Chapter 9 - Rhys
After work, I quickly drop by home to shower and change. I’m on edge in case I see Sadie there, but when we don’t cross paths, I realize she must have gone straight out with the girls after work.
The idea of her being out on her own makes me nervous, so I rush through my shower and bolt out the door to get to the bar as quickly as possible.
I run into Owen at the door, and he raises his eyebrows and lets out a low whistle.
“Slow down, cowboy. What’s the rush?”
“Sadie’s in there.”
“Ah,” Owen replies. “That’s why you wanted to come to this bar. I was wondering why you didn’t want to go to our usual place.”
“Come on, let’s just get a table. Is Shane here already?”
“I think he’s still on his way. Why are you so jumpy?”
“Sadie’s been having a hard time in the pack,” I answer. “I just want to make sure she’s safe.”
As the words come out of my mouth, I realize they aren’t true—at least, not entirely.
I do want her to have fun, and it’s good that she has friends, but really, I just want to keep an eye on her in case she disappears on me… or worse.
As I head inside with Owen, my mind starts serving up an endless supply of worst-case scenarios, and I have to hold in a groan as tension spreads through my neck and shoulders.
Fuck this.
“Hey, is that James?” Owen says.
I look up and confirm that it’s one of the guys from the pack waving us to a corner table.
We join up with James, Bruce, Leroy, and my assistant mechanic, Billy. I take a big gulp of cold, frosty beer and scan the bar.
The place is getting crowded, with almost every table taken and a rumble of voices ringing through the room that makes it impossible to hear any clear words. I’m just about to do a lap of the place when I see Trina crossing the middle of the bar towards the opposite wall.
Without thinking, I take a step forward, ready to follow her, but Owen puts a hand on my shoulder.
“Take it easy, bud,” he says. “I’m sure Sadie’s fine.”
“But where is she?” I ask, suddenly sure that the girls didn’t actually bring her, and now my wife is God-knows-where.
Owen doesn’t have to answer because the crowd parts, revealing the girls’ table and Sadie.
She’s standing next to the table, already crowded with empty glasses. Her hands grip the edge as she throws her head back and shimmies a little to the music, her long brown hair tossing over her shoulders and catching the light as it falls down her back.
She’s wearing the same snug, knee-length skirt she was wearing earlier, but her modest, long-sleeved blouse is gone, and she’s only wearing a tight black top with spaghetti straps instead.
Did she go out and buy something skimpy to wear tonight? No, she was probably just wearing this underneath and ditched the blouse. I still don’t like it.
“Bro,” Owen says, tightening his grip on my shoulder. “I can practically hear your teeth grinding.”
“I’m not. I’m okay.”
“You aren’t. Chill out.”
With great difficulty, I tear my eyes off Sadie and turn around, sitting down at the table with the guys and finishing the beer, quickly reaching for a fresh one.
Shane arrives, and all of us get into a discussion about the car show coming up, new parts coming in, and how business really booms when there’s an event.
I manage to lose myself in the conversation somewhat, with only the odd glance over at Sadie. She seems to be having a really good time, laughing with the girls and occasionally dancing with them in a little group.
She looks happy and relaxed. That’s all I really wanted for her, so I should just stay out of her way.
“Hey,” Shane says, giving me a nudge. “You really can’t take your eyes off her, can you?”
“Huh? What?” I reply, turning back to the table.
Shane laughs. “Your wife. I’ve never seen you so caught up with a woman before.”
“Oh, I just worry about her. She’s in a new town with people she doesn’t know. I want to make sure she’s okay.”
“How are you two getting along?” Owen asks.
“It’s fine,” I say. “We’re civil to each other. Just waiting to see some result from the ritual.”
As if that isn’t the biggest lie that ever came out of my mouth! We ignore each other or bicker with each other. There’s no in between.
“It looks like you might be catching feels, though,” Shane says. “And obviously, you went there before, so you must be attracted to her.”
I nod, taking a big gulp of beer to cover my reaction. “Yeah, she’s good-looking. No argument from me there. But the marriage is just on paper. I’m not expecting to be with a human for the rest of my life,”
Even if she is the mother of my child…
I manage to keep my back to Sadie for a while, but before long, I’m sneaking glances over my shoulder again. I don’t know if the other guys notice or not, but at least no one says anything.
I shouldn’t be making it so obvious. If the elders think I really care about her, it might come down to a fight, depending on their final decision.
Turning around for another look, I see a couple of guys approaching the table, and my heart jumps in my chest. Trina and Lacey jump straight up to talk to them, and Sadie goes to the other side of the table, so I breathe a sigh of relief and turn back around again.
I manage to finish my beer and actually participate in the conversation a little before I turn back around again, and when I do, I can’t believe my eyes.
One of the guys has moved over to Sadie, and they’re sitting together, having an animated conversation. He bends forward, saying something to her very quietly, and she laughs, tossing her head back and touching his hand.
What the fuck.
My hand tightens on the glass so much that I know it’s about to shatter, so I put it down and turn completely around so I can watch. The other guys either ignore me or don’t notice, and that’s a good thing.
Nobody better get in my way right now. I was edgy before, but now I’m fucking furious.
Sadie and the strange man put their heads together, whispering. He covers her hand with his, and she gives him a tender smile, leaning towards him again.
Fuck. This.
I’m up on my feet before I know what I’m doing. I keep my eyes locked on Sadie. I can’t believe the way she’s looking up at this jerk with big, soft eyes.
It’s one thing for a guy to approach her, but she’s not flipping him off—she’s fucking flirting back!
By the time I cross the room, they’ve both stood up, and it looks like they’re going to dance. She gets close to him and puts her hands on his shoulders. When his fingers brush against her waist, I completely lose my mind, seeing red, and suddenly, I’m beside them.
I may have just used my shifter speed in front of everyone, but hopefully they’re too drunk to notice.
“Sadie,” I say, my voice heavy with malice. “Would you like to tell me what’s going on here?”
I drop my hand heavily on her shoulder, and she looks up at me with shock. The other guy glares at me defensively, but he does back up a little.
“We were just talking,” he says.
“Looked more like touching than talking,” I snap.
“Rhys, calm down,” Sadie says. “It’s nothing.”
“It didn’t look like nothing!” I growl, barely controlling my anger.
Are we just going to stand here and pretend that all of that shit just didn’t happen?
“Look, man,” the other guy says. “It’s really up to her. So, if she wants to hang out with me, why don’t you just get your hands off her.”
“Excuse me,” I hiss at him, each word coming out with extreme emphasis. “What did you just say to me?”
“I said get your hands off her,” the other guy says, taking a step towards me.
“Okay!” I snap, letting go of Sadie and grabbing the front of the other guy’s shirt. “How’s this?”
“Don’t start this, man,” he growls into my face. “What’s it to you, anyway? Why should you even care what she does?”
“She’s my wife!” I yell, shaking him a bit.
The guy goes pale, his eyes slowly widening as he struggles to get away from me. I notice the silence that’s fallen, as if every single person in the room heard my words.
“I didn’t know, okay?” the guy says. “She didn’t say anything. I’m sorry.”
I release him, stepping back and shaking my head. Then I turn around and fix my eyes on Sadie.
She glares back at me, folding her arms across her chest and sticking out her chin. I grab her hand, almost pulling her off her feet, wrapping my arm around her waist to pull her close as I start heading for the door. The band starts up again, and everyone begins talking at once.
Well, that’s done it. The whole town, wolves or not, knows we’re married now.
Sadie protests as I drag her outside, but I just wrap my arms more tightly around her and pace out to the parking lot. Finally, she struggles free and shoves me on the chest, staggering away from me.
“You’re insane, you fucking jerk! What the hell are you doing?”
“Me?” I yell. “What the fuck are you doing? That guy was all over you!”
“No, he wasn’t. We were just talking,” she protests, putting her hands on her hips.
“Yeah, you said that, but I’ll stick by my point that you don’t need to touch someone that much to talk to them.”
“It was absolutely harmless,” she says, shaking her head. “We were just talking about books.”
“And the dancing? He was wrapping his arms around your waist so that you could more thoroughly discuss historical texts?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she snaps. “I was just having some fun. It didn’t mean anything.”
“I don’t know if you’re stupidly innocent or just stupid!” I yell in exasperation. “He was hitting on you! It meant something to him—he was trying to score with you!”
“And because I paid him some attention, that automatically means I want to?” she yells straight back. “A smile and a bit of a conversation, and now suddenly I want to hurl myself down on the floor and immediately have his babies?”
“To some guys, yes! He thought he was getting lucky, and you didn’t say a goddamn thing! For fuck’s sake, Sadie, you’re married!”
“And that marriage is on paper only!” she screams at me, balling her hands into fists and letting all her rage come out. “This isn’t real, none of this is real!”
“It doesn’t matter,” I growl. “You’re still my wife.”
“No, I’m not,” she says, her voice getting caught in her throat as she loses a bit of her fire. “This is all bullshit. I’m your prisoner, not your wife.”
I let those words wash over me, my anger not cooling, but I feel a stab of guilt.
“I deserve to feel good,” she says, wiping her cheek as if she’s about to cry. “It was nice to feel appreciated like that. It’s been so long since anyone gave me that kind of attention… or I let someone touch me. I…”
Her voice trails off, and suddenly, I’m looking at her in a whole new light. The vibe has changed completely.
Has she… been alone this whole time?
Am I the last man she slept with?