Juniper
Afew hours later, Anders and I stood on the porch, waving as the alphas departed with their mates.
Levi and Rainier strolled down the driveway, and Levi glanced back, a sad smile on his face.
He raised his hand in a wave, and before he shifted, he gave Anders a withering glare.
It was only a moment, but it was obvious to me.
Hatred, hot and seething. Thankfully, Anders was too concerned with making sure the other alphas saw him waving them off to notice.
“Get inside,” Anders hissed through gritted teeth.
He was still smiling and waving as Hakeem and Tamara climbed into their SUV, but a muscle in his jaw jumped.
“What’s wrong?”
“Get in the fucking house,” Anders snapped, still holding that fake smile.
My stomach roiled, and a pervasive sense of dread filled me.
He was furious. But why? Everything had gone incredibly well once we’d smoothed out all the issues.
The other alphas had agreed to allow Anders to lead the military operations, and once I promised they’d all keep their individual pack autonomy, everyone calmed down. It had been a productive meeting.
I stepped inside, breaking out in a panicked sweat that made my shirt stick uncomfortably to my body.
Anders slammed the door behind him, making the house shake. Despite myself, I flinched in fear.
“What the absolute fuck was that about?” he growled, rounding on me, fists clenched at his sides.
Blinking in confusion, I shook my head. “What do you mean?”
“That!” he bellowed, gesturing behind him. “You fucking humiliated me. You and that prick Levi. You made me look like shit in front of the other alphas. My whole plan, shot to shit. The whole afternoon was a goddamn waste of time.”
“Hang on,” I said, anger and irritation replacing my fear. “How did I humiliate you? All I did was smooth things over when you”—I jabbed a finger at him—“tried to fuck everything up with the dumbass show you put on.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Anders scoffed. “I had everything under control.”
“Really?” I gaped at him. “What was that bullshit you were doing? All the melodrama? When you were leaning against the mantle looking all I-must-take-this-burden and acting like you were taking one for the team by taking over their packs. It was like you were auditioning for a movie, and not a good one, by the way.”
“Stop being a bitch, June,” Anders snarled. “They would have fallen in line. They just needed to hear the uncomfortable truth, that’s all.”
I shook my head in stupefied confusion. “Anders, did you not see how they all reacted? You were about to get your ass kicked right here in your own living room. The only person they seemed to respect and want to listen to was Levi.”
That set him off. His face flushed red, and he bared his teeth at me as he slammed his fist into his chest. “I’m the strongest alpha here.
I’m better than all those fuckers. Especially that fucking Demon Wolf,” he spat, looking disgusted as he mentioned Levi.
“When push comes to shove, I’ll be the one kicking asses.
I could take all of them on at once. If Devon or Hakeem or any of those pricks wanted to try it, they’d find out real quick who the true alpha of alphas is. ”
What came from my mouth next surprised and horrified me even as I said it, but Anders was being a spoiled brat and needed to hear the truth.
“The only alpha in that whole room who could possibly lay claim to that title is Levi.”
For a bare instant, I truly thought Anders was going to slap me.
His eyes widened until he looked like a maniac, and a vein popped out on his forehead as his entire body trembled.
He even raised a hand, and though I didn’t flinch back or wince, inwardly, I cursed myself for opening my mouth.
I couldn’t have emasculated Anders worse if I’d cut his balls off with scissors.
Though, if he did touch me, that might be how I responded.
“Get the fuck out of my sight,” he screamed, slashing his hand through the air like a knife and pointing at the door.
“Anders, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said—”
“I said get out!” he bellowed, his face inches from mine, spittle flying from his lips onto my face. I turned my head, squeezing my eyes shut and forcing myself not to slap him.
“Yo, boss? Everything all right?”
Anders and I turned to see Brock and that bitch Eugenia peering in from the rear of the house. His friends had all been in the game room, playing pool and darts. I glared at Eugenia. She grinned back at me, obviously delighting in the fight taking place.
“We’re good,” Anders said, heaving in breath like he’d been running. “June was just leaving.” He emphasized the last word, leaning in close to make sure I understood.
“Fuck it,” I hissed, yanking my coat from a peg on the wall by the door. “Fine. I’m leaving, okay?”
“Good.”
As I walked out the door, Anders said, “Brock, take everybody to the store, get us some beers and some shit for burgers. I’m fucking hungry. I need some time alone.”
The last thing I heard before slamming the door behind me was Brock’s sycophantic voice responding. “On it, boss.”
I pulled my coat on and jammed my fists into my pockets, impotent rage surging through me as I walked down the driveway.
As I walked, I kept thinking of things I could have said.
After five minutes of that, I slipped into a melancholy emotional state.
I realized, with some bitter disappointment, that I would have to apologize to Anders.
That thought had a sour and acrid taste to it, but I didn’t know what else to do.
He was so stubborn and childish, there was no way he’d apologize.
It would all be up to me to do the right thing.
Anders hadn’t changed at all. That day at the overlook, he’d been putting on an act.
I could see that now. If anything, he’d become even more of a prick.
The only difference was that he wanted me around rather than away.
Could I really go through with this? Could I really spend the rest of my life with a power-hungry man who was immature and quick to anger?
He was so emotionally stunted; it was like he was still in high school.
I didn’t see any other options, though. I’d burned too many bridges.
“Hey.”
“Holy shit,” I yelped and nearly stumbled into the road. Spinning around, I found Levi grinning at me.
“Sorry,” he said. “Are you okay?”
“What were you doing?” My surprise rekindled my anger. “Were you following me?”
Levi shrugged, which pissed me off even more for some reason. “I headed to the rental house, then decided to come back. I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?” I said, then snorted out a humorless laugh. “Jesus. Men!”
“What does that mean?” Levi asked, his brow furrowing, hands resting on his hips.
“It means…” I frowned, then shook my head in exasperation. “Screw it, it doesn’t matter what it means.”
The last thing I wanted was to have a heart-to-heart with Levi. My fight with Anders had me in a lousy mood, and this wasn’t helping in the least.
“Can you leave me alone?” I said. “I need some peace.”
Sighing, Levi took a step forward. “I can tell you’re upset, but this can’t wait. We need to talk. I miss you, and I think you miss me too. We should discuss this.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I turned on my heel and marched back to Anders’s house.
“Wait,” Levi called, rushing to catch up to me. “Where are you going?”
“Anything you need to say to me, you can say in front of my mate. Okay?” I said, not even bothering to look at him.
“June, come on. You know that won’t go well.”
“Oh!” I cast a glare at him. “And sneaking up on someone is a good way to have a conversation?”
He tilted his head back, frustration evident on his face, but he continued walking beside me. “I didn’t sneak up on you. You were downwind of me, for god’s sake. You should have caught my scent before I even said anything.”
I frowned, my lips pinching together, but said nothing. I’d been too wrapped up in my head to register that he’d been following me. Great. That didn’t help my mood at all.
“Doesn’t matter,” I grumbled.
Anders’s house was only twenty yards away now. At the sight of the house, my anger finally gave way to realization. Was I really leading Levi back here? God, he’d be enraged when he saw me with Levi. Shit.
“Okay, listen,” I said. “Let’s get the story straight.”
“Story?” Levi gave me a bewildered look. “What story are we coming up with? We’re just talking. If Anders wants to get mad about that, he can go fuck himself.”
“Can you please just follow my lead?” I said, suddenly exhausted.
Levi’s jaw rippled as the muscles beneath his cheek clenched. “Fine,” he said through his gritted teeth. “We tell a story. What is it?”
“Simple,” I said, taking the first step on the porch. “You came back to tell Anders he did a really good job today, and you thought he was a great representative of the Idlewild pack.”
“The fuck I will,” Levi sneered.
“Just do it,” I hissed, pausing on the top step. “For me?”
He looked like he wanted to argue, even opened his mouth as if to say something, but slowly closed it as he nodded.
He was almost vibrating with anger. I could almost hear his inner wolf raging at him.
He truly didn’t want to do this and was only agreeing because of me.
In any other situation he’d never allow this. No alpha would.
Finally, he looked into my eyes. “For you. And only because it’s you asking. Understand?”
“Thank you.” I turned the knob on the front door and stepped in.
The first thing I noticed was the sound. A wet slap-slap noise that was strangely familiar yet confusing in this situation. The next sound I noticed was Levi’s sharp intake of breath. Then, the scene before me surged forward into vivid clarity.
Anders was naked, thrusting his cock into Eugenia as she bent over the couch, both of them facing away from us. Her ass was decorated with red handprints, and a fine sheen of sweat covered them both. She moaned with each thrust, groaning as my mate fucked her.
“Give me that cock, baby,” she groaned.
“Oh, yeah,” Anders growled, “You love that fat dick, don’t you? Come for me. Come for me, pretty girl.”
“What the fuck?” I screamed.
Eugenia and Anders jerked to a stop, both turning horrified and surprised eyes toward us.
With a roar of fury, Levi rushed toward them.