Chapter 108: Trey: Pissed Off

TREY

KINGS GROUP CHAT????

Walker: still can’t figure out what to do for my art exhibition. thinking of going full nude

Nash: wasn’t that the plan from day one?

Walker: yeah but that’s predictable

Walker: i want people to look at my work and feel something

Nash: disgust?

Walker: depth, you uncultured fuck

Walker: anyway where’s T?

Walker: haven’t heard from you all day

Me: home

Me: alone

Me: slowly dying

Nash: ??????????

Walker: damn. sadie’s not there?

Me: no

Me: plan went to shit. somehow managed to piss her off even more

Me: giving her some space before i make things worse

Nash: ??????????????

Me: what’s so fucking funny?

Nash: NOTHING BRO ??????

Nash: just remembering how confident you were

Nash: "trust me. i know what i’m doing"

Me: fuck off

Walker: to be fair, it sounded like a solid plan

Nash: yeah. solid plan to die single

Me: nash

Nash: bro went from having a girl living with him to needing an appointment to see her ??????

Me: you know what

Me: get the fuck out of my group

Nash was removed from the group.

Walker: you know he’s just gonna come over, right?

Nash was added to the group.

Nash: LMAOOOOO

Nash: you missed me? ??

I toss my phone on the bed beside me before he can send another message. Today’s been shit enough without him enjoying himself at my expense.

Yeah, my brilliant plan blew up in my face. Yeah, Sadie’s angrier than she was before, and I made things more complicated when I was trying to sort them out. But she offered to pay me back for the tutoring she’ll miss. That counts for something, doesn’t it?

She could’ve walked away without worrying about our deal, but she didn’t. Maybe the Goddess is giving me something to work with.

[It counts for nothing,] Trex snaps.

He’s been getting crankier by the hour since she left. We merged at sixteen, and for years he managed perfectly well without her. Now he wants to run every five minutes, complains that the apartment is suffocating, and won’t shut up long enough for me to think.

[That’s you,] he counters. [You’re irritated. You’re cranky. And I feel every bit of it.]

Rather than give him the satisfaction of an answer, I turn toward the enclosure. Tilly and Milkshare are flying around, their brightly colored wings catching the light, and I try to follow one of them long enough to get my mind off Sadie. It works for about ten seconds.

I’ve gone into her room just to breathe in her scent, and I’m not ashamed of it. It calms me down. For a few minutes, the apartment feels less empty, and I can almost believe she’ll be back soon.

[That’s not necessarily true. She might not come back.]

What in the—

[There are thousands of students at Boreal. How many do you think are male? She-wolves like attention, and one of them could get hers while you’re lying here waiting. You know which one I mean. That snake crawling around her.]

My fingers curl into the sheets. Sadie isn’t going to run straight to someone else. I want to trust that much, but I saw how eager that guy was to get her attention. What’s his name again?

[Adrian,] Trex snarls. [You know his name. You just don’t want to say it.]

A sigh leaves me. Fine. Adrian.

The eagerness in his eyes disgusted me. He was always looking at her, trying to please her, waiting for her to notice what a helpful little shit he was being.

Every look he gave her said all she had to do was smile at him and he’d finally found his purpose in life.

I hated it. Hated it enough that I nearly lost my mind at Quiz Bowl, which worked out beautifully for everyone except me.

Going after Adrian would feel good for about five minutes. Then Sadie would find out, take one look at me, and decide I’m still the same unrepentant asshole she’s angry with now.

[Then behave yourself,] Trex says. [Once she forgives us, we can claim her as our mate. I’m old and cranky. I need the bond.]

I scoff. "You’re what, six? Or twenty-two? How the hell are we counting your age?"

[Use whatever brain capacity you have left to figure out how to be better to Sadie instead of asking irrelevant questions.]

Wow. I sit up against the headboard, wondering what I did to deserve a wolf who can’t go ten minutes without insulting me. He’s got a point, though. If anyone could help me work out how to fix this with Sadie, it’s—

The doorbell cuts into the thought.

I blink and lower my feet to the floor. I’m not expecting anyone, and it had better not be those two shits. Especially Nash. Putting him back in the group should’ve been enough to keep him away from here.

The bell rings again before I can get up. I head out of the bedroom, but one look at the camera feed stops me beside the door.

Lola. Why the hell is she here?

I drag a hand through my hair as goosebumps prickle my skin. Seriously? What is it with this girl making me feel like I’m about to answer for a crime?

"If you’re in there, you’d better open up!" she snaps into the camera. "I need to get Sadie’s things."

Then she starts pounding on the door.

A sigh leaves me. Couldn’t Sadie have texted me to leave first? I would’ve happily cleared out instead of standing here trying to decide how long I can pretend not to be home.

Slowly, I turn the lock and open the door, bringing Lola’s angry, unimpressed, and I’m-about-to-cuss-you-out expression into view.

Her nose scrunches. "You don’t look like you were napping. What took you so long?"

"I was resting."

She bulldozes into the apartment, forcing me back against the door as she passes. The familiar scent clinging to her explains how Walker knew Sadie was crying at her dorm. Passing through, my ass.

By the time I close the door, Lola has her arms folded across her chest.

"Do you feel proud of yourself?"

"Mostly, I feel uncomfortable with you here." I gesture toward her face. "You’re making it difficult to feel anything else."

"You should be happy my face is only making you uncomfortable. If I could shoot silver bullets at you with it, you’d be full of holes by now."

I nod. "I know you’re pissed, and—"

"No, I’m not pissed." She steps closer and looks me over from head to toe. If this isn’t pissed, I’d rather not be around to see what qualifies.

"I should’ve known nobody’s that perfect," she says. "Looking at you, with everything you’ve got going for you, I should’ve wondered what was wrong underneath. A psychotic killer? A sociopath? There had to be something."

I’m tempted to ask why an ugly man can’t simply turn out to be a sociopath, but she’s glaring at me and has started circling. When she makes another pass, an itch starts beneath my skin.

"Why do you keep circling me?"

"Trying to see what you’re made of," she says dryly. "Skin? Blood? Horse shit? Metal scraps?"

"All the finest materials, thank you."

She stops in front of me at last, her nose still scrunched like looking at me is unpleasant. The insult I’m expecting doesn’t come. Instead, her expression tightens.

"I was rooting for you and Sadie," she says. "I really thought my best friend had finally found someone who cared about her. Someone she actually deserved after all the shit she’s been through." She shakes her head at me. "And you pull that?"

"That’s not—"

Her hand flies up, palm facing me.

"Save the explanation for Sadie. I’m here to get her things. And..." She glances around. "Get me your finest wine."

I hesitate. Which is a pretty natural reaction to her tone and the way she’s just placed an order like this is a restaurant and I’m wearing a server’s uniform.

Then she goes over to the sofa and sits, crossing her legs. When I don’t move, her scowl deepens.

"What are you still waiting for?"

No idea. That’s what I’d like to know too, especially when my feet start carrying me toward the kitchen. By the time I reach the wine fridge, I’m fully aware that I’ve let her order me around, yet I open it anyway. I take out a bottle, then get a glass.

Just one, for her. I must have lost my mind.

Back in the living room, I open the bottle and pour her wine, leaving it on the coffee table. She takes the glass, swirls it, then has a sip.

"Ahhh." She smacks her lips and settles farther into my sofa. "You really got the expensive one. I can taste the cost in every sip."

How the hell did Sadie end up friends with this barbaric entity?

"Why are you looking at me like I’m some wild, barbaric beast?" she demands.

I blink at her. Can she read minds too?