The Wolf in Sheep's Skin

Chapter 7

Jay

The woman’s shoes clacked against the marble floor as she ran to the back patio. Everyone’s eyes were on me. Their hearts raced; the scent of their fear hung in the air.

Eyes burned into me; my nostrils flared.

I scanned my eyes over the room and people sunk lower, cowering in on themselves. I’m the one who gets hit, and they’re scared of me? Typical.

“What are you all looking at? Don’t you have something better to do?” I snapped at them. They flinched, clutching at their chests. My face ached where her hand landed; I could feel where each finger had pressed into my skin.

Something bitter and vile swam in the pit of my stomach. I growled, grabbed the whiskey bottle, and stomped out of the room. People scrambled out of my way, like I was some stampeding bull about to crush them.

If they’re going to be afraid, I might as well give them a reason.

I shouted at people to get out of the way as I pushed through the room. They parted for me, lowering their eyes, unable to look at me. I stormed up the stairs up to the top levels of the pack house, went into the main office, and slammed the door behind me.

“Bunch of c*nts.” I swigged from the bottle. The alcohol did nothing to dull my senses. I squeezed the bottleneck so hard I hoped it would break in my hand. I craved to smash it, throw it against the wall, to feel it break.

Instead, I grumbled to myself and took another drink. I paced around the room. My skin itched, my mouth drooled. I needed to run, to fight something, to hunt, to do something, but all I could do was pace. My skin itched and burned, and I wanted to tear at it, scratch at it, anything.

This is why I don’t come to this sh*t! F*cking Ansel, always dragging me to pack events. I growled, and my skin crawled. I craved to be at home, in the woods. It’s bad enough I have to go to other packs to deal with their sh*t, but I can’t get peace while I’m at home?

The office door swung open, then closed.

“Go away, Ansel.” I snarled.

“What was that?” He waved his arm towards the door.

“I don’t want to fight you.”

“Why did you do that back there? Why’d you say that to that woman; you had to know it would upset her.” He put his hands on his hips. His face was red, and I turned away from him so I wouldn’t rip off his stupid mustache.

“Actually, a fight sounds refreshing.”

“Then go ahead. Fight me.” He swung his arms to his chest, suggesting I hit him. I glared at him. Fighting him was never fun.

“You’re too small to fight.” I went to the window and took another swig.

“Good, insult me. Come on, get it out.” His tone was softened, and I regretted my choice.

“Can’t you leave me alone for once?” I snarled at him. This was how he always was. Patronizing, never leaving me alone, always forcing his presence on me.

He walked closer and sat on the desk nearby. Ansel was small and oddly boyish, kicking his feet like a child. Everybody was always surprised to learn he was Alpha. And not just Alpha of our pack, Alpha of the entire nation. Tall and lean, he looked inconspicuous. But his mind was sharp and dangerous. Worst of all, he knew how to get people to do what he wanted.

“Are you going to tell me what that was about?”

“No.”

“That woman was interested in you.”

“She was scared of me.” I recalled the way she’d looked at me in the hallway during the fight earlier. How her mouth hung open and how wide her eyes had been. Her pretty face filled with fear. A growl escaped my throat and my skin crawled at the thought.

“If she was scared, why did she approach you?”

“H*ll if I know.” D*mn woman should’ve left me alone.

“I haven’t seen a woman, or anyone, willingly approach you in decades.”

“Willingly? That’s a big assumption.”

“She’d been watching you for a few minutes before she went over.”

“Probably forced to speak to me.” I spat out. He was right. She’d been watching me; we’d locked eyes. I’d seen the fear in her blue eyes; she’d looked away with such speed there couldn’t be any other reason behind it.

“You didn’t see the way she was looking then. She was… curious.” He played with his mustache while a coy smile spread across his face. I tensed, holding the bottle up to my lips.

Curious? He has to be f*cking with me. But I could smell the truth in his words, and Ansel was a master at reading people.

“It doesn’t matter.” I looked away, out the window. Tree swayed in the distance, illuminated by the waning moon that was partly hidden by clouds.

“What, you’re not interested? You could’ve fooled me.”

“Nothing’s going to come of it.” Disappointment grew in my gut. The woman was pleasing to look at, with her golden hair and big brilliant blue eyes. If she has any sense of self-preservation, she’ll avoid me like the plague.

“You’re not going to pursue her?”

“She slapped me.” I stared him in the eye and pointed to the stinging mark on my cheek.

“It takes some gall for someone to do that to you. In fact, she didn’t seem threatened by you the entire time.”

“Maybe she lacks a sense of danger.” I mocked the bottle, using a high-pitched tone before taking a swig. My head was a little airy afterwards.

“How much of that have you had?” He pointed to the bottle in my hand, and I snorted.

“You know how much I hate these events. People coming in, being loud, starting fights, women showing off their new babies. It’s annoying and inconvenient.” F*cking spring. Everyone mates over the spring and summer, gets pregnant, has their perfect little baby in winter. Then they came here and shove their babies in everyone’s faces, showing off their perfect little families.

“You wouldn’t hate it if you had babies of your own to show off.” He lowered his voice and his legs stopped swinging.

I snarled and slammed down the bottle on the window seal.

“You know d*mn well I can’t control that!”

“While you were talking to that woman, who wasn’t afraid of walking up to you, did it ever cross your mind that she could be the one?” He said calmly and leaned forward.

“That woman? The one who just slapped me, called me an *sshole in front of everyone? You think that woman is my mate?” I snorted and let out a laugh that would’ve sent shivers down anyone else’s spine.

“Your mate will need to be someone who can stand up to you, which she obviously was able to do.” He waved his hand at my face, and I scowled. “She was submissive to Olivia.”

“There’s no way in h*ll that woman is my mate! She made it clear she hates me.”

“Did she? Tell me this, why didn’t you hit her back?”

“What?”

“After she slapped you, why didn’t you hit her back? I’ve never seen you let someone get away with disrespecting you, especially in front of a crowd.”

“You think I’d smack a woman around for slapping me?” I curled my lip and taunted him. “I didn’t know you thought I was such a massive d*ckhead.”

“Please, I know how you feel. Refusing to fight a woman just because they’re a woman is sexist in its own way.”

“I wouldn’t hit someone for slapping me.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t have hit her, but you didn’t even say anything.” His eyes narrowed, and he jumped down from the desk. He was slightly shorter than me. Ansel got closer, invading my space. I puffed up and glared down at him. “Why?”

“It’s none of your business.” I towered over him, but he never seemed phased by it.

“You’re both my pack members; it is my business. I need to know if this is going to continue to be a problem. And d*mn it, we’re friends, whether you like it or not.”

“I hate you sometimes.”

“You hate me all the time. You hate everyone.”

“I don’t have to tell you everything.”

“Who else are you going to tell?” He motioned to the rest of the pack. “What, you think I’m going to run around, spreading your business? Spit it out!” He shouted in my face. My blood boiled, and I wanted to wring his neck.

“Say it, or are you too much of a coward?” He growled, and I snarled.

“I deserved it! I was an *ss, I deserved to get slapped; why would I punish her?” I shouted and his eyes got wide. I groaned at myself and prepared for him to give me a lecture.

“You did it on purpose? You knew what you said would bother her, yet you still did it?” He pulled his head back and looked at me with dismay.

“Obviously! You think I would casually hit on her like that, and not know it would offend her? Of course it would; I’m not dense!”

“Why would you do that?”

I raised my arms up and let them flop down to my sides. “F*ck if I know!”

“You better fix this, Jay! That woman may be your shot at having a mate, and you just shoved her away, like always!”

“You seem oddly sure she’s my mate.” I growled at him. He made his way to the door, turned on his heel, and pointed at me.

“If you can’t see why I’d think that, you’re a fool!” He pried the door open and stood in the doorway. “Since you want to be alone so bad, I’ll get out of your way.”

He slammed the door, making me jump. The room was dark and cold. Sound insulation prevented any sound coming in or out of the room. The only thing I could hear was my own heartbeat.

He’d never left after an argument. It was our thing, our routine. We argued, he stayed, and I hated him for it. An odd emptiness filled me, leaving me numb inside. Like everything had been sucked out of me.

I must’ve royally p*ssed him off to make him storm off like that. I frowned at the empty whiskey bottle. Why the hell does he care so much, anyway?

It’s not like the woman is my mate. He has no way of knowing.

But he’d spoken the truth. At least he’d spoken his truth. How can he be so certain? I thought back to the few moments I’d spent around her. Did I miss something?

There was no alluring scent; my wolf wasn’t going insane; not that he typically did. I’d always imagined I’d know right away, but could I be wrong?

Maybe if I hadn’t been trying to dull my senses, I would’ve smelt her? I couldn’t even recall her scent. It mixed with the rooms we’d been in, with the people around us.

For someone to slap me in front of a crowd…

I couldn’t remember the last time had the guts to do that. It doesn’t matter. She was afraid, I’m certain of it. Besides, whatever chance I had is ruined now.

I stared out the window, and debated ongoing out there, shifting, hunting, anything to get away from the emptiness. The last thing I need is to run into her out there.

I groaned and left the room, slinking through the halls. The pack house was mostly quiet, like everyone had gone home. The halls were empty as I walked through, and part of me wished I’d bump into someone, anyone.

But by the time I got outside to my beat-up old truck, I hadn’t seen a single person. My truck roared to life, and I began the lonely drive home.