Game With the Beta

Chapter 3

Raven

Raven pretended not to notice the surprised expressions directed her way. The pack shouldn’t be so shocked that she was considering Onyx a lost cause. Sure, Raven had a major thing for Onyx, but damn it, a female had her pride. He’d made it clear through his indifference that he had zero interest in her. Chasing after a guy who didn’t want her was not Raven’s idea of fun, no matter how hot said guy was. She could try her hand at seduction and see if he caved…Snort. She’d have more luck trying to nail jelly to a stone wall. Seduction wasn’t her specialty.

Besides, she’d overheard him talking to Trick last night. He didn’t think of her that way, he’d said. She wasn’t his type, he’d said. He liked his women slim, he’d said. Superficial asshole. As if those comments weren’t embarrassing enough, she hadn’t been alone when she overheard him. No, Tasha had been there to witness her shame. Groan!

Well Raven had not dressed in her skintight New York T-shirt and her slim-fitting blue jeans this morning to show him that she wasn’t so chubby anymore thankyouverymuch. She had not put on a little more mascara, eye shadow, and lip gloss than she usually did. And she had not even once wondered if Onyx would notice. Nope, not at all.

Seriously, though, who could blame her for wanting Onyx as much as she did?

With his wide shoulders, broad chest, and solid arms, he had a build that screamed

“powerful,” “lethal,” “dangerous.” She had grown up around well-built males, had seen plenty of muscular bodies, but Onyx was in a league of his own. His compelling, assertive personality made him seem as though he took up even more room than he actually did. He would have seemed unapproachable if it wasn’t for his heart-stopping, crooked grin.

Given how gorgeous females tended to flock around him, Raven wasn’t exactly surprised by his aloofness. He wasn’t in a position where he had to settle for plain Janes like herself. Then there were the differences in their personalities. He was a stickler for rules, whereas Raven saw them as suggestions. He had a strict moral code, whereas she had her own sense of right and wrong that didn’t always cohere with his—like something counted as cheating only if she was caught, and that vengeance was therapeutic. Onyx was very much a planner, wanting to be prepared for every scenario so that he could be in total control. Raven? She preferred to make things up as she went along, and she liked to take risks.

Unfortunately, neither her wolf nor her body saw these differences as important. Both reacted to him with an unhealthy amount of excitement that never failed to needle Raven. Even when he was a kid—a small, scrawny, scowling, defensive little boy—he had fascinated her. He’d been regarded as

“the runt” by all of his older brothers, which meant they had made his life miserable. Kind of ironic that he was now the biggest of all of his brothers, even bigger than Josh, who was an Alpha. Ha.

Even though they had been total bastards to him, he seemed to have this inner strength that meant no matter what they did or how much they did it, there were certain parts of him that they had never been able to touch or scar. Growing up, she’d watched in total admiration as Onyx had worked to make himself physically strong and fit until he was someone who was confident, capable, and one hundred percent comfortable in his own skin.

All these years later, there was still something about him that enticed both her and her wolf.

Maybe it was his piercing brindle-brown eyes or his cocky grin or the way he radiated confidence.

Or maybe it was because he was amazingly and admirably always in total control of himself and of his wolf. She got the feeling that control was important to him on some level, though she couldn’t figure why. In actuality, it was just as important to her. Not that Onyx was even slightly aware of that.

The only person who knew of her problems was her brother, and that was the way she liked it.

Enticing though he was, there would be no more pining over Onyx. No more wondering if his short, walnut-brown hair was as soft as she imagined. No more wondering if those big hands of his were as talented as she suspected. And no more wondering if he was as big in the downstairs department as he was everywhere else. But how could she not wonder about that? Come on, she was only human. Well, kind of.

Since the crush wasn’t only physical, it wasn’t going to be possible to make her craving for him simply disappear by force of will. Unfortunately. As Tasha had pointed out, though, Raven could ensure that she hid it from him. She could fake indifference and lead him to believe she was over the craving, salvaging some self-respect. She could paste a smile on her face and appear to be the happiest she had ever been.

That was exactly what Raven intended to do. She couldn’t allow herself to be reduced to a blubbering i***t by some guy. That was all he was—just a guy. And guys, as all women knew, must not be granted power over women and be able to rob them of their self-respect. That would create a total imbalance in the universe and could not be allowed.

So, determined to keep up her act, Raven took some toast from the table and continued to pay no attention to he-who-must-not-be-thought-about. She had much more important things to worry about anyway. Like the reason self-control was essential to her.

Given that, maybe it was a good thing that Onyx wasn’t interested in her. Although he was so easygoing that he could have been mistaken for nonchalant, he was, in fact, constantly alert and observant, absorbing every detail like a sponge. If he even slightly suspected that she was hiding something, he would harass her until he had answers.

“Sleep well?” Gabe, who was sitting opposite her, shoveled some watermelon in his mouth.

It sounded like such an innocent, casual question, but it went deeper than the others could imagine. “Fine, thanks.” Her smile seemed to satisfy her brother, as he returned his attention to his breakfast.

Tasha nudged her. “Are you doing anything this afternoon?”

“Nope, why?”

“Grace, Lydia, and I are planning to go shopping. We’ve decided to throw Taryn a surprise baby shower on Friday, so we need to get some stuff. Wanna come?”

“Sure.” Raven liked their Alpha female. She had a wit that almost anyone would love, and Raven admired her strength. The female had actually overcome her latency so that her wolf was no longer trapped within her—which had been unheard of until now.

In fact, Raven liked every member of the pack…except for Trey’s maladjusted grandmother, Greta, who was especially hostile to the unmated females. In her crazy little mind, if a female was unmated, she was intent on ensnaring one of “her boys”—those being Trey and the enforcers. And no female was good enough for Greta’s boys, hence why she was so hateful toward Taryn. With any luck, Raven would be done with her breakfast before the old woman appeared.

As a ginger cat abruptly sprang onto her lap, Raven smiled. He rubbed his head against her chest, hinting for a stroke. As usual, she happily obliged.

“I’ve never heard a cat purr that loud. Hey there, Hunk,” Tasha cooed, giving his head a gentle scratch.

“What possessed you to call that ugly freaking thing Hunk?” Cole grimaced. “I mean, he’s pudgy and shaggy and full of scars.”

“Hey!” Raven dug her elbow into Cole’s ribs. “He’s my chunky Hunk. Aren’t you, baby?

Ivy, one of the girls I work with at the dog sanctuary, found him about three years ago when he was practically on death’s door. Even though he was a cat, she brought him to the sanctuary to heal.

Fortunately, he healed quickly and could be rehomed. He decided, however, that he was coming home with me. Maybe it was because I took care of him while he was in that place, I don’t know.” Cole’s smile was as flirtatious as always. “I’d have gone home with you, too. Would you have kept me?”