Chapter 18

Eighteen

IZZY

“ I ’d think very carefully about what you want to say next,” I warn, narrowing my eyes at the ridiculously handsome wolf shifter.

Seriously, why couldn’t he be ugly? It would be so much easier to ignore him if he were sporting a penis nose or had ass cheeks for hair.

Emery grits his teeth together but manages to bite out, “Can we talk, Izzy? Please?”

“Was that so hard?” I give him a sardonic smile, which causes his right eye to twitch. “And to answer your question…no.”

“No?” One of his brows arches in obvious disbelief.

“You heard me. No.” I swivel around on the bench to face the others once more. “Now, what were we talking about again?”

Jake leans forward and mock-whispers, “Do you want me to kick his ass for you?” When Emery releases a sound that makes me wonder how the fuck I didn’t suspect he wasn’t human in the first place, Jake blanches. “I mean, do you want me to poke him with a sharp stick?”

“How did it go from kicking his ass to poking him with a sharp stick?” Dec asks, jamming a dozen french fries into his mouth at once.

“I might actually survive if I stab him with a stick and run away as fast as I can. There’s no way in hell I’ll survive an ass kicking.” Jake nods seriously, and I smother my grin with the back of my hand.

“You don’t have a lot of confidence in your abilities,” Dec muses.

“I have confidence…that I don’t want to die.” Jake wags his fork back and forth in the air and then narrows his eyes at Emery. “But I’ll stab the shit out of you with a stick if you so much as look at Izzy weirdly.”

“My hero,” I say dryly.

He grins and winks. “Always.”

“Izzy, please.”

Something in Emery’s voice causes me to turn once more to look up at him. And when I do… An indescribable emotion thunders through me. It feels as if I just swallowed fire, and it’s burning my throat.

His eyes are wild and desperate. I’ve never seen him so raw before, so open, so vulnerable. I suddenly feel lost, like a piece of driftwood on open seas, whipped around by unmerciful waves.

Why do I suddenly want to give in to him? Hear what he has to say?

Emery continues to stare at me pleadingly, unaware of the contortions my heart is putting my head through.

After a long moment of silence—the type that’s rife with tension—I blow out a breath and stand.

“Fine,” I hiss. “Let’s get this over with.”

Relief paints itself across Emery’s features, his eyes widening as he briefly bows his head. “Thanks?—”

“Don’t,” I warn him as I begin to move away from the table, leaving my backpack where it is. I’ll come back for it.

“Izzy.” Jake grabs my arm just before I can pass him, his touch surprisingly gentle despite the fierce glare he throws in Emery’s direction. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah. I’m sure.” I offer my foster brother a reassuring smile. “And if anything goes wrong, I know you’ll always be at my back with a huge stick.”

“The hugest,” he agrees instantly, then he frowns. “That sounded dirty.”

“Talking about your huge stick?”

He makes a face. “Ew. Stop it. I think I just vomited in my mouth a little.”

“Rude.”

“Izzy,” Emery says again, and I notice his eyes sharpen on Jake’s hand around my wrist. “Please.”

I give Jake’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze and then follow Emery out of the cafeteria. I don’t see Ethan, Ashton, Reid, or even Desiree. I have a brief moment of panic, wondering if they’re planning to all bombard me at once, but the classroom Emery leads me into is mercifully empty.

But also familiar.

“Seriously?” I spin around to face him and place my hands on my hips, watching as he flicks the lock into place. “Do you just bring all your conquests here?”

“What?” He stares at me in confusion, but then understanding dawns and horror splays across his face. “Of course not! Look…”

He runs a hand through his spiked blond hair as he begins to pace. I can’t help but notice he looks good. Real good. His hair is artfully tousled, giving him a “just got out of bed” look that drives most girls wild.

His features are beautiful, almost angelic, but paired with his tattoos and piercings, no one could ever mistake him as some godly being. His short-sleeved T-shirt clings to his muscular frame and emphasizes his biceps. His black jeans hug his hips in a way that should be fucking illegal.

Damn him.

Damn him to hell.

“I’m not sleeping with Desiree,” Emery blurts, spinning to face me. “I haven’t ever touched her in that way.”

“But you want to.”

“No!” He actually looks disgusted by the prospect, his skin taking on a green tint. “Not at all.” He resumes his pacing. “I know about the picture you were sent and what it must look like. But I promise you—despite what Ashton wanted you to believe—none of us is in a relationship with Desiree. Things with us are…complicated, and I know you don’t understand?—”

“What don’t I understand?” I prop my hip against the teacher’s desk and fold my arms over my chest. “That you guys are wolf shifters? Or that I’m apparently your fated mate?”

Time seems to stand still. I’m not even sure if Emery’s breathing as he turns to gape at me, his face devoid of all color.

But I’m on a fucking roll now. “What about the fact that you got my best friend arrested for a crime he didn’t commit? That you stormed into my house like a damn neanderthal? Hmmm?” My anger roils in my stomach, white-hot and blistering, and tiptoes up my neck. I ball my hands into fists. “Do you think I’m an idiot or something?”

“Who…?” He pauses, swallows, and then licks his lips. “Who told you?” Rage distorts his features into something unrecognizable. “It was that asshole Kain, wasn’t it? He told you?”

“Kain?!” My voice turns embarrassingly high-pitched in disbelief. “He’s a wolf shifter too?”

Emery opens and closes his mouth repeatedly. “I…”

“You know what? It doesn’t matter who told me. What matters is that you didn’t .” I stalk forward until I’m directly in front of him. I jab a finger into his solid chest. “I can understand keeping this world a secret from me. But I’m, apparently, your goddamn mate! You should never have kept that from me!”

“I know?—”

“Do you know what happened on my eighteenth birthday?” As I speak, I twist my arm so he can see the mark on my skin. “I felt unbearable pain. It was like… It was like my body was on fire. I was confused and scared and freaked the fuck out. Nobody told me it was the mate bond coming into play!”

“We didn’t know?—”

“You want to know why I’m pissed at you?” I take another step closer until I’m practically stepping on his shoes. I have to tilt my head to maintain eye contact, but I refuse to back down. “It’s not just because of the whole Desiree thing. It’s because you kept this world-altering secret from me with no concern for my safety or well-being. What if I’d been driving when the pain came? What if I passed out and hit my head? If he hadn’t been there to explain things to me, I probably would’ve thought I was insane.”

“He?” Emery’s brows scrunch together. “Grayson?”

“No,” I say stiffly, refusing to give up Christian’s name.

I have no idea if he’ll get in trouble for telling me the truth about the guys, but I don’t want to take any chances. Besides Grayson, he’s the only ally I have in this new world I’ve found myself in. Jake and Ansel don’t seem to know about the supernatural world.

Emery looks as if he wants to question me further but quickly decides against it.

Instead, his features pinched in pain and regret, he says, “Izzy, I’m so damn sorry?—”

I shoulder past him and move towards the door, then I unlock it and wrench it open.

“Save your apologies, Emery.” Just before I exit the classroom, I turn to him. “And you don’t have to worry about having a human as a mate. I reject you, Emery. I reject your entire pack.”

And with that, I leave the room.

I don’t look back.