Talons

Chapter 78: The Disgust

Mike’s POV

I don’t know what happened between B and I, but since homecoming, she has been her old self around me. She hangs out with Brent and Brice a lot, but she always includes me in their plans. She had even come to watch us play, which she has never done before, and when I saw her wearing my shirt, I felt like we had to win.

The team has been doing so well that even guys who had no hope of going pro are being scouted, and I swear it's because B has motivated us all by treating us like people, not like work; which she could have.

I know Angel has been feeling bitter about the rekindling that B and I have done, and I have to fight back the urge to thank him every time I see him because I’m fairly certain that he is the reason she gave me another chance.

It's been more than a full month since our homecoming game, and it's almost like things between us have gone back to normal. There is a huge costume party happening at one of the frat houses, and B is going. She wanted me to dress up like a taco, but I have my limits.

She did, however, manage to convince Brent and Brice to go along with her plan, and when the guys showed up, I literally burst into laughter. B has really outdone herself; their costumes are inflatable and I’m so glad that I said no.

“What are you two supposed to be?” I ask mockingly. I’m literally hiccupping from laughing so hard.

“We are ‘wieners.” I double over at the statement, and I know it came from B. She loves punny jokes, and since we are undefeated right now, I know she must think she’s a comedian.

“You won’t be smiling when you see ketchup,” Brice says. The minute he finishes speaking I see B come in and my jaw drops.

She’s wearing a skin tight white crop top with a popular ketchup brand printed on it, red shorts paired with red fishnet stockings and red combat boots. There is nothing not sexy about her costume, and the looks she’s getting are making me annoyed.

B waves excitedly as she runs toward us, wearing a smile I have always loved seeing on her. While she is giggling at her own comedic genius, I pick up the end of her ponytail and inspect it. She holds up a finger, puts a white cone shaped thing on her head and pulls her hair through.

My eyes go wide, but Brent and Brice fall into laughter with B. I hate that they have such a great relationship with her, but I’m in no position to stop it; not yet anyway. The music changes and B makes an excited face.

Come dance with me, she says pulling her hotdogs along. I lean against a wall and watch the three amigos make up dance moves, not at all caring what they look like. I guess that B spent so much time being mocked and ridiculed that she doesn’t care anymore.

“How much do you want to bet that they are both f*cking her?” I turn to see Gavin standing next to me. He is obviously drunk, so I shrug off his words. “Stick to Ashley bro. B is going to break your heart.”

I consider Gavin’s words. There was once a time when people would tell me I was going to break her heart. When did the tables turn?

Colton’s POV

It’s my twenty-first birthday and I’m spending it buried in two she-wolves with no morals. I feel disgusting, and while the girls are clearly enjoying themselves, I am not.

I slide out of the girl who was underneath me at the time and walk toward the restroom where I dispose of my protection. They are clearly confused, and I link Trey to come to the guest room and get them.

After I’m done with my shower, my father links me to come to his office. He tells me that Dolton has nearly completed his training. That means he and I will either be fighting one another for the title when he comes to collect his mate, or he will take Raven to the UK with him.

Either choice is fine with me, I just hope that my wolf and I will be okay until then. Orlin is mostly dormant lately, and when we saw a pack doctor about it, she said that we were suffering from depression.

That makes sense because every day that passes becomes a clearer sign that I don’t have a fated mate, and it means that I will probably be marking Jessica as my Luna.

I’m so disgusted by the thought that I’ve been trying to screw as many women as possible until that time comes. My hope is to turn her off, but it has not.

Jessica isn’t the same girl she used to be either and I can’t say it has anything to do with my treatment of her because I was never kind.

After I got my diagnosis, I tried to come to terms with her, and I tried to be cordial by asking her to make us a meal, but she doesn’t do anything for me unless it benefits her.

She has become rude and bossy, she treats everyone around her as if they are expendable, and because people know she will be the future Luna, they haven’t said much about it. Even Gale, who used to compete with Jessica, is now quiet around the girl.

Physically, she is stronger, but Jessica outranks her right now, and all she can do is grit her teeth. She won't even sleep with me anymore, which goes to show how cruel Jessica has become because Gale never cared in the past.

“Bro, are you really okay?” Trey asks. He reeks of s*x, and I know he probably picked up where I left off with the girls I asked him to send away.

“I’m bored. Every girl is the same.” Trey sighs and pats my shoulders.

“You need to go back to sleeping with humans. They are always fun, especially when they're drinking.” I glare at my gamma who I thought had finally gotten a hold of his wolf but apparently, he still enjoys pushing the limits. “It's Halloween, find something to wear and let's hit up a few night clubs.”

Rhea’s POV

Mike has pulled away from me, which isn’t entirely a bad thing. His mother wasn’t the first person to approach me regarding his poor performance on the field, and while I had been skeptical, the moment I told him that I was going to wear his shirt to homecoming it was almost as if a switch had been flicked in his mind.

The sadness in his eyes had gone, he laughed more, smiled more, and even Jamie had to admit that there was a visible change in his demeanor. I had no idea that Mike’s parents were hoping to gain access to better medical treatment for his younger brother’s heart condition by riding on the coattails of their older son

For that reason alone, I had been fine with pretending, but since he has removed his attention from me on his own, I will go back to doing my own thing. He and I are still friendly, he just isn’t trying to be romantic anymore, which tells me that he has set his eyes on another woman.

For my sake, I hope that is the case because I don’t know how much longer I could have led him on for. I was starting to feel slimy, and truthfully it would make me little better than him if he ever found out the truth.

I head out to the gym on campus and as I'm running on the treadmill my phone rings. I have invested in a good headset, so I'm able to pick up the call. It's Mandy, and she says that she has something important to tell me.

I stop running and she converts the call to video, making me shout when I see her rounded belly. I throw out a ton of questions because it's clear she is due soon, and I can’t believe she didn’t tell me.

“Sorry B, our pack has laws about announcing pregnancies to outsiders. Alpha stone even made me wait before telling my parents.” I shake my head at the information, but I’m quickly excited again.

“I delivered Robin’s baby you know?” I say with pride.

“Beta Luke told us! What did it look like?” Mandy asks, and Carter wisely pulls the phone away.

“Don’t tell her, because then I will hear you, and I want to have a good night's rest tonight.”

“Shouldn’t have pushed it in, if you don’t want to see it being pushed out.” I say and I hear Mandy laughing in the background, but Carter’s face has gone serious.

“Who are you?” he asks, and then I hear Colton’s voice. I drop the call, feeling my heart race as if he were in the room with me.

I'm so scared that I start running back to my room. I know he isn't near me, but I feel like I need to get back into an enclosed space. I’m running so fast that I almost didn’t hear my name being shouted, but when I place the voice calling to me, I turn to see Mike.

“Why are you running? Why are you crying? B, what happened?” I shake my head, suddenly feeling like I can breathe again, but my relief is short-lived as a girl comes up to Mike and wraps her arms around his waist.

“This is Tracy, my girlfriend.” I smile, but it's not entirely real. I recognize the girl from the airport, and while I thought I was over Mike, apparently, I’m not. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been a good friend lately. Tracy gets jealous.” I smirk and take a step back.

“I understand and thank you for telling me. I’m going to head back to my room now. Good night.” I wave to the couple, and speed walk back to my dorm but I am roughly grabbed and pulled into a corner by Tucker.

“Don’t scream. I’m not going to hurt you.” I wasn’t going to scream, I was going to break his arm, but I will let him think what he wants. He probably wants me to help him get Raven back, which is a no for me. “B, sweety, please don’t take this the wrong way but...” my heart starts to race as Tucker confesses his love to me. “I always pretended that Raven was you.”

“You’re sick,” I shout.