Chapter 7 - Mira #2
Jace walks between us, studying our movements, correcting our posture.
He is stern, pushing us, encouraging us at every step.
The one thing that I keep waiting for…never happens.
Not once does he mock one of the Omegas for being weak.
Not once does he belittle any single one of us.
He is strangely patient in his command, and even though he is strict, he is understanding that this is a first for many of us.
All through training, I watch him and notice how his eyes constantly drift toward me, too.
Can people really change? Did Jace change?
He still seems so controlling and cold. But if I’m honest with myself, I haven’t seen the bully in him, not like it used to be when he called me cruel and disgusting names and encouraged others to do the same.
Can people change? Or am I being lured by his scent as my mate?
By the end of the session, I’m drenched in sweat, and my heart is confused.
Kelsey looks like she’s high on dopamine or whatever chemical gets released when you exercise. She’s hyper and bouncing around while I can barely keep my legs from shaking.
“That was amazing!” she blurts out, hugging me.
“It was something, alright,” I scoff.
“What are you doing now?” she asks.
“Sleeping,” I reply quickly.
She laughs and shakes her head. “No, it’s Friday. And you made a promise.”
I roll my eyes, groaning loudly.
Because I am the worst introvert on the planet, Kelsey made me a deal. She made me promise that one Friday out of every month, I will go out dancing with her. At the time, it seemed like a fair deal. What’s one night a month? I can do one night.
But now it’s the last Friday of the month, and I have zero option but to go.
“It’s your own fault for making so many excuses these last few weeks,” she teases.
“Fine, whatever, message me with the details and I’ll be there,” I laugh, shaking my head. Even though I’m not the best people person, I adore her, and my life would be empty without her.
Of course, Jace insists on coming with me. It turns out that the place Kelsey has chosen is a popular bar in neutral territory, and Jace knows a lot of people who go there.
It takes me ages to decide what to wear because I’ve never been out in a social type of event as a Luna before. Not that it matters. Who cares? Not me.
But still, I can’t push away the nerves.
I chose a pair of jeans that curve and lift my ass, and a pink crop top that shows a sliver of my waist, only just a glimpse.
I wear my brown leather ankle boots and choose a matching leather purse.
Jace gets changed after me. He has been respectful in that way. Even though there is only one bedroom in my cottage, and he has insisted on staying here with me, he always gives me privacy when I’m changing, and I do the same for him.
He comes out of the room in black jeans and a tight white t-shirt that hugs his toned muscles in ways that make my legs go weak. How the hell am I supposed to get through the night with him showing off his abs like that?
“Ready?” he asks.
I nod, “ready.”
The bar is packed and noisy. If there’s one thing about shifters, especially the Betas, it’s that they like to drink. And it’s shocking how much a shifter can drink. I think our metabolism is so fast that the alcohol is burned off before we’re picked up our next beer.
Well, when I was growing up, I wasn’t exactly invited to a lot of parties, so I don’t have much experience with alcohol personally.
I’ve only watched from a distance.
Kelsey hands me a shot of tequila as soon as I walk over to say hi to her. Jace found Miles and is talking to him, so I have a moment to breathe and gather my thoughts.
“Jeepers, you’re on a mission,” I laugh, shaking my head as she lifts the shot glass.
“Whatever, weirdo, just take a shot with me,” she laughs.
My nerves are so wrecked with Jace here that I’m more than happy to try anything it takes to calm them down.
I throw the sharp-tasting liquid down my throat and wince at how strong it is.
“Now that is a tequila face,” Kelsey teases, even though she’s pulling a face just as bad as mine. “Where’s your man?” She asks.
I tilt my head to the side, “Over there with my brother,” I say.
“Alright, so he’s occupied. Let’s go dance,” she grabs my arm and starts pulling me toward the dance floor.
“I don’t know, Kels, I’ve got two left feet when it comes to dancing,” I grumble.
“Whatever, keep your feet still and just sway your hips then,” she demands.
At first, I’m tense. I’m very aware of how Jace watches me, even when he appears not to. His eyes are constantly drifting in my direction. He’s probably worried I’m going to try to escape again. Make a run for it while he’s busy.
The truth is, I haven’t thought about escaping for a while now. The teaching program has me preoccupied…and I’m really enjoying it, to my surprise. And after attending his military training session this afternoon, I’m becoming increasingly intrigued by this new version of him.
It’s difficult, though, to forget about the past. Some of the nasty things he said to me, even before the rejection, when he was at the height of his bullying career—some of those things still loop in my thoughts when I’m alone and have nothing to distract myself with.
After a while, his consistent gaze on me becomes somewhat of a dare.
A dare to not care about it. I watch Kelsey, how she lets her hair down and doesn’t give a shit about what other people think.
When I first met her, she wasn’t quite this confident.
But over the years, she has grown and become stronger and more beautiful with each choice she makes to be herself, no matter what.
She chose to get loud and free. I chose to get quieter and retreat into my work. Maybe tonight, I’ll take a page from her book and let my hair down too.
I give in to it, and the night improves drastically.
Music thrums over me, pulsing in my veins, moving through my body. It turns out I can dance. As long as I let myself enjoy the music, it’s easy to let it guide me.
I’m smiling with my head tilted back and my eyes closed, swinging my hips and moving my feet in time to the beat.
Kelsey grabs my hand. “It’s time for another shot,” she shouts loud enough for me to hear her.
“OK, but I need to pee first,” I reply.
She gestures to let me know she’ll be waiting at the bar, and I nod.
I have to wiggle and push through the crowds to get to the ladies' bathrooms.
Luckily, there isn’t a long line, and I slip into one of the cubicles before I have to start doing the pee dance to hold it in. I was having so much fun on the dance floor, I kept putting it off.
Sighing in relief when I sit down, I giggle at myself. Tonight really is fun. I should do this more often. And I really, really should stop caring what other people think.
Standing up, I adjust all my clothes and finish up in the cubicle.
It's emptier when I come out, and I smile a quick smile at the girl waiting by the mirror while I wash my hands.
Then I slip out the door into the passage to head back to my friend.
Except right outside the door, I bump into a group of familiar faces that instantly churns my stomach.
Five betas, a mix and match from other packs, are walking past. They stop when they see me. Fuck. They recognized me.
Remmington, Shev, Brick, Drez, and Luke. They’ve been a tight-knit group since elementary school. The big boys. Jace used to hang out with them, too.
“Isn’t this incredible, guys? It's little Miss Piggy!” Shev scoffs in surprise.
My heart sinks, and I try to keep my head down, but my insides are tight, and panic is rising in my chest. That all too familiar shame. The embarrassment. The knowledge that I am not like everyone else, and no one will ever like or accept me.
“Hey, Miss Piggy, how’s life?” Drez says as he takes a step toward me and forces me to back up against the wall.
I can’t believe Jace used to hang out with these assholes.
What did he see in them? Yes, they were bigger, stronger, and faster than other shifters…
but they never missed an opportunity to let others know about it.
Jace was one of them. He used to lead this pack.
This pack of cruel, heartless boys. He was just like them.
I whimper and quickly press my lips together to hide the sound. I hate the fact that they can smell my fear. They can smell the chemicals pulsing through me. Adrenalin, shame, confusion…
I learned, time and time again, to keep my mouth shut. To keep my eyes averted and to shut the hell up until it’s over. They will eventually get bored and move on. If you talk back or show emotions, it lasts longer.
“Little Miss Piggy looks like she ate a few more of her babies over the past couple of years, right?” Luke snorts.
Their remarks are pathetic. Immature, nasty, and not even creative.
That’s the worst part. They insult me as though they have the brain capacity of a toddler.
How do you even come back against an insult like that?
No, I didn’t eat my babies because I’ve never had a baby. What the hell? What’s the point?
“Those jeans are barely holding you together, girl. Maybe you want to try wearing something with stretch next time?”
“Maybe she needs a real man to make those thighs jiggle?” They back up laughing.
“What are you doing with your life, Miss Piggy? Still rubbing around in the mud, hiding away without any friends?” Remmington snarls.
“She’s useless. She can’t even open her mouth to answer us,” Brick scoffs.
I have to fight hard to stop the tears from escaping my eyes as they burn the back of my closed lids. Don’t even let them see they’ve hurt you.
It’s so strange. It’s been a few years since anyone was this forward with bullying. I thought I would handle it better. I thought I’d be stronger, but the truth is that same pain is still so raw and fresh it feels like I’m right back in high school.