Chapter 4 - Layla

"I'll think about it," Layla answered when Jason asked her if she would go out with him sometime. The way he and his friends had joined her at the refreshments table had felt awkward at first, but they seemed like nice guys. And it appeared they liked her, too.

The admiration in their eyes as they all gazed upon her almost made her feel special. Then she reminded herself that they were human. Werewolves were bound to be attractive to them—it was evolutionary. After all, many werewolves had sworn off the old ways of eating humans for their main source of prey in the modern world, but that didn't cause them to devolve any.

"Don't take too long to think about it, okay?" Jason said, a sheepish expression on his face. He glanced down, kicking the floor with his boot. "I'd really love to show you a good time."

Layla shivered. Though it wasn't at his words, but instead at the scent that had just wafted into her nostrils. It made butterflies fill her stomach even as her hackles began to rise.

The way Jason and his friends looked over her shoulder and started to back away slowly told Layla all she needed to know.

"Come and find me when you've decided, okay?" Jason suggested, but before she could respond, he and his friends were gone, frightened off by the big bad wolf who sidled up beside her.

"I thought you were off having a good time with Sandy?" she growled without so much as glancing at him. Instead, she gripped hold of the edge of the table and gritted her teeth. Zander's mere presence did things to her, things she most definitely didn't want to feel.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shrug. "Not anymore."

He, too, stared forward, as if he couldn't bring himself to look at her, either.

Layla didn't have a clue what to say to that, so she busied herself with pouring a glass of punch. It was strong, even for werewolves, and she struggled not to gag as she took a huge, unprepared gulp.

"You know, there is one thing about you I really don't understand," Zander said, rocking back on his heels a little to look her up and down. She sensed his eyes linger on her ass.

"Wow," Layla scoffed back. "You must think you know me pretty well if there is only one thing about me you don't understand."

She thought she might have actually heard him laugh, but when she finally chanced a look at him, he was scowling deeply.

Layla shivered all over again, a cold shiver that ran all the way down her back. She hated it when he looked at her like that.

"What I don't understand is why all the men are so goddamn attracted to you."

He glowered at her as if he were trying his absolute hardest to figure it out. Before she could even attempt to stop herself, Layla blurted, "Maybe they've all heard about the amazing sex."

Their gazes locked in a way that made it impossible for Layla to even blink. Her heart thundered in her chest. She couldn't believe she just said that, especially to him.

It was something she would say if she actually wanted to have sex with him, but there was no way on earth or in hell that Layla would ever stoop to sleeping with him. Even if he was pack beta and the closest thing to royalty the pack had saved for Jack and his children, he was still maybe the biggest asshole in the pack. And that was saying something.

The heat that passed between them in that one fleeting look was enough to make Layla feel as if she were standing right beside the bonfire. She did her best to ignore it, especially when Zander laughed and said, "I highly doubt that. I can tell you're lousy in bed just from looking at you. You're far too stiff."

The cocky smirk on his face was the last straw. The twinkle in his eye sent Layla right over the edge. "Well, then it's a good thing you're the last guy in the world who would ever find out!"

Her rage was upon her. She could feel her wolf clawing just beneath the surface, ready to jump forth and claw just beneath the surface just for standing a little too close.

Zander looked as if he were about to speak, but before he could do so, Layla started to reel. "You know what, Zander, your attitude absolutely stinks. I have no idea how you ever got anyone into bed. You're so cocky it's disgusting, and to be honest, it"s so disgusting no amount of good looks could ever make up for it!"

She bit her lip at that, expecting Zander to laugh at the fact she had just basically told him he was good looking, but instead, he was silent, his expression unreadable. Seeing her chance, astonished he was quiet for once in his life, she continued, "I loathe you, Zander, and if you weren't a member of this pack, I'd be glad if I never saw you again!"

And there was that look on his face again, just as it had been in the forest, a look of hurt that made Layla's stomach immediately clench up.

What had she done?

Bile rose in the back of her throat as her rage started to fade, and she quickly came to realize that Zander was no longer the only one staring at her.

His expression remained hurt, though it was clear he was trying his best to hide it.

All around them, members of the pack were beginning to gather, some of them whispering to each other.

"What's that all about?"

"What's going on?"

"How dare she talk to him like that?"

"Is there something going on between those two?"

There was a whirlwind of emotions all around them, her own rage mixing with Zander's hurt and the misguided jealousy of some of the females in the pack. Of course, some of them would have loved to be in what appeared to be a tiff between two lovers with the beta of the pack. It might well warn every other she-wolf in the pack off him. But that wasn't at all Layla's intention, and her embarrassment was so awful that it made her dizzy.

"Layla, I—" Zander began, but the second she saw his hand reaching towards her, Layla stepped back, making certain her body was well out of reach. The thought of him touching her was more than she could handle right now.

What would his hands feel like? She wondered, but her cheeks were red-hot, and she was embarrassed enough.

There were others gathering around them now.

She even heard Darwin somewhere off in the distance—though he might have been right beside her, for all she knew—as he asked, "Layla, is everything alright?"

But the blood was roaring in her ears and her skin was so hot she felt the urge to claw it right off. She had to get out of there.

"I…I should go home. I'm…I'm just tired after the long journey from Blackwell Falls," she said, running her fingers through her dark strawberry-blonde roots. For a second, she considered apologizing. Then, she decided against it.

Zander would never in a million years let her live it down if she admitted even the slightest bit of fault in what had just happened.

And so, she turned, forcing her way through the crowd that had begun to gather. She felt a hand land on her arm, but she snatched it away swiftly and raced off down the lawn. Every instinct in her told her to shift and get away just that little bit faster, but she was all too aware of the several humans roaming about the place.

Jason's invitation for a date rang in her ears all over again. She'd been having a much better evening while talking to him. Why did Zander have to come along and spoil it? Maybe she should take that date, after all. Humans were far less complicated than cocky ass werewolves. Maybe, for once, she"d actually have a successful time of dating if she decided to go outside of her race.

She forced the thought away as she hit the tree line and melted into the shadows. Only the fact that she was wearing her favorite white-washed jeans stopped her from shifting. She'd wait until she got home, strip down, and then go into the garden and howl at the moon.

That would make her feel better. Or at least she hoped it would. Maybe in wolf form, she would be able to shake off the embarrassment of what had just happened and forget all about Zander freaking Mallox. He had taken up far too much of her evening already, and he had ruined the full moon bonfire. He was an idiot, but she was the fool for ever letting him get under her skin like that.

He was trouble, and she'd had enough of that to last a lifetime. The last thing she needed now was another Christian in her life.