Chapter 35: Trey: Territorial

TREY

I know why she’s going.

There’s no way Sadie actually wants to spend the night hobbling around some packed frat house on bandaged feet. This is about me, whether she wants to admit it or not.

Lola’s in on it too. Sadie must have already given her the afternoon recap, probably the version where I’m the asshole, because she keeps bringing her back out in another outfit and making her turn around while everyone weighs in.

It shouldn’t piss me off this much, but every time one of them watches her turn, I reconsider how many eyes a person actually needs.

"Okay, guys," Lola announces again as she pops out with Sadie. "What do we think of this one?"

The skirt is short. Not ridiculous, but short enough that most of her legs are suddenly right there, and the fitted top isn’t helping because it pushes her tits up so high they’re damn near having a conversation with her chin.

Dear Goddess.

I’d probably enjoy the view a lot more if Michael’s jaw wasn’t halfway to the fucking floor.

[We’re killing him,] Trex says immediately. [Walker too. Take their eyes.]

"We’re not killing anyone."

[This is your fault.] His growl rolls through my head. [You pissed her off, and now she’s parading around in front of half the team trying to prove something.]

"I told her the truth."

He answers with a disgusted rumble that says exactly what he thinks of that.

"What? You’d rather she stayed weak? I can’t stand the way she acts the second she sees him."

[You need to deal with your jealousy better.]

I almost laugh. "Jealousy?"

[Yes. Jealousy. What are you, five?]

His contribution always makes everything worse. "Are you actually lecturing me about human emotions?"

[Yes. Embarrassing that I have to, isn’t it, human?]

I shove him far enough back to get some fucking quiet and find Sadie staring at me from across the room, eyebrows raised.

My eyes travel over her again. "Awful."

Her jaw tightens, but instead of arguing, she turns to Lola. "I’ll wear this one."

Trex growls hard enough to rattle around my skull. [If you didn’t want her wearing it, you should’ve kept your mouth shut. Seriously. Do you ever think before you speak?]

I pull out my phone before his commentary gets any more annoying, hoping for something mindless enough to occupy me for a minute. The distraction lasts right up until Pops’ name appears at the top of the screen.

My eyelid gives one irritated twitch before I open his text.

Pops:The council has amended the Ascension Trials. Participation is now open to all Alpha-born children, not only heirs. Ezra will compete alongside you. I expect both of you to bring glory to Goldenmoon.

I flip the phone facedown on my thigh, tongue lodged against the inside of my cheek while my pulse starts beating harder at my temple.

Does that man ever get content with anything?

He must feel on top of the world right now, already imagining the two of us handing him something else to brag about. Good for him. Still, Ezra isn’t getting anywhere near the glory he’s probably jerking himself off over.

Phone still in hand, I push off the couch and head for Sadie’s room.

"Where are you going?" Nash calls behind me.

Her door is already cracked open when I get there, so knocking feels pointless. I push it wider and step inside.

"Hey!" Lola yelps, immediately putting herself between me and Sadie while she wrestles with the top. "What the hell? You can’t just walk into a woman’s room without knocking."

"The door was open."

"That’s not—" She gestures sharply toward it. "That’s not how doors work."

I tip my head toward the hallway. "I need to talk to her. Alone."

Her first instinct is to check Sadie. They hold each other’s gaze for a beat before Sadie gives a slight nod.

Only then does she head for the door, passing close enough that something unfamiliar catches under her scent.

My brows pull together.

A Lycan has his claim on her? That can’t be right.

"What do you want that can’t wait until I’m done dressing?" Sadie asks, and my eyes nearly betray me before I drag them back to her face. "Or are you trying to add pervert to the list of things wrong with you?"

I step farther into the room. "You asked for a week to get your project done. Didn’t realize frat parties fit somewhere in between."

She exhales. "I won’t use more than the week I asked for."

"Good." One hand goes into my pocket. "The Ascension Trials changed. Council opened participation to every Alpha-born son, so there’ll be more competition."

I hate that I know what she’s about to ask from her eyes alone.

"Does that mean Ezra will participate?"

For once, I wish I couldn’t read her this easily.

"I said Alpha-born, didn’t I?"

Her lips press together before she nods. "Once I round up my project, I’ll cover whatever we lost. You don’t have to worry."

"I’m not worried."

"You sound very confident. Anyway, that’s good." She gives me a thin smile. "You’ll need it."

A scoff slips out as I step closer, and she starts to retreat before stubbornness wins.

I almost smile at the little front she’s putting up, all that effort going into pretending she isn’t nervous around me. I still don’t know why I do that to her, but she’s not hiding it nearly as well as she thinks.

"If you’re done, you can leave," she says. "I’m getting dressed, in case you somehow missed that."

She glares right back at me, stubborn enough to hold her ground even with all that nervous energy still sitting underneath it.

I take one more step.

Her foot catches against the bed frame as she tries to move back, and she drops onto the mattress with a startled breath.

That gives me a much better view than I need.

The skirt has ridden higher, the top still doing nothing to hide what Lola clearly intended everyone downstairs to notice, and in all the years I’ve seen Sadie around campus, I don’t think she’s ever shown this much skin at once.

I lean in until there are only a few inches between us.

Her breathing picks up, fingers curling tighter around the edge of the bed.

"Wha...what do you want?" she whispers.

I tilt my head. "Aren’t you supposed to be mad at me?"

Her nostrils flare. "And if I am? Does that somehow make you feel better about yourself? Is that your kink? Berating women?"

A slow smile pulls at my mouth. "If you want to know my kinks, shouldn’t you ask Paige?"

Her nose flares wider. Her hand comes up and plants against my chest, trying to shove me back with more irritation than actual force. I barely move, and when she goes to snatch her hand away, my fingers close around her wrist.

"Let me go." She hisses. "I’m not interested in your sexual habits."

"Really?" I let the word drag just enough to annoy her. "Even if I told you I never hooked up with Paige? Never did anything remotely close to what you’ve been imagining?"

Her eyes widen for half a second.

"Then..." She looks away and squares her shoulders. "I still don’t care."

Bullshit.

And maybe I’m enjoying this more than I should.

There’s something satisfying about watching her try so hard to act unaffected when every little reaction says otherwise. The glare. The shove. The way Paige’s name gets under her skin even when she insists it doesn’t.

A small part of me likes that more than I’m willing to examine.

Because whether she realizes it or not, there’s something almost possessive about it. She doesn’t want Paige having me. Maybe that’s all it is. Jealousy. Competition. A claim she’d never admit to making.

I can work with that.

"People get roofied at parties like this," I tell her, letting go of her wrist. "So watch what you’re drinking and who hands it to you. Don’t do anything stupid."

Her face hardens. "I don’t need you looking after me. I can take care of myself."

"Good for you."

I straighten and give her the space she clearly wants before turning for the door.

The smile I’m wearing lasts until I find Lola planted right outside the door, arms folded and looking about two seconds away from biting my feet.

"Whatever she told you isn’t true," I tell her. "Just so you know."

No idea why I bother defending myself but best friends are territorial little assholes when they think someone’s upset one of their own, and this one is no different.

She says nothing, just holds her ground until I move aside, then slips past me into the room and shuts the door in my face.

Interesting.

Maybe I’ll go to this party. After all, it’s the only Friday this month we don’t have a game.