Page 23 of Brutal Reign
I arch a quizzical brow.
“Alpha taught me.”
Well shit, that’s news to me. I flinch back in surprise, brow furrowing and lips twisting in a scowl.
My dad never mentioned that he was helping Jake train, and hearing about it now is like a damn gut punch. I asked my dad for lessons in combat training so many times. He always refused, insisting that I should go out for the IT unit instead.
“You didn’t know?” Jake asks slowly, picking up on my obvious disdain.
I quickly school my expression, giving a little shake of my head.
“I’m sure he just wanted to make sure you have a strong Beta at your side,” Jake says, setting a hand on my shoulder as he steps in even closer. “You and me are gonna make a hell of a team, dontcha think?”
“Yeah, sure,” I mumble, shifting slightly in an effort to shrug his hand off. He moves with me, keeping his hand planted onmy shoulder and sliding his thumb beneath the thin strap of my tank top, circling the pad of it against my skin.
“And now that we’re finally out from under your dad’s nose…” he murmurs, leaning in until his lips brush mine.
I quickly swerve to dodge him, the tiny strap of my top catching on his thumb and tearing as I stumble back. “Whoa, what are you doing?” I snap, completely caught off guard by his advance.
“C’mon, River, you know there’s always been a spark between us,” Jake chuckles, brushing off my reaction and leaning in to try to kiss me again. His hands land on my hips as he murmurs, “Just go with it.”
I plant my palms against his chest, shoving him back forcefully. “Jake, what the fuck?!” I spit, scowling. “No!”
He blinks in confusion as he stumbles backwards, seemingly not understanding why this isn’t going the way he hoped. “Why not?” he asks, the smile slowly disappearing from his face. “If the two of us got together, it could solve a lot of problems for you, Riv. The pack isn’t sold on having a female Alpha lead them, but if you had a strong mate to lead with…”
“Whoa, back up,” I interrupt, shoving an arm out between us so he can’t come any closer. “Leading the pack together doesn’t mean we’ll be mated.”
“But we could be,” he winks.
“We’re not fated.”
“So?”
I heave an exasperated sigh, dragging a hand down my face. I’m trying to be nice here, but my words clearly aren’t penetrating his thick skull. “Jake, I don’t like you like that,” I say bluntly. “I’m sorry, it’s just not gonna happen.”
He frowns, all traces of playfulness leaving his expression as the silver of his wolf ignites in his irises. “What, you think you’retoo good for me because you’re gonna be Alpha?” he bites out angrily.
“Pack rank has nothing to do with it,” I insist.
“No? Then why won’t you even give this a shot, see if there could be something between us?”
Goddamn, this guy just won’t give up.
“I’m just not interested in you that way,” I say calmly, still trying to let him down easy. “We’refriends, Jake.”
“Friends?” he scoffs, growing more agitated by the second. “Is this how you treat all yourfriends?”
“If they’re cornering me and trying to kiss me, then yeah,” I deadpan.
He shakes his head, chuckling wryly to himself. “You’re such a fucking bitch,” he mutters.
My inner wolf shoves forward, not about to allow this asshole to get away with insulting us. “Excuse me?” I snap, punching my fists on my hips.
“You heard me,” Jake growls. “If you don’t wanna work together for the good of our pack, then maybe I’ll just have to put forth a challenge and take the Alpha rank for myself.”
I roll my eyes, clucking my tongue. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“What, you think I won’t?”