Page 43 of Brutal Reign
“I know, alright?” I cut in, throwing my head back in exasperation and scrubbing a hand over my face. I don’t need him to spell it out for me. “Fuck.”
If it were any other girl, this wouldn’t be an issue. Ace and I have always played well together. If we just wanted to get into River’s pants, we’d happily share her, but that wouldn’t be enough for either of us. Not when it comes toher.
“So what now?” I grumble, throwing my hood up as I turn to look at Ace.
“Well, that depends,” he muses. “Think you can control yourself around her?”
I cut him a glare, lips twisting in a scowl.
“Hey, it’s a legitimate question,” he chuckles, leaning over to bump his shoulder into mine. “You’re impulsive.”
“I know,” I mutter, eyes glazing over as I stare down at the dirt again. “Which is why I need her to hate me. Then she’ll keep her distance, and I won’t get the chance to fuck things up again.”
Ace blows out a breath. “You know you’re only hurting yourself by doing that, man…”
“What other choice do I have?” I snap, whipping my head in his direction. “A deal’s a deal, right? And this is the only way I can uphold my end of it.”
His Adam’s apple bobs with a hard swallow as he nods in solemn understanding. “Right. I just wish there was another way.”
“Trust me,” I grumble, chest tightening painfully as I kick the toe of a boot against the dirt. “Nobody wishes that more than me.”
The crackof gunfire echoes through the forest as Andie and Nash take aim at the paper targets affixed to the trees across the clearing, shredding the centers of them as they fire off several rounds in demonstration. The sharp scent of sulfur tickles my nose as I watch them simultaneously lower their weapons, sharing a smirk with one another before turning around to face the anxious crowd of recruits gathered for firearms training.
“Alright, any questions before we get started?” Andie asks, sweeping her gaze over us.
We all shake our heads, tired of standing around and eager to jump in and actually train. We’ve already been out here for a good half hour while Andie and Nash bored us to tears with their lecture on gun safety. I understand the sentiment behind it, but we’re not fucking toddlers. Exercising caution while using a weapon is an easy enough concept to grasp.
Guns have always been looked down upon in shifter culture, so most go their whole lives without so much as touching one. That all changed when humans started hunting us with them, though. Teeth and claws aren’t a fair matchup against firepower, so we had to adapt, and although the hunters have since been dealt with, the squad’s keeping gun training in the mix. Better safe than sorry, I guess.
“Okay then,” Andie chirps, her red-painted lips curving in a mischievous smile as she holds out her rifle in offering. “Who wants to go first?”
A few recruits rush forward and push at one another to be first in line, but me and my boys hang back, content to wait it out and watch while the try-hards likely fuck this up. Firing a gun is a new and exciting experience for them, but the four of us havedone it before. My family is close with the Raines’, all of whom are expert marksmen. Me and my buddies have joined Ares for target practice out on his family’s range several times. For us, this introductory training exercise should be a fucking cakewalk.
“And here I thought you’d be first in line,” Chandler comments as she comes up beside me, sliding a hand onto my shoulder.
My whole body tenses beneath her touch, my jaw clenching as I shrug her hand off before turning to pin her with a harsh stare. “And why’s that?” I growl, folding my arms across my chest as I take a step backwards, my inner wolf revolting at her proximity.
His visceral reaction to this girl seems to be growing stronger by the day.
Chandler bats her lashes with a flirty little giggle, evidently not picking up on my extreme ‘fuck off’ vibes. “Well, Alphas should always be first, shouldn’t they?”
“True Alphas don’t need to shove to the front of the line to assert their dominance,” Ace murmurs in response, crossing his own arms to mirror my stance.
“Oh, you know what I mean,” she tuts, rolling her eyes as she dismisses his input with the condescending wave of a hand. “Seb gets it.”
Yeah, Ireallydon’t like this girl. There’s no faster way to piss off an Alpha than by disrespecting his Beta. I don’t like the way she treats Ace, and I don’t like her stupid mean girl shit she’s pulled with River, either. But most of all, I don’t like how she can’t seem to keep her fucking hands to herself, always getting in my space when I’ve made it pretty fucking clear that I’m not interested.
In an extreme exercise of impulse control, I don’t snap off on her like I want to. Instead, I draw a steadying breath andturn away, leaving her behind to stride over to where the other recruits are lined up waiting their turn for target practice.
Unfortunately, I only wind up walking away from one problem and right into another. River’s waiting in line, and my eyes are drawn to hers like a magnet, a little crease forming between her brows as her gaze meets mine before pinging beyond me to Chandler. Realization dawns that she just likely saw the entire exchange go down between us, and the fact that she’s not glaring at me like usual is a pretty solid indication she’s reading into it more than she should.
Fuck.
I quickly look away, carding my fingers through my hair as I scramble for some way to regain control of the situation. Andie’s bending down to grab a fresh target from the crate, and when the two of us make eye contact, I blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind.
“Nice ass, Raines!”
Ugh, it felt weird even saying that;Andie’s like a big sister to me. Her face screws up in confusion, and I feel like a complete dumbass as I double down by winking at her.