Chapter 5 Just a Game
five
Just a Game
*GWENDOLYN*
Ava, Sebastian and I chat a while before I decide to look for Brandon.
Maybe he wants to dance again or just talk for a bit.
Moving from the kitchen through the whole building, I keep on the lookout for him, but he is nowhere to be found.
When I return to the kitchen, Sebastian has left, but Ava is there, chatting with Noah.
“Didn’t find your man?” Ava asks.
“No, he doesn’t seem to be around, but I don’t think he left, either.”
“Did you check the restrooms?” Noah asks. “I know some guys had drunk too much.”
“Nah, he was pretty sober half an hour ago,” Ava answers before I can. “I don’t think he got wasted that fast.”
“I hope he didn’t already leave,” I say.
“Without you?” Noah blinks. “No way. But hey, if he did, dump him and take Sebastian. He told me he finds you hot.”
I chuckle. “Don’t be silly.”
Ava grabs my arm. “Come, I will help you look.”
“I will come, too,” Noah offers. “No one knows the place better than I do. Well… minus my siblings.”
The three of us look through the whole building again, until Noah stops us. “Silly question, but did any of you check outside?”
His suggestion makes me slap my forehead. “I am such a dunce. Of course!”
“Yeah, he might have gone outside to catch some fresh air,” Ava agrees.
Together we step outside, the fresh air hitting me immediately. I didn’t realize how hot it was inside, but it’s so refreshing to be outside. I let my gaze wander around until I spot a person leaning against the wall of the house, in the furthest corner of the garden. He is talking with-
“Isn’t that the girl who came with him?” Ava asks.
“Yes, Josie.” It’s not just Josie, but some of her friends. Maddox is there too and has his arms crossed, leaning with his back against the wall. He doesn’t really seem to be involved in their talk.
I don’t know why the sight hits me so hard, or why it’s upsetting me.
It’s not the first time Brandon has hung out with them, he has to.
But today I feel something in my chest churn, while an alarm bell in my mind goes off.
It’s probably the reason why I step forward silently until I am within hearing distance.
“What’s going on, Brandon!?” Josie asks him.
Maddox raises his gaze, his eyes landing on me. Fuck, he’s seen me! To my surprise, he doesn’t comment on my presence, instead he keeps his eyes on me. “Are you suddenly really into her?” he asks Brandon.
Brandon and the others look up, surprised even, as if they didn’t expect him to talk to them.
Ava grabs my arm, startling me. Her eyes are wide, but I shake my head. I want to hear the answer, or maybe I need to hear it. “No way,” Brandon laughs. “She is not my type.”
Josie says something I don’t quite catch; something about a plan and how he wasn’t supposed to drag it out for so long.
“I am just in it for the fun,” Brandon says. “You know that, Josie.”
“She is right,” one of the guys says. “You were supposed to play with her. That was the plan.”
My heart rate picks up speed, my cheeks flaming up in shame, while at the same time, tears start to burn in my eyes. He has played me all along. Daniel was right!
And he probably doesn’t feel a mate bond to me either, not that I truly believed it, but I wanted to.
Fuck, I am pathetic.
“I am just hanging out with her because she is a bit clingy,” Brandon says.
At that, my mouth drops open. The audacity! I am not clingy; he is the one always insisting on meeting me and complaining when I have other things to do.
“But you are sleeping with her,” Maddox points out calmly.
“Yeah,” Brandon shrugs. “She is a good fuck.” He turns to Josie. “She is just human. I wouldn’t seriously date her.”
“Prove it,” she demands.
He takes her hand and tugs her closer. When she wraps her arms around him, my heart sinks even further.
He plotted this together with the people who bullied me all my life, with those who look down on me.
He is not just acquainted with them, like he told me, he is friends with them; he probably had me as a side piece while being with Josie.
Goddess, I just didn’t notice because I am barely around the pack.
“I don’t like to share,” Josie says against his lips.
Brandon wraps his arms around her, saying something I can’t quite catch.
I have heard enough anyway. I am not sure if I loved Brandon, but I definitely liked him.
I trusted him. My heart stutters at that thought, my throat going dry.
But besides the hurt and the humiliation, there is something else burning inside me.
I look up again, noticing that Maddox has disappeared.
Good. Moving away from my hidden spot, I grab the drink Noah is still holding in his hands and walk right to the little group.
They finally take up my scent, turning around to look at me.
By their surprised expressions, it’s obvious they didn’t notice I was around.
Before Brandon can even utter a single word, I empty the drink right in his face.
Brandon growls, but has himself under control enough not to do something rash, instead, he just glares at me. “What did you just do?! Are you crazy?”
“You are pathetic,” I spat.
“Look who's talking,” Josie says.
“Shut up, Josie,” I hiss. “You sent your boyfriend to fuck another girl. How sick in the head are you two?! All of you, actually.”
One of their friends has the decency to look slightly uncomfortable, but I don’t give a fuck
Brandon’s face has turned red. “Did you truly believe I would want to be with someone like you?”
“Yes, I did,” I huff. “Stupid me for thinking you are a halfway decent person.”
“You don’t even have a…” Brandon’s voice trails off.
A wolf, he wanted to say, but couldn’t because humans are all around us.
“That might be true,” I say calmly. “But at least I have dignity and self-respect. What do you have?” He stares at me, surprised. I don’t wait long enough for him to find his voice again. Instead, I turn around, almost taking a step back again, when I notice that we have a little crowd around us.
Ava dashes forward and takes my hand to tug me along with her.
“That was the best use of my drink ever!” Noah says. “What an asshole.”
“For real,” one of the other guys mutters. “What a loser.”
“The chick’s cool, though,” another one whispers. “I mean her.” He adds. “Not the crazy one who shared her boyfriend.”
A girl we walk by nods at me. “That was awesome,” she says. “Wish you had punched him, but everything else was amazing.”
I try to smile at her, but now that the adrenaline rush is over, I feel tired and broken. The wolfless, pathetic girl got played by her boyfriend. In a way, he is right; it is pathetic. I believed every excuse he dished out, every explanation, just because I wanted to believe it.
I just want to leave, but Nina and Ava both grab my arm. “I know what you want to do,” Nina says. “But we are not letting you leave. You will show that asshole what he is missing out on.”
“She is right,” Ava adds. “If you leave, they will think they won.”
“They kind of did,” I say quietly.
“Doubt it,” Nina grins. “I was in the crowd when the scene went down, and believe me, everyone around me called him names.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Yes, to everyone else here, you are the dignified girl who just ditched her cheating boyfriend,” she verifies.
She just said I have dignity. Hearing it from someone else soothes the burn slightly. It doesn’t chase the shame and hurt away, but at least I didn’t let myself down. I stood up for myself.
Sebastian suddenly joins us. “Come, dance with us, Gwen.” He reaches out his hand, but I am not sure how to react. Part of me wants to just run away and curl myself up and cry. “I know better than to hit on you now,” Sebastian adds. “Some of us know how to treat a girl.”
His words give me the last push. I take his hand and let him lead me back inside, the others following.
I won’t let them win.
I have successfully distracted myself the whole night, but seeing how dawn is approaching, I want to go home to check on Tulip and to be there when Faye returns.
Noah and Sebastian offer to accompany me home, and although I always feel safer with someone with me, I have to decline.
There is no way I could let humans onto pack grounds.
I am not sure if I will ever see any of these people again, but I will for sure remember them and their kindness, and that they showed me that I am worth something.
The bike ride home takes longer because half of the path is uphill; the sun is rising when I spot my cottage in the distance, giving me the motivation I need to cycle faster.
Around me, everything is silent, just here and there, I hear the rustling of leaves.
It’s a usual sound for a forest, yet it makes me feel oddly uncomfortable.
It’s as if the forest has eyes. Like someone or something is watching me.
Maybe I am getting paranoid. After this evening, it would be no surprise.
I wonder how I will handle Brandon from now on.
We have the same job and will see each other eventually.
I could try to leave the cottage as little as possible, but I will need to go grocery shopping eventually, and I definitely need to go to my job.
A sigh escapes my lips. I have no shift tomorrow, so I can use the whole day pondering about what to do.
If only I could leave.
I want to leave.
My own thoughts make me almost halt in surprise.
I have had the distant wish, sometimes, to move somewhere else, but never have I felt the wish to leave so strongly.
Although I have Daniel, Evelyn and Jacob, they have families of their own, and they aren’t young anymore.
They help as much as they can, but it can’t continue like this forever.
I wish I could take Faye and Marina and leave, start anew somewhere else.
I finally reach my destination and slow down, before getting off the bike and locking it next to the porch. Once inside, I swiftly check on Marina, noting that she is still asleep and that Evelyn has made sure she has eaten something.
She is such an angel.
Gazing out of the window, I notice how my surroundings are dipped in a soft light. This would be the perfect time to take Tulip out. My head perks up at the thought. The weather is good, there won’t be anyone around at these early morning hours, either, and he needs a workout.
Not lingering on this any longer, I quickly change clothes, tie my locks back and then hurry to the stables. I have done this a hundred times before, so Tulip and I are ready to leave less than half an hour later.
“The sun is rising, old man,” I say to him, before mounting him and riding down our favorite path along the forest. Previously, I used to ride him over a narrow path in the forest too, but he is getting older, so we stick to this simple straight trail that leads us to the border of the pack, away from the other shifters.
Then we usually take a turn, ride a loop over the road through the forest, before returning to the cottage from the other side.
The air is still fresh, almost a bit too cold for me, when Tulip and I reach the border. We are about to change direction when I can hear the rustling again. Tulip pauses, but then continues. He is used to the noises of the forest, or it would be impossible to even get close to it.
Still, he is restless.
“What’s wrong?” I mutter, gently brushing over his neck.
Tulip huffs, shaking his head.
Seriously, what’s wrong?
I signal him to continue forward, while checking our surroundings. There is the rustling sound again, and a cracking of twigs, and my weird gut feeling.
Am I getting paranoid for real? It’s the same as always, isn’t it? A normal forest with its usual sounds. Tulip is probably restless because I am. Better to take him back home before my mood rubs off on him further and stresses him out.
I am about to pick up our pace when I suddenly see yellow eyes in the bushes.
Wolves?!