Page 11 of Unknowingly Being his Brat

Swallowing, I nodded. “I see.”

But what did he tell you?! And how much?!

“I’ll bring Cass over in a few,” Jeremy said, changing the subject.

I simply nodded goodbye and stripped out of the pants near the backdoor, shifting as soon as I was outside, desperate to get as far away from Jeremy and Cass as possible. I had a lot of packmates I needed to talk to and a fated to avoid. Then, I could break down in private, shedding the tears that threatened to fall.

After a good run around the pack, I got dressed and decided my breakdown would have to wait until tonight. Look at me being all mature, scheduling my breakdowns and everything. If only Darius could see me now.

I was at the packhouse before Jeremy and Cass, so I sat down next to Dad, hoping he wouldn’t gush about how perfect Cass was, but of course that’s exactly what he did.

“He called me a jerk,” Dad cackled. “Me? A jerk?!”

“Sounds fun,” I said, wanting to escape the building as soon as possible. Mainly because Darius was here. Ignoring my very existence. Not once had he looked my way. He likely hated me. And why wouldn’t he?

Jeremy then came through the doors gaining all the attention as he announced loudly, “Everyone! This is my boyfriend, Cass.”

Cass waved awkwardly next to Jeremy and I felt a little sorry for him. It couldn’t be easy for him, being human and all. And the fact he was fated to the alpha had to be terrifying, too.

Dad left me sitting alone as he approached them, smiling widely. “Welcome, Cass.”

“Shit,” Cass seemed to mutter, causing several snickers from my packmates.

“Shifter hearing, baby. He definitely heard that,”Jeremy grinned.

Dad winked at Cass, making him blush. “A better introduction might be in order then, I’m Paul, Jeremy’s dad and former Alpha of the Groove Vale Pack.”

Cass shook Dad’s hand, smiling awkwardly. “Nice to meet you, Paul. And I’m sorry I called you a jerk.Multiple times,”he hurried to add.

Many around me laughed at that.

They talked amongst themselves after, so I hurried over to help the cooks, wanting to keep busy as much as possible. I would just need to stay for an hour or two and then I could escape the knowledge of being close to my fated, but not being wanted by him.

I’d suffered for long enough, I decided, so I went to search for Jeremy to let him know I was leaving. It was the polite thing to do, even if I really looked forward to my impending breakdown.

I found him near the tables filled with food, plating some watermelon.

“How’s it going?” I asked, nodding to where Cass was laughing with our packmates. “Maybe I didn’t even need to ask. They seem to love him already.”

“As they should,” he replied seriously. “He is, after all, their Alpha’s mate.”

Right. How could I ever forget.

“Yes. He is indeed,” I replied, feeling done with this conversation. I was just about to tell him I was leaving when he decided to bring further pain my way.

“How are things with Darius?” he asked, his tone gentle and not at all matching whatever he intended with the words. He knew, so why the fuck ask?

“That’s none of your business!” I snapped.

He held his hands up “Wow. Didn’t realize it was that bad.”

Fuming, I decided to get back at him. “Just focus on your own mate.” I leaned in and added the next part in a whisper, “And then I’ll focus onmine.” I finished my words with a wink, hoping to hurt him like he’d hurt me.

“I will,” he replied, then turned his back on me, leaving me feeling raw and exposed.

I left the packhouse and decided to walk home in my human form. I needed time to think. To feel all the emotions. Being here wasn’t good for me. And truly, would anyone even miss me?

I eyed my phone and sighed deeply. No response from Nathalia. It had been two weeks since I’d last heard from her. Not that we spoke often now, but at least once a week was normal. After calling her phone ten times, I reluctantly texted her the whole Darius mess and hoped she could help me out. It seemed I truly was on my own.