Chapter 50

Fifty

CHRISTIAN

S omething isn’t right.

I know that almost immediately, without anything needing to be said.

Izzy has gone very, very still beside me, her jaw clenched and her eyes frosty. And Kyle and Silas—two of my oldest friends—are glaring at me with an almost incandescent fury, as if they wish they could peel my skin off my bones, tie the pieces together, and then use the resulting product as a rope to hang me with.

What the fuck ?

“Is everything okay over here?” Hale hurries forward, his eyes volleying between Silas and Kyle before focusing on me and Izzy.

Trailing along after Hale is another shifter I recognize. Dane, I think his name is. Or is it Dan? I’ve been away from the other wolves for so long, I’m beginning to have trouble telling them apart.

Izzy’s voice is glacial when she clips out, “Everything is perfect. I was just telling these two gentlemen that I’m going to fuck my vice principal because I have a lot of unresolved daddy issues.”

I practically choke on my own spit.

“Izzy!” I rasp out, unsure of what else to say.

Hale’s expression crumbles, something akin to understanding filling his eyes. “Oh, Izzy…”

I’m completely lost, and Silas and Kyle appear confused as well. The former’s fur has receded into his skin, and the latter is no longer growling at me.

Kyle brushes at his sandy-colored hair and smiles at the two of us sheepishly. I notice that he doesn’t make eye contact with Izzy.

“Sorry about that. I just get a little…protective of my students. It’s hard for me to forget that I’m no longer in the classroom.” He chuckles, but the noise lacks any genuine humor.

Kyle’s words only serve to piss Izzy off even more. I can tell by the way the muscles begin to twitch faster in her jaw. Her hands ball into fists.

“Yeah. That’s the reason.” Her voice is dry as ice.

Silas doesn’t justify his behavior with an explanation. He simply gives the two of us one last loaded glare before stalking towards the cooler to grab another beer.

Kyle watches his packmate warily. “And I’ll apologize on his behalf. He’s super protective of his employees, especially after what happened with Minnie.”

“Silas always claimed that Minnie was the daughter he never had,” Dane chimes in, his voice slightly slurred from all of the alcohol he consumed. He stumbles slightly, and Kyle reaches out to keep him upright. “It’s horrible what happened to her.”

Izzy flinches as if she was physically struck, Hale pales, and Kyle suddenly appears as if he’s going to be sick.

“I’m sorry Silas lost his…daughter.” Izzy stumbles over that word. “I didn’t know Minnie well, but she seemed like a good person.”

Dane nods seriously, but his attention is already elsewhere. He waves at someone over Kyle’s head and takes off in their direction.

“Izzy…” Hale tries again, taking a step towards my mate.

Izzy spins on her heel and calls over her shoulder, “I’m going to grab something to drink.” And then, under her breath, she adds, “Hopefully something strong enough to get through the day.”

I don’t bother saying goodbye to Hale and Kyle as I take off after Izzy, unwilling to lose her in the crowd. Her golden hair is a glimmering beacon that captures my attention as the two of us weave through the shifters.

Someone steps in front of me, blocking my view of Izzy.

“Christian,” a sweet voice says, drawing my gaze down to her face.

My throat swells shut as an indecipherable emotion arrows through me.

Lacey Heart looks exactly as I remember her—soft brown hair cascading around her shoulders in loose curls, rosy cheeks, and emerald eyes framed by thick lashes. At one point, I thought she was the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.

I first started dating Lacey when I was a freshman in high school. She was on the JV cheerleading team and always had a smile on her face. It was that smile that drew me in and demanded I get to know her. We dated for years, and I thought she was the one for me.

Then we both turned eighteen.

Lacey discovered she was the Heart of a pack—though she still has yet to find her mates—and I realized I was a lone wolf. She told me that the mating mark didn’t matter, that she still loved me, that she wanted to be with me, but I knew all of her words were lies. She may have believed them to be true then and there, but I knew the second she found her mates, she would forget all about me.

For the longest time, after I retreated into the forest, I would dream of Lacey and what our life could’ve been like if we were normal humans. But then my dreams started changing and distorting without me even realizing it. Where her face once was, I now saw a faceless, nameless woman with flowing blonde hair.

When was the last time I even thought about Lacey?

I try to wrack my memories but realize that it’s been way too long. She hasn’t crossed my mind once since…

Since Izzy.

I used to dread going to these events on the off chance I would run into her, but I didn’t even think about seeing her today when I invited Izzy.

“Christian.” Lacey offers me a tentative smile.

Objectively, I can admit that even now, years later, she’s still beautiful. But she doesn’t make my heart race the way she once did, doesn’t cause my hands to sweat, doesn’t make me tongue-tied or weak in the knees.

“Hello, Lacey.” I try to look over her shoulder for Izzy, but I can’t see her any longer.

An uneasy feeling spirals through me, and I move to step around Lacey, but she blocks me.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in so long,” she says with a chuckle. Red paints her cheeks as she ducks her head. “I’ve… I’ve missed you.”

I finally lower my attention back to the tiny wolf shifter.

I used to love the way shestares at me—like I’m the only man in the world that she’ll ever love—but now I only feel uncomfortable.

It isn’t just because of the mate bond. We have free will for a reason, and if I truly loved Lacey, I would be able to be with her, regardless of my connection with Izzy.

But I’ve changed in my years away. Fundamentally. Irreparably. The Christian who once lived in this town was bright-eyed and innocent. He believed that he would find a pack and live happily ever after with his mate. Hell, a part of him even believed thathis pack would consist of Ashton, Emery, Ethan, and Reid. They had been his best friends growing up.

But the new Christian no longer has rose-tinted glasses on. He sees everything with unnerving clarity.

Lacey isn’t right for me. I truly believe I loved her at one point, but the love inside of me has changed. I wouldn’t say it’s bitter or jaded, but it doesn’t feel like it once did. I have walls around me now, and only one person has ever managed to break through them.

“Lacey…” I begin carefully.

Movement next to me captures my attention, and I snap out an arm, capturing Izzy around the waist before she can escape. She blinks at me in confusion, one hand holding a plate full of ribs while the other shovels the meat into her mouth. A little bit of sauce stains the corner of her full pink lips.

I can’t help but smirk. “What happened to getting a drink?”

She shrugs. “A creepy man told me to try the ribs.”

I frown. “A creepy man?”

“Yes. He was smiling weirdly.”

“And you just…took the ribs?” I can’t believe this girl.

She lifts her shoulders again. “Don’t judge. I was hungry. And they looked delicious.” Turning, she focuses on a perplexed-looking Lacey in front of me. “Who’s this?”

She doesn’t sound upset or even jealous, and I realize it’s because she trusts me. A warm feeling bubbles in my chest at the prospect.

“Izzy, this is my ex-girlfriend Lacey. Lacey, this is my mate, Izzy.” I can’t help the masculine pride thatseepsinto my tone when I use the word “mate.”

Both girls blink at each other.

“Mate?” Lacey whispers brokenly.

Izzy slowly rips off another chunk of meat with her teeth, not responding.

“Lacey, I’m sorry—” I begin, but she holds up a hand, stopping me.

“You don’t have any reason to apologize, Chris. It’s… It’s wonderful that you found your mate.” She offers me a wry smile that doesn’t reach her eyes before turning towards Izzy. “It was lovely to meet you. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

Without another word, she spins on her heel and takes off into the crowd.

Izzy waits until she’s sure Lacey’s out of earshot before saying, “I didn’t know you had an ex-girlfriend.”

I laugh out loud. “You make it sound as if I used to be a monk.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” She rolls her eyes. “Anyway…” She focuses on the plate in her hands before lowering her gaze to her feet. “Would it be horribly nosey for me to ask you what happened?”

“There’s not much to tell. I started dating her my freshman year of high school. When I discovered I was a lone wolf, I broke things off.”

Izzy frowns and finally meets my eyes. “Did you love her?”

I gauge her expression carefully, searching for any signs of jealousy or discomfort, but all I find staring back at me is genuine curiosity.

“I did,” I confess, unwilling to lie to her again. “But I was a different personback then. Would we have stayed together if things had been different? I wouldn’t be able to tell you. Yes, I think I loved her, but in the way a young boy loves his first girlfriend. We weren’t perfect. We argued a lot and had different dreams for the future.”

I used to think about this often.

Would I have stayed with Lacey if we had lived different lives?

I would like to say yes, but…

I’m honestly not sure.

A part of me believes we would’ve grown apart over time, when we no longer had school connecting us. But what do I know? Maybe we would’ve been married by now with a white picket fence and two point five children.

“And now?” Izzy takes a step closer until the tips of her shoes touch mine.

“Now”—I place my lips by her ear—“I realize I prefer blondes.”

She snorts-laughs, and my heart lifts at the sound.

I lower my gaze to her pink lips. Attempting to rein in any laughter, I use my thumb to wipe away some sauce sticking to the bottom one.

Izzy’s eyes widen. “Are you telling me I had barbecue sauce on my face this entire time?”

“It was cute,” I insist, smirking. Then my smile fades, and I lean toward her. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

She pushes up on her tiptoes until our lips are only an inch apart. The world goes still, suspended in a superficial tranquility. All of the voices fade until they’re nothing but a distant murmur.

And I realize that I lied to Izzy before. Not intentionally, of course. I told Izzy I wasn’t sure if Lacey and I would have remained together ifthings had been different, but now I know without a shadow of a doubt we wouldn’t have. Lacey never made me feel like this—like I would go out of my mind if I didn’t get to kiss her, touch her, caress her soft skin.

Even if I were a human, I would still choose Izzy. It isn’t even a contest.

Just before our lips can touch, Izzy’s gaze flicks towards something—or someone—over my shoulder. Darkness descends over her expression like bloated thunderclouds.

“Motherfucker,” she hisses, taking a single step back.

I follow the direction of her gaze and scowl.

Ethan, Emery, Ashton, and Reid have finally arrived. I’m honestly surprised to see the latter. I can’t remember the last time he attended one of these parties, but maybe he wanted to come and pay his respects to Minnie, his co-worker and friend.

And to see Ashton out and about? I wonder what my father threatened him with.

However, the appearance of the four douchebags isn’t what causes anger to burn low in my chest.

It’s the sight of Desiree standing between all of them, like a pampered princess being protected by her adoring knights.

Izzy’s expression falls as if she’s been punched in the stomach. “Are you kidding me?”

A myriad of emotions flicks across her face, all of them appearing and disappearing too quickly for me to catch. She settles on anger as she grabs my arm and tugs me towards the group.

“Izzy, what are you doing?” I whisper.

She doesn’t answer as she pulls to a stop in front of my brother’s pack.

Ethan and Emery both turn pale, and Reid looks away, as if it pains him to stare at Izzy for too long. Even Desiree appears upset, her mouth opening and closing as she struggles to find the words to explain herself.

Only Ashton, the apathetic asshole, doesn’t react to Izzy’s presence.

“Izzy, it’s not what it looks like,” Desiree says, stepping between the men. “My father wanted the guys to escort me to the?—”

An evil smirk curls up Izzy’s lips as she focuses on the twins, ignoring Desiree completely. “Remember about the bet we made back at the arcade?”

If I thought the twins were pale before, that’s nothing compared to how they look now.

“Izzy, no…” Ethan breathes in horror.

Emery begins to shake his head from side to side rapidly.

Izzy’s smile only grows, blossoming until it’s a full-fledged grin.

Ethereal…and dangerous.

“We made a bet, and you lost. I’m cashing in on my prize.”

“What bet did you make?” I ask Izzy, bemused.

“Oh, you’ll see.” Izzy turns to face me, and with the sunlight reflecting off her hair and a wicked grin on her face, I’ve never thought she looked more beautiful.

But in a scary type of way.

I shouldn’t be as hard as I am right now, considering the circumstances, but god help me, I am.

“Motherfucker.” Emery kicks at a rock on the ground and then takes off to…who the fuck knows where.

Ethan stares at Izzy like a kicked puppy. “Do we really have to do this here?”

“You’re the one who assured me it’ll grow back.”

Grow back?

What the fuck?

“But…” Ethan sighs, clenches his jaw, and then nods once, fierce determination settling over his face. “All right. We deserve this.”

Ethan takes off after his brother, and I watch them go with no small amount of confusion and a tiny bit of trepidation.

Desiree takes anotherstep forward. “Izzy, I promise this isn’t what it looks like?—”

“Oh, I know.” Izzy turns to face the other girl completely. “Emery told me about the deal his pack made with your father.”

Desiree’s eyebrows shoot up. “He told you about what Ethan did?”

“No, but I suspect Ethan will tell me on his own time.” Izzy pauses and then asks softly, “Can we talk?”

Desiree nods. “Yeah. I think that would be a good idea.”