“Yeah.” My voice is more breathless than I intended, but all of a sudden, it’s like I can’t get enough air inside my lungs. Walk away, Isa. You don’t need to fall for another asshole.
“He cheated?”
I nod.
“And your mom’s dead?”
Another nod. “Yep.”
His jaw tightens and he ponders my words. “That’s why you’re here? You moved in with your pops?”
“Yeah. My bio-dad.”
He tilts his head in question and shifts so our bodies are closer to one another. One arm curls around my shoulder, the other still on my wrist, but I can feel the heat radiating from his body and like a moth to a flame, I lean toward it.
“I, uh… don’t really want to talk about it.” Being so close to Rafael has me on edge. I’ve done so well avoiding him this past week, I almost tricked myself into believing he forgot about me. Clearly, that was a stupid thought because here he is, in the flesh.
“Isa?” His voice is flat yet somehow filled with so much suppressed emotion.
I swallow hard and tug my hand free from his hold.
Silence hangs between us again and I push up from my seat. “I’m going to get another drink,” I say, needing a reason to escape. There’s something about Rafael that has me convinced he’s dangerous, yet I’m drawn to him all the same. Is it because he’s a wolf and I’m alone without a Pack? Or is there something more? Something else about him that draws me to him?
He brushes a hand through his thick, dark hair, his nostrils flaring, but he makes no sound and he doesn’t try to stop me. I pause by the door, giving myself one last second to drink him in before I escape inside, cursing myself for being stupid. Rafael is trouble with a capital T, and I’m not going to make the same bad decisions twice.
9 Isabella
“Isa!” Zheng shouts as soon as I step into the living room. He must have come inside after I left the bonfire. “Come play with me.” He’s standing in front of the dining table. Red cups set up to form triangles on either end.
I smile but it’s forced. “I was wondering when the beer pong games would begin,” I say and head toward him.
The cabin is packed, and I have to weave my way through the sea of bodies—fae, witch, and human alike—to get to Zheng. No one bothers to get out of my way but when I finally reach him, he tugs me close, an arm wrapping around my shoulder as he lifts a beer high in the air. “I’ve got my partner. Who’s brave enough to be our challengers?” Cheers go up and I can smell the booze radiating off him as though it’s seeping through his pores.
How much has he had?
I pull away from his hold and shake my head. “I’m not really in the mood to play tonight. But I’ll watch.”
His bottom lip juts out. “Aw, come on, Isa.”
I shake my head. “N— “
The leggy blonde from earlier steps up beside Zheng. “Hey, Zheng. I’ll be your partner,” she purrs.
He looks at her and I track his gaze as he takes in her barely covered body. His lips press into a tight line, but his eyes don’t leave her. I can tell he’s tempted so I decide to give him a nudge in the right direction.
“Cool. Thanks,” I tell her. “I appreciate you taking my place.”
She sneers at me. “I’m not doing you any favors, bitch. Why are you even here?”
I suck in a breath, taken aback by the open hostility. I open my mouth and then close it. Unsure how to respond. She’s not a wolf. She’s fragile, easily broken. I can’t lash out at her. A few other girls beside her start laughing and I force myself to take a step back, my wolf vibrating with anger.
“Good one, Georgia,” a girl remarks.
The blonde, Georgia, beams at her friends and then turns back to me with an obvious look of contempt. “Really, though. No one wants you here. Why don’t you slink back to wherever you came from? I’m sure Daddy Warbucks can help you out.”
“Hey. Not cool.” Zheng says, coming to my defense.
The girl rolls her eyes. “Come on, Zheng. You know she doesn’t belong here. If she did, your Pack would have claimed her, but even they don’t want a reject like her.” Well, damn. If that didn’t hit me right in the chest because I’d wondered the same thing. I know Brian has some kind of arrangement with the Pack but to have zero contact from them or even Clan Wolf is strange. They of all people know how difficult it is to be without your kind.
She wraps her arms around his neck and mashes her breasts against his chest. “Send her away already so you and I can have some fun,” she whines. The sound grates on my ears. Does she think guys like that?
Zheng’s gaze flicks between us with uncertainty.
Seriously? He invited me. Is he really going to choose a stupid witch over a fellow shapeshifter? Anger ignites in my chest again and the telltale prick of claws press against my fingertips.
Seeing my expression, he pulls her arms away from his neck and takes a step back. “Sorry, Georgia. Isa’s my friend. I’m not cool with you talking to her like that.”
Her eyes widen and her mouth hangs open for a second before she snaps it closed. “Excuse me?”
He shrugs and runs a hand over the back of his neck. “Look. It’s a shifter thing. I know— “
“Screw you! It’s your loss. Don’t expect to get a second chance.” She brushes past
