wolves won’t be dangerous. And other Alphas are losing their power over you more and more.

Chapter four

Chapter 4 A change within me