Page 218 of Wicked Savage Wolves
“There’s going to be loud music. Probably shit with a heavy bass. People are going to be shouting. They’re going to rub against you when you walk by. How do you think your tiger will react?” I’m not his dad or his Alpha. I’m not going to order him around, but he needs to see this for what it is. A bad idea.
“I’m going. You wanna babysit, be my guest, but I’m climbing the walls here, Des.” He slams a palm to his chest. “I can’t breathe, and I know I’m fucked up in the head right now, that my beast is teetering on the edge, but this is what I’ve come up with and I’m seeing it through.”
I grab my phone and slide it into my back pocket. “Let’s go, then.”
Zheng’s shoulders relax and we head out. He tells me on the way that the party we’re headed to is at Kappa Eagle. Meiying’s sorority house.Shit.
We haven’t talked since the classroom. I’m a dick. She knows that already. This isn’t some new revelation. But I took shit too far that day. And if Zheng finds out what I did to his baby sister, what I still think about doing to her, I’m fucked.
93
Meiying
“Isee you’re having fun,” Quinn says, a smirk on her face as she moves to stand up beside me. “Any chance your hottie has a brother?”
I follow her eyes and see that she’s ogling Deacon. “Not that I know of, but he’s not my hottie. We just happen to have English together this semester, so you should go for it.”
Her eyes bug out and she whips toward me. “Seriously? You wouldn’t mind?”
I laugh. “Nope. He’s all yours. Deacon isn’t really my type.”
She looks at me like I just spoke a foreign language. “Have you seen the guy?” she asks. “That fine specimen of a man right there is everyone’s type.”
“He’s good-looking, I’ll give you that. But…” I trail off.
“But? There are no buts.” She places the back of her hand against my forehead. Then my cheeks. “Are you feeling okay? No fever, but I’m worried about you. Maybe you should lie down. All this sun is getting to you. Can shifters get heat stroke? Oh my god, what if you’re going blind?”
I smack her hand away. “I’m fine,” I tell her with an exasperated breath. “I just don’t really date and I’m not into Fae. They’re always players.” I hedge, not that I could care less whether Deacon gets around or not, but using Desmond’s dig seems like a plausible excuse.
“You do realize you’re a shifter, right? You guys are known for getting around and then some.”
I shrug. “So, I’m a hypocrite. Sue me. Are you really going to stand here and continue trying to convince me to go for him, or are you going to take your fine witchy ass over there before one of our sorority sisters shoots their shot?”
“Oh, my God, you’re right.” Quinn fluffs her hair and adjusts her boobs. Yes, she actually shifted her girls around before glancing at me with an expectant look. “How do I look?”
“Hot! Go get him.”
She gives an excited squeal before taking a deep breath and marching toward him. Deacon drifted back to his friend group a little while ago, giving me a much-needed respite after everything he and Reed had unloaded. A part of me wants to help. I feel a little responsible for what he’s going through, but a bigger part of me really doesn’t want to get involved. I don’t want an excuse to seek Desmond out. If I do … I don’t know. But it isn’t going to be good. I’m angry and a little hurt, though mostly angry, and my tigress wants to claw his eyes out. This is the second time something like this has happened between us, and both times he ghosts me. Woman and beast have had enough.
What the hell is his problem, anyway? I’m not asking for a relationship or even a repeat event. All I’m asking for is some human decency. It’s really not too much to ask.
But, whatever. This is Desmond I’m talking about here. I turn and grab a water bottle from one of the coolers and head for the pool. There’s a pink sprinkle, donut-shaped floaty with my name on it.
One of the Alpha Ze guys helps me maneuver my way onto it without jumping into the pool because not gonna lie, that water is cold, and I’m a cat. While natural tigers might like the occasional swim, I, personally, am not a fan.
I’m laying back, enjoying the music and chatter around me when something in the air shifts. I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s like an awareness comes over me that he’s here without needing to see or scent him.
Sunglasses firmly in place, I turn my head to the side just in time to spot my brother and—would you look at that—Desmond, arrive.
For a second, a flash of panic hits me square in the chest and I look down at myself. Fuck. I’m dead. So dead. When Desmond sees what I’m—hold on. I cut that thought off and scoff. What am I even thinking? Fuck what Desmond thinks. Quinn is right. I look hot. No way in hell am I going to let that asshole shame me for wearing this suit. I’m going to own it.
I track their progress through the yard, grateful no one can see my eyes because I’m totally staring, and if I had to guess, my tiger is shining in my gaze.
Zheng, being the friendly guy he is, dives right in on the fun and joins with a few of the guys at one of the backyard games the girls must have set up. The one where you toss hacky sacks at an angled board and try to get it through the hole, only to make things more difficult, the hacky sacks are on fire so you have to move fast to avoid being burned.
“Hey, what's that game called?” I ask one of the guys swimming next to me. I’m not sure what his name is. He hooks his arms over the side of my floaty and looks to where I’m pointing. “Corn hole,” he tells me, and then instead of swimming away, which was what I’d been hoping for, his eyes do a slow and obvious perusal of my body. “I’m Ignacio, but everyone calls me Iggy.”
“Hi. I’m—”
